ThirstyFish

During spring, many birds collect nesting material before breeding. Bird nests are built for rearing the young and for protection. Depending on the species, nests and can be simple to quite sophisticated.

I am not too happy with this photograph. I used a Nikon 1.7x teleconverter on a 500mm f/4 lens to make up for the range. This combination produces a distracting nervous bokeh when there is not enough background separation. Of course, you can say I should have lowered my camera; by the time I did, the bird was gone.

Does every photograph we take have to be artistically perfect? Why do we pay thousands of extra dollars for lenses that render images in special ways? I guess the answers lie in our intent. Although this photograph will never be on a wall, it covers a less documented activity, a bird gathering nesting material to build a home. Even though it may not be technically as perfect as other Northern Mockingbird photos, it is nevertheless just as interesting.

The same concepts apply to many arts. A perfectly written novel is not as interesting as an original one that might be awkwardly worded. A pure concept might not be enough to save a poorly executed painting. And when something is both original and perfectly executed, we may perceive it as boringly superlative because it lacks the minor flaws that makes it attractive to us. There is no real formula for what always works, that's why they call it art and not science.