Extention tube needed, pt.2 - Horned Lark.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Scored a double whammo when the Horned Lark decided to feed close to the Longspur that I happened to be photographing at point-blank range with an extention tube attached (see previous post). Not as strong visually, and I wish the wind hadn't blown those feathers awry...but I'm not sure I'll ever be as close as three feet to this species again, so I'll take it!!

Canon 40D + 100-400L @390mm + 20mm extention tube, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/250s., f/7.1, ISO 800, +0.3 EC, FF!

[Jim Crosswell]

Another beauty from this close encounter situation! I am impressed with the image but more impressed with your ability to get this close.

[DanWalters]

Like the close crop and the details in the bird. Nice complimentary background colors as well.

[Jim Fenton]

This one is a little less attractive to my eyes with so much of the near portions OOF sorta kinda...and then the windblown tufts mix it up as well.

Wonderful head shot though :)

[Aidan Briggs]

Wow! I am extremely jealous. Nice soft light, BG, and perfect techs. Too bad the pose caused the shoulder to be on a different focal plane.

[Dan Brown]

Very, very nice Dan! Great opportunity! Love the face sharpness and eye contact! Hindsight being 20/20, you probably could have got away with ISO 1600 and f11 for more DOF, or ISO 400 wide open and thrown the OOF feathers more OOF! But, I know how it is in the heat of the battle, you take what you can. Great pic.

[Craig Brelsford]

Your care and love of birds come through again, Daniel. You achieved eye contact and a sharp head; I can almost feel the cool smoothness of the bill.

Just wondering: What would have happened if you'd had a longer lens, had been therefore lying farther back from the bird, narrowed down your aperture, shifted up the ISO some, stabilized your camera, and prayed that the bird would remain motionless? Wouldn't you then have achieved more depth of field and perhaps got more of the lark in focus?

Even if the answer is yes, I know full well how difficult it is to think of all these things (let alone effect them) in the heat of battle. You made excellent choices in any case and got a fine result. Congratulations.

[denise ippolito]

Daniel, Nice to get this close-great to get a shot this close. I love the windblown feathers and the sharp crystal clear eye.

[Stu Bowie]

Dan, I like the colours and detail around the head, together with the relaxed pose. Killer BG, and congrats on getting this close up.

[Sid Garige]

Really like that OOF foreground and sharp details on the head. Very well executed.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Nice one Daniel. Amazing that you got that close to it. Sometimes you gotta take what you can get, but you made it great!