The Bird Nobody Expects to See in Ticonderoga

I spotted this one during a recent trip to Ticonderoga. It was perched high in the bare branches of a winter tree, completely still, surveying everything below it with that unmistakable red head and dark silhouette. Then it dropped off the branch and opened those wings — and I had maybe two seconds to get the shot.

That is what wildlife photography teaches you faster than anything else. Patience gets you to the moment. Instinct gets you the shot.

The Photography Challenge

Shooting birds in flight is one of the hardest things you can do with a camera. They move fast, they are unpredictable, and the window for a good shot is measured in seconds, if not milliseconds.

For these shots, I was using my camera with the 75-300mm telephoto lens. Settings were f/5.6, shutter speed 1/1000 to freeze the wing motion, and ISO pushed to 800 to compensate for the overcast winter light. Sometimes I feel like each separate setting is like an algebra or geometry problem. You gotta make sure you’re using the right “formula” for each problem.

The perched shot gave me time to compose. The flight shot was pure reaction — raise the camera, find the bird in the frame, fire. You do not think about settings in that moment. You just shoot and hope the autofocus locks on.