Secretary bird
This Secretary bird was right in front of me, just 2 meters away, so I could make a nice close-up...
This Secretary bird was right in front of me, just 2 meters away, so I could make a nice close-up...
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May, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Allwetter Zoo in Munster, GermanyTime
The time was around 1 pmLighting
The light was difficult, since the sun was on it's highest of the day, but it wasn't too hard light, because it shined through some trees. So every few seconds, I got an opportunity to shoot whith nice light.Equipment
I used a Nikon D90 with a 70-300mm zoomlens. Handhold, no flash.Inspiration
In my opinion, the Secretarybird is one of the most beautiful birds of prey on the planet. They have beautiful colours and are as graceful as they are deadly... In Munster, they have a very large "cage" where they live, so you can shoot in a fairley natural enviroment.Editing
The only postprocessing was removing a pice of another birds wing, wich was shown just above his head and some basic sharpening in Lightroom.In my camera bag
My Nikon D90, a standard zoomlens 70-300, a 18-105mm kitlens and my Sigma 150-500mm.Feedback
Be patient. Wait for the right time and light. In the sun, their colours are amazing. Try to find a nice (not to busy) background. Gain their trust. Let them know you don;t want to harm them, touch them, or throw things at them (as sadly some kids do...) Sit or stand as close as you can get to them, without doing anything. Just wait... When the time comes that there know that you're there, but they also know that they don't have to be scared of you, you can take nice close-ups...
