Comments

1. Jazzlet says

   November 21, 2018 at 11:10 am

   The goldfinches with added petal made me smile.

2. voyager says

   November 21, 2018 at 1:02 pm

   Simply perfect shots, Nightjar. I love the first one with the floating petal. You must be using a pretty quick shutter speed and remote release.

3. rq says

   November 21, 2018 at 3:53 pm

   Beautiful shots, and the light is perfect -- so warm. What (a) wonderful little model(s)!

4. Nightjar says

   November 21, 2018 at 5:25 pm

   Thank you, everyone! Goldfinches are one of the reasons why I plant zinnias every year, and this year for the first time I was able to photograph them in action. They just love those seeds.

   Voyager, the shutter speed on the first one was actually not that quick, 1/800 was enough to freeze the petal. My telephoto has an aperture sweet spot of f/8 and I don’t like to deviate much from it, so I have to compromise. No remote release! Just years of studying their behavior. I figured that although they will fly away if I get closer, I just have to be patient and wait a little and they will be back. If they land on the flowers with me already in the right place they won’t mind me unless I make abrupt movements. Even the noisy autofocus of the Sigma lens doesn’t scare them. I am patient, and I’m also too lazy to bother with hides or with setting up a remote release apparatus. :)

5. Nightjar says

   November 21, 2018 at 5:32 pm

   Giliell,

   She loves me, she loves me not…

   Why didn’t I think of that. Can I steal that title, please?

6. Ice Swimmer says

   November 22, 2018 at 4:27 pm

   Not only is the light wonderful, but also the positions the goldfinch takes. And then there’s the petal in the air.