Photographed at the ever-popular Bosque del Apache refuge in early November. After the required very early jump out of bed to capture the pre-dawn activity, breakfast seemed the next logical step :). There are nice picnic tables at the headquarters and I always set up my tripod and camera just in case. On this morning about 2 dozen quail leaped onto the fence and then over. They are always fun to watch with their bobbing topknots and scurrying gait!
Canon 7D, Canon 400mm f4 DO IS
ISO 500, 1/640, f10, exp.comp. +1/3
Part of the bkgd was cluttered with white branches. I cloned out the branches using both the original photo and one I captured in the same place but with less branches.
I am still getting used to the 400 DO and c & c are very welcome.
I love these birds and your little story. I don't yet have any quail photos. I like the way they have mirrored each others pose. You have really good light on them to.
Super capture here of a pair of quail with a similar pose. I would love to just get one shot of a bobwhite quail here in Missouri and you've captured a pair! I love the golden light, the bokeh and the contrast of patterns between the male and female. They also have a cute look on their faces. Perch looks great as well. Nice.
I've sighted a Gambel's quail! Thanks for my first view of that American gamebird on BPN. Thanks also for the story, which reminded me that I'm not the only one who lunches standing up with camera ready while in the field. I'd have kept stopping down, stopping down and seeing what I came up with; at f10, your female could still be sharper, and you were still at 1/640s. Another stop or two taking you down to 1/200s or 1/125s probably wouldn't have been a problem, and you would have captured the female with more sharpness. (I know these things are tough to keep in mind while shooting; I'm kind of preaching to myself here.)