Roberta, I "shot from the hip" with the focus preset, no way could I keep these quick birds in the viewfinder. This is one of very few where there is a bird in the frame. :-)
Olaf, thanks for the suggestion! The sky is too bland, I'll try your technique and see what comes out.
Anders - absolutely amazing! I see one thing you could do to improve it even more: duplicate the background layer, set the blending mode to multiply, add a layer mask to the new layer and paint with black on the mask over the birds. This will bring out the detail in the sky while leaving the birds as they are. For an even deeper effect just duplicate the new layer one more time (after you've painted the mask). --Olaf
Anders,
I know how very difficult it is to capture barn swallows. They are extremely fast. You really nailed it on this shot! Congrats! It almost looks like an action scene from a Star Wars movie clip. Roberta
