Blackbird blur

[Cheryl Slechta]

This is an abstract blackbird blur taken at the cornfield adjacent to the Snow geese blur cornfield at Bosque. There are several yellow-headed as well as red-winged blackbirds in the mix. I used a slight Viveza filter to increase the saturation and structure just a bit. Artie saw this in my camera monitor and wasn't crazy about it because he said he couldn't tell what they were. I kind of liked it but maybe I knew what they were because I had just seen them. It'll be interesting to see what other people think. I thought it portrayed the frantic energy of the blackbird blastoffs pretty accurately. f/13, 1/60sec., ISO 100, +.7EV

[Kerry Perkins]

This shot isn't supposed to be about bird identification. Can anyone tell from a blastoff of geese whether each individual is a Ross's or Snow Goose? Anyway, I like it! Every time I go to Bosque I forget to take more blurs. Guess I'll have to go back...

[Jeannean Ryman]

I knew what they were before reading your post, but as Kerry said, it isn't about being able to ID the bird. Nice shot and use of blur to convey their frantic movement and numbers.

[Dennis Bishop]

I agree with Kerry, Jeannean, and you, Cheryl. My first reaction when viewing an image is based on the visual impact it has. Or doesn't. Being able to identify the subject isn't really important, at all. If the image tells something, either overtly or in a subtle way, that's a big plus. This one certainly does that.