The picture of this Gray Catbird was taken in Prospect Park, Brooklyn May 9, 2010. As my learning curve for my CANONEOS7D continues, this pictures is one that exemplifies many factors coming together. And I am pleased with the progress.

It was an overcast day, the light was hitting the bird nicely. The Catbird was within six feet and I was able to make sure I had the correct (to date) setting on CanonEOS7D. I used the flash on a very low setting.

Even though I do not want to accept the fact that I need to be in a certain proximity to the bird and have the right light to get that good picture, I am beginning to see the light. This is especially so when taking pictures with my CANONEO7D of the tiny migrating birds that are around now. They are usually really far away, in dark parts of the park and moving all the time. But if I wait in a spot that has the right factors in a place the bird has a chance to appear, I can perhaps get a decent shot.
The picture of this Scarlet Tanager is not really an example of the patience I have yet to develop, but I could not resist this beautiful bird. It was pretty close – and I mainly used my flash to capture the image.

Being in the presence of The Tree Swallows at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is among my most favorite visual experiences. The constant activity of these birds flitting around chasing insects and each other is totally delightful to me. And also watching the Tree Swallows go in and out of their nesting boxes and seeing their little heads peeking out.
And now a juvenile!
They also do stay still for a few moments to allow me to get some good captures. Again I was able to take my time to set up the camera settings properly and enjoy using my CanonEOS7D instead of feeling like I am in battle with it.
I started to focus with the manual focusing ring on the CanonEOS7D after the auto focus did its thing. I could see the image coming into clearer focus.

The picture of this Ruby-crowned Kinglet was taken in Prospect Park. In the past I would most likely have rejected this photo because of the motion blur on the wing, but this time around it was one of the main attractions for me. Since the head and most of the body of this little Ruby-crowned Kinglet are in focus, coupled with the fact the Ruby-crowned Kinglets are always in motion, this seemed like a good representation of what I see when I look at a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
I heard an interesting quote on NPR radio this morning on a report about Dorothea Lange – something like – the act of photography makes you see better when your not taking pictures.

Still feeling challenged by the CanonEOS7D, I am trying to be very diligent and attentive to my capture technique. The previous camera combination I used was the CanonEOS40D with the same Canon 100-400 lens. My keeper ratio was much higher. I had gotten to the point that I could correctly tell that i was “latched on” properly for the shot during the capture. I cannot yet judge the sharpness level at the time of capture with CanonEOS7D.
I had a passing thought to go back to using the CanonEOS40D. I went through previous pictures and crictically reviewed and compared shots between the two camera bodies.
My conclusion so far is that I like the 18 MP and utilizing the additional information of the capture. When I get a right on capture, I am way ahead with CanonEOS7D.