First to Hatch
First House Finch to hatch calls out to be feed.
First House Finch to hatch calls out to be feed.
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Jan, 2015Views
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Awards
Winner in baby birds and eggs Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
Superb Composition
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
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Behind The Lens
Location
When my Mother-in-law passed away, our neighbors gave us a wind chime in her memory. We hung it on our front porch, where fittingly a House Finch built its nest on top of the wind chime the following Spring. From our front window we could sit and watch the beginnings of new life.Time
For a little over a week we watched the mother create the nest, lay four eggs and then patiently sit on the eggs. At 6:45 in the evening I went out on the porch, while the mother was off the nest and found the first tiny bird hatched and calling out for its mother. Not wanting to disturb the tiny hatchling I quickly focused my camera and took two shots and left.Lighting
Our porch faces north so it is always in the shade. Since it was late in the day there was only indirect lighting hitting the nest. I pushed my ISO to 800 since I would not be able to use a tripod because the nest was high up near the porch ceiling.Equipment
This photo was shot with my Pentax K-x and 18-55 mm lens. I shot the photo at 48 mm focal length, ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/30 sec.Inspiration
My hope was to document this mother's story of her dedication to bringing a new life into our world. Watching her patiently sit on her nest for days, leaving only to get some food for herself was its own inspiration. Periodically, while she was off the nest, I would check to see if any eggs had hatched. I was fortunate to check on the evening of April 20th to find the first of her eggs had recently hatched. I wanted to quickly document this moment and leave so the mother could bring food to her newest arrival.Editing
In 2013 I was shooting in JPG and did do some slight adjustments in Adobe Photoshop Elements to slightly lighten the shadows and increase the midtone contrast. I have since changed to shooting all of my photos in RAW which allows me a lot more latitude in making adjustments to my photos.In my camera bag
In my camera bag I always carry my Pentax K-x and four lenses: a Pentax 18-55 mm, a 50 mm Macro and a 50-200 mm telephoto and a Sigma 70-300 mm telephoto. I also carry two Neutral Density filters and a circular Polarizer filter for two of my Pentax lenses and a couple of sets of backup batteries. In a separate case I carry a sturdy tripod and my flexible Joby tripod.Feedback
A lot of times it is a matter of patience to capture the right photo. It just takes time. For over a week I watch this mother and checked on her progress. Even after capturing this moment of new life, I continued to check on her and her hatchling. Of the four eggs the mother laid this was the only one that hatched.
