Spitting Image

[Craig Brelsford]

A red-flanked bluetail spits out a seed at Binjiang Forest Park in Shanghai last month. I was set up for a takeoff shot, but when I saw her regurgitate I started firing. Red-flanked bluetails range from Finland to easternmost Asia and are common in winter in Shanghai.

Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
Aperture: F/4.5
Shutter Speed: 1/5000
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 5000
Subject Distance: 6.3 m
Photoshoppery: Took out a blurry branch below the bird. Noise reduction, sharpened, cropped.

[Brendan Dozier]

Nice action shot Craig and good HA. Seems just a bit blurred (or maybe not enough sharpening?) . At 1/5000, wondering if you have some sharper frames of this.

[Pieter de Waal]

What an interesting and action packed pose, love the colour on the flanks. Would have liked more of the bird's right wing.

[James Salywoda]

Sweet action captured Craig excellent timing.

[Craig Brelsford]

What an interesting and action packed pose, love the colour on the flanks. Would have liked more of the bird's right wing.

Hi, Pieter (and thanks also to James 'n' Brendan): Right, action-packed. Living, moving birds, that's my focus now. I'm fascinated by the "extraordinary within the ordinary," the open secrets that one can discover shooting at high speeds. The human eye can't appreciate or even process much of the activity going on right in front of it. A good camera can.