When the sunset starts popping off, I often find myself in a desperate search for a subject. “Such good light… now what can I put in front of it???” When I saw this quail perched on a post, a plan came together in an instant.
I’ve tried a few different approaches to Quail in Flight photography (or QIF, as the connoisseurs call it). While those were fun photos, the challenge of catching a quail in flight meant they weren’t anything special beyond the ridiculousness of quail flight. If I could catch this quail taking flight backlit against the sunset clouds, that would be a whole different level.
After a few minutes of waiting, the quail was kind enough to take off mostly parallel to my frame, giving me exactly the shot I was going for.