There are lots and I mean lots of Jays locally collecting food from the rich source of Acorns available.
Although you can only see one Acorn, this Jay probably has a few inside its gullet too. Ever wondered why an Oak tree starts to grown in a strange place where there are no Oak trees close by? It probably came from a “cached” Acorn that was forgotten about.
It was just after sunrise (remembering that due to the hills, our sunrise is slightly later than the official one!) and there was a Jay flying from a nearby Oak Tree with an Acorn.
I desperately wanted it to fly the other side of my position but it didn’t, so do I give up, or do I overexpose the shot to try and grab some detail? No, instead, I use the lack of light (in the right place) to my advantage and actually underexpose the shot to capture the back-light and sun shining through the thinner feathers.
This is something we discuss on my Digital Photography Fundamentals Workshop!
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As I continue to shoot more “artmospheric” shots I noticed a huge family of Eurasian Jays in a thick area of Eucalyptus this morning. It included many youngsters shouting to be fed by the parents.
They were mainly in the shade, but the morning sun was breaking through gaps in the branch. Here is one of the Eurasian Jays I just had to shoot with just it’s head in the light.
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