1905_2815 American Goldfinch
Just as the trees began leafing-out - a couple weeks late this spring - flocks of American Goldfinches arrived in town. This is not a coincidence; small birds need concealment. I shot this in the fading light of mid-evening, with a shutter just fast enough and an ISO just low enough to avoid compromising technical quality.
Photography is an interesting mix of right and left brain activity, isn't it? Technical considerations are left hemisphere functions (I'm so old school that I almost never shoot on auto-exposure in any mode; I trust my own judgement better than that of any machine). But you have to shift over to the right side of the brain to make those intuitive leaps that result in truly great images (dumb luck aside). I had a sculptor friend years ago who didn't grasp the complexity involved in mastering the art of photography... until I put my camera in his hands, gave him a few pointers, and let him shoot a few frames. They were awful. He knew it. His left hemisphere - practically nonexistent at the best of times - would have had a lot of catching up to do. He didn't need it for sculpting, carving, pottery; he was a touch artist and his work was superb. What we do involves different brain functions.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1905_2815 American Goldfinch
Just as the trees began leafing-out - a couple weeks late this spring - flocks of American Goldfinches arrived in town. This is not a coincidence; small birds need concealment. I shot this in the fading light of mid-evening, with a shutter just fast enough and an ISO just low enough to avoid compromising technical quality.
Photography is an interesting mix of right and left brain activity, isn't it? Technical considerations are left hemisphere functions (I'm so old school that I almost never shoot on auto-exposure in any mode; I trust my own judgement better than that of any machine). But you have to shift over to the right side of the brain to make those intuitive leaps that result in truly great images (dumb luck aside). I had a sculptor friend years ago who didn't grasp the complexity involved in mastering the art of photography... until I put my camera in his hands, gave him a few pointers, and let him shoot a few frames. They were awful. He knew it. His left hemisphere - practically nonexistent at the best of times - would have had a lot of catching up to do. He didn't need it for sculpting, carving, pottery; he was a touch artist and his work was superb. What we do involves different brain functions.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.