Last week we talked about taking images that tell a story. The story we told was of a Magpie Shrike. But what about that classic clean bird shot? Have those gone out of favor? Perhaps so, at least as far as winning bird photography competitions are concerned. But does that mean that, that classic clean bird image is not pleasing and should we avoid taking those kind of images? Some pro photographers say 'yes." In fact, they call these kind of images "a bird on a stick." Why have they mostly moved on to other kinds of images of birds? Well, "bird on a stick" images are easy to get and not technically difficult to take. So they think that those kind of images are best left to the amateurs.

          However, whether an image is easy or difficult to take, does not, in my mind, determine the beauty of an image. Yes, I fully believe, as I have written in these blogs numerous times, that actions image are more engaging and generally better photography. But for today, I am going to indulge, just for beauty's sake, to look at a classic clean bird shot.

Yes, I know, I can almost hear the pros yelling at me, "that perch is to thick for the size of the bird." They are right. This image will look much better had the perch been smaller. Some photographers would make the perch smaller in Photoshop. So there you have it, I formally agree with the pros. However, that is not my topic today. I just want to focus on the beauty of the classic clean bird shot.

          What is the classic clean bird shot? This is it. There is no clutter, no branches going in different directions, no distracting leaves (or anything other than the bird for that matter). The image is clean - free from distractions and pretty much everything but the bird and its perch. Another feature of the classing clean bird shot is the buttery smoothly blurred background. Even the background is clean. This is that classic shot. And "yes," even though it is an easy shot to take with no technical difficulty, these kind of images are still beautiful.

          Do I prefer an action shot? Yes! But from time to time I just want to relax. I just want to slow down. I don't want a heart throbbing, "oh wow," or "that's incredible" moment. There is a time and a place to simply look at uncluttered, quiet, peaceful, and clean beauty.