I’ve had a breakthrough with my bird photography. This challenge is a real challenge.

A couple of weeks ago, I got my hands on and traded for a Leica Bird/Nature lens, a 100-400 mm lens that weighs about 12 pounds. On Monday morning, I’m taking a two-hour Zoom Leika Akedemi class with a brilliant young Boston Photographer and Leica teacher, Donald Pebble.

We will go through every aspect of the new lens, including how to get the kind of bird photos I want. Im not into National Geographic Style photos or Hallmark Card bird cars.

When I started taking flower photos, I tried to find my photographic voice and style, which needed clarification. I have more work and experimentation today and am determined to get it right. Today, I came closer than I have so far. I like these photos; they capture the movement of the Starlings that have just arrived for Spring.

They are beautiful, graceful, and aggressive birds; they dominate feeders and drive smaller birds away from their nests. But they are sure great to photograph.

(The starlings were polite to one another, taking turns and giving each other room. It was the suet they wanted.)

Meanwhile, a breakthrough. This is close to what I hope to do.

I realized one of the problems I had with my bird photos was that I needed to get closer and have a cleaner background to highlight the shapes and details of the word while making the stamp my own. I liked the first photos, but they weren’t the photos that touched my heart.  I also had to keep experiencing with the lenses I did have and hadn’t tried yet. I decided to do the macro lens I got for the flower flowers. I know what those lenses can do. This one is fast.

I left the camera (Leica SLR-S) on auto focus because the first move was quick.

I know when I get the right photos, and I will catch some tomorrow. I pulled up a chair away from the window and just sat for a while, and a batch of Starling – newly arrived here for the Spring- started going after the suet hung over the feeder. I loved their shapes and gymnastics. These are some of the kinds of bird photos. I want to take. Donald will help me go deeper and help me get better use of the new lens and my existing ones. I love these photos today.

Maria built a feeder outside the bedroom window, but until today, the birds at her feeder saw no reason to try it. I was walking past the window when it suddenly filled with dive-bombing but graceful and beautifully defined birds.

I love the curve of this bird’s head; it is both gracious and haunting.

I had to ensure I had a fast lens since the birds never really stopped moving.

These birds dive in and out like jet fighters, pausing only to talk to each other, get a foothold, and grab some suet or feed. I ensured my chair was lower than their eyesight, and they didn’t see me sitting in a dining room chair. The cloudy sky helped me get a transparent background to capture the birds in detail.