This image was created on 17 May 2021 in a marsh down by the lake at ILE. While seated on a milk Crate, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. AWB at 7:10am when a big cloud covered the sun for a bit. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed just about perfectly.
Just as a big cloud slid in front of the sun, this male Black-necked Stilt strode by right in front of me and my milk crate. I grabbed the 2-6 off of my work table — another milk crate — to my left, leaned to my right around the tripod mounted 600 GM, dialed up the ISO, and fired off perhaps a half dozen frames. This one, with the balletic pose, was magical. The raised foot with the bill perfectly centered on the white neck gives the bird a quite elegant look. At least from where I sit.
Ballerino is slang for a male ballet dancer, and danseur noble is the French version. The bird in Image #1 certainly qualified, if only for a brief instant in time.
To learn more about the creation of this image, see the active AF point, and read something interesting, check out the Ballerino or Danseur Noble. With Zebras, Eye Tracking AF, Topaz, and RawDigger, Is Bird Photography Too Easy Now? blog post here.
with love, artie







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