Starling 365
These starlings settled right above me, and I had to go inside and clean off the camera and my hair and glasses. These are but two of the hundreds, perhaps even 365 of them, carpet bombing my small space. I was not counting on this tangible radiation when looking for some foreground to go with the cosmos.
As of today I have posted every day for the past year. Now I feel like I can ease off a bit when other demands on my time should be respected. So, there may be days when I don’t post, and I think there will be more days when I only post one or two images. I will try to keep the quality up, fewer but better on average.
This was shot with contrasty black and white in mind. I am pretty happy with the way it came out though now that I am ready to post it I think perhaps I should have toned down the bright area around the insulator and birds just a bit for more balance. Also, every dust particle on my sensor (I think that is what they must be) has been exposed, even though they are invisible in the original colour image. I took a lot out, but now see that quite a few remain.
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Canon EOS 5Dii, Canon 100mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 640, f13, 1/400th.
burnt embers 
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Fascinating perspective!!
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Hi Denise – nice to have you visiting my blog, I hope you come back. And thanks for the comment!
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Pingback: Starling Sky « burnt embers
WOWZERS, now that’s what I call a compelling image! What is that on the right side of the frame there, Ehpem, is that the sky? Or is it a “remnant” of the carpet bombing that has resulted in the most fascinating mosaic pattern? Regardless, this one held my imagination for quite some time taking in all the interesting bits… I guess some of it is abstract and other parts not so much. Look at me trying to apply metaphysical attributes to the scene here. 🙂
I can honestly say that I will be riveted to my seat waiting for you next post no matter if it comes tomorrow or several days later. Congrats on this epic milestone you’ve accomplished. There is no way I could do that myself.
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Ha! Cosmic bird bombs? Fortunately, those are the clouds. It was only a part of the focus ring that got bombed (perhaps a splash off of my own self?) and not the lens filter – I can see that stuff playing havoc with the coatings.
Well, I don’t expect to keep you on the edge of your seat for more than a day or two at a time 🙂 Thanks once again for all your support in the past year, it means a lot to me to have so many comments and to engage with other photographers, and even to get constructive criticism. I have learned a lot from the community out there, and continue to do so. One objective of cutting back a bit would be to allow me more time to view other photographs – I have just not had enough time lately to get out and about. I really have no idea how you manage to pull together, every week, an annotated list of great blogs, photos and so on from 80 or 100 different sources. That must cut into your time for putting together you own photos and blogs.
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It really does, actually, Ehpem. When I started blogging I was running a M-F shop but as my workload shifted and I got more involved with Light Stalking that had to be cut back. A balancing act, if you will… For me it’s just as important to get out there and see what everyone is doing and connect with folks as it is to publish my own work. I am still waiting for FedEx to drop off that 36 hour clock I ordered, hoping that will add a bit of time to each day so I can do more. LOL
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What a terrific photo!
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Why thank you Karen 🙂
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Really interesting image, ehpem, I like it. And congratulations on completing a year of daily, high quality posts – very well done!
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Hi Laurie – glad you like this image. I am pleased with a number of my posts from last year for a variety of reasons – some that are documentary that I enjoy, some where the photos really please me, some that generated a conversation. I am hoping/expecting to keep the same variety going on here.
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Good work making it a year! Please don’t ease off too much, though: I enjoy seeing your work!
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Hi Melinda – thanks! I won’t ease off too much, but on those days when its just too much with other things going on, I am going to be glad to take a day off. If it is anything like the past year, then it is likely to be 10 or 15 “missed” days in total. Not that I am committing to 350 posts next year, things do change after all….
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very very well done on your 365.. as someone doing it to ( I’m on about 268 I think) I know how difficult it can be to post everyday .. oh and this is a great shot.. I like the brightness around the insulator it makes me feel that it’s controlling everything else in the picture and I like that..
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Hi Helen – thank you so much. I am not complaining, but a few days it felt a bit more like a job, and a less like fun than suits me. And I think that the quality/content of some posts, especially longer ones, suffered because they were rushed. I am glad you like this photo – and that bright corner. I like that it is brighter, I just think it could be a bit quieter about it. I hope you don’t mean to suggest that the starlings are in control!
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maybe 😉
But no it was more that the light in the sky ( edges of clouds? ) I imagined as coming from the corner
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I am not totally sure where the light was coming from, to be totally honest. I was looking straight up at the sky, and that corner is S or SW, so probably that is where the brightest light was. I think that it is in part an artifact, or an exaggeration, of the tone mapping – a reaction of the software perhaps to the mass of the insulator. Rather like the halo around roofs on buildings that I have been trying to suppress as well.
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Excellent photo!!! And congratulations on the 365. I have had the pleasure of following several 365 projects, but I have to say there are some that can not keep up the high quality requirements (such as yours) for posting. Posting photos without concern for the quality of the photos is very distracting to me. I found a lot of inspiration in the past year. well done!
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Thank you Ken – it has been a year of learning for me and in many ways it feels like I have just started out. How to use my camera, how to use filters, even how to use the tripod. And then there is software, image processing and learning what is possible from a subject which feeds back into the camera end of things. I think the biggest improvement is my sense of control – sometimes I can imagine a shot in advance and get the raw material that will make it work in post processing. Today’s shot is an example – something like this kind of sky is what I wanted out of the shots I was taking. Lots still to learn, but it would not be so much fun if that was not true.
Thanks, btw, for all your comments and support along the way – I have enjoyed getting to know you a bit over much of the past year and comments like yours have cemented my interest in doing the blog.
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