On yesterday morning’s 6.5 K power walk along my favourite riverside trail, I took some time to rejoice in spring. I made so many stops to view and listen to birds, that it wasn’t really a power walk at all. Oh well, I got the distance in, and I enjoyed every second.
Sparrows, gulls, swallows, robins, mallard ducks, geese, red winged black birds, and pigeons were all around me. It seemed they had all arrived on the same day for a homecoming party.
Of course, this was a day I had decided to leave my phone tele lens at home.
As I was walking across one of the bridges, I heard a pigeon cooing overhead. I set my native camera app to 2x zoom, with the hope of getting a decent photo of him peering down at me from his perch on the steel truss.
As soon as he saw my movement, he flew away. I snapped the photo anyways, fully expecting to see a blurry mess when I returned home.
“If there were any justice in this world, people would occasionally be permitted to fly over pigeons.”
Gene Brown
Radically Retired 
Great photo! Any time I use my phone’s zoom, the picture is blurry. I need to try turning on HDR rather than leaving it on auto. It sounds like your walk was wonderful, seeing all the birds. Enjoy your day!
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Thank you, Betty! I learned in a smart phone photography course, that if you’re stretching your screen to zoom, your photo always loses quality. They advised strongly against that practice. They said that if your phone doesn’t have an optical zoom option, to zoom in with your feet (ie walking closer) vs stretching the screen to zoom. My phone has a 2x optical zoom, and when I attach the tele lens, I can get 4x optical zoom. Another trick with zooming is to avoid camera shake, which happens even by just pressing the button to snap. I do leave my HDR on. Sometimes it kicks in and sometimes it doesn’t, depending on the quality of my shot. I have my phone set save both the HDR and the original so I can choose which one to keep. I have lots to learn about bird photography with a smart phone and need lots more practice with my tele lens. Happy Thursday!
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