Blue jays

Today I tried to take advantage of the golden morning light to photograph some birds at my feeder.

Challenges: busy urban background, ugly feeder poles, birds moving superfast, difficult to capture when zoomed out to the max, distance vs. bird comfort level, and the camera doesn't seem to want to do continuous shooting.

Shots like these are among my favorites because they make me laugh every time I look at them:




Though what kind of idiot shoots through a backlit double-paned glass window?


Clarity is definitely my challenge here -- compare my blue jay shots with Jaki's. I probably need to break down and get a tripod and maybe figure out a way to disguise myself in the window so the shyer birds don't startle.

The expression on the blue jay below reminds me a little of Michael Smith's life-changing "Mad Bluebird" shot.


A little bit of drama, but too far away and focus is off.