"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

Photography uses images to tell a story. There are many ways to tell this story, one of which is to capture something that, by its very expression, causes the viewer to pause and really take in the detail of the subject.

One way to convey this is to capture an image where time seems to stand still; where something in movement or motion is completely frozen, allowing the viewer to see detail that normally the human eye would miss. This is often the way professional sports photographers will capture end zone shots of a huge catch suspended in mid-air at an NFL game or an imminent strikeout above the home base at an MLB game, and supply various articles (online or traditional) with said photos.

In nature photography, especially when it comes to fast birds, I have had many opportunities to get some terrific images in like manner. Most D-SLRs will allow a fast shutter speed up to 1/6000 or even 1/8000 of a second, which allows for some of the shots I've taken including the one below: