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In Flight

Ever feel like you’re going in circles and never going to get ahead? I know I have, many times! Moving from one problem to the next without any forward movement at all. That’s what I thought of when I woke up one morning while camping at Stanley Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains here in Idaho. These birds were circling the lake, round and round for no apparent reason. I guess they were working out, kind of like running laps around a track, or else protesting NASCAR because they were turning right instead of left! It was an interesting sight, none the less. I thought there was no way I would have time to get my camera and document the event, but they kept on racing for quite some time. I broke out the camera and was able to get off a number of shots as they circled the lake. In this shot, it is quite amazing how the wings of the birds seem to be synchronized. They flow from front to back in a fluid motion. It was perfect. The trees, slightly out of focus help the birds stand out and become the focal point of the image. This is done by selecting a wide aperture, in this case f2.8. This creates shallow depth of field, allowing only the line of birds to be in crisp focus. I was lucky, as well to have a nice mist rising off the water. It seemed that everything was in my favor that morning. I wish it always happened that way!

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