Barn Swallow Parent with Butterfly

[Scott Linstead]

A surprisingly easy shot to get. The hardware was installed at night and the parents were barely aware of my presence. Then, once the morning feeding is over, I make a quick entrance to fetch the memory card while the parents are out. It's just a matter of choosing the pose that has the nicest combination of posed youngsters and visible prey. The set-up is dismantled under the veil of night and the family is left undisturbed and unstressed.

D300, 70-200, Phototrap, 3 flashes

Enjoy!

Scott

http://www.scottyphotography.com/wildlife/birds/images/_DSC0857_flat2w.jpg

[Danny J Brown]

Great shot, Steve. Looks like a bronze-copper butterfly in its bill. Man, those kids sure are hungry!!

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Scott,
Interesting action/interaction you captured. The open mouths of the chicks and the wing position of the adult is nice. As presented I would be tempted to try and brighten the shadows on two chicks heads farthest away from us. I would also suggest toning down the mud nest a bit as it looks a little bright to me.

Question: From your narrative I am unsure if you were present when the image was captured or if you used some trigger set-up. Just curious but if you used a trigger would you provide some details for my education? Thanks for sharing.

[paul leverington]

I'd like to echo Phil's question too. Very nice work Scott.

Paul