Wings Up or Down, No Pancakes

One of my guidelines for capturing birds in flight regarding wing position is: wings up or down, no “pancake” wings. The positions that usually look best are either wings up or wings down. The “pancake” or straight-out wing position does not add much depth to the image or showcase the intricate details of the wings.

Wings Up
Wings Down
No Pancakes

With Owls, Both Eyes Bright is a Delight

When photographing most birds, I aim for one engaging eye. However, owls are different; the most captivating owl images are those where both eyes are wide open and sharply focused.

Wings down and two eyes are a delight
Sometimes pancakes can work, with two eyes bright and wing detail, delight.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

― Pablo Picasso

See high res images on my Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/baw26/

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About Me

I’m Bruce Wunderlich, the creator and author behind this blog. I’m the photo editor for BWD Magazine, founded in 1978 as Bird Watcher’s Digest, is North America’s premier bird-watching magazine. I also write a column for the magazine about bird photography called birdtography.
bwdmagazine.com