On The Lookout
A Welcome Swallow watches on as the sun goes down.
Taken in Thames, New Zealand.
Jan, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo right outside my house (at that time) in Thames, New Zealand. The area where I lived was full of wild birds, including these Swallows. At the time there were even more Swallows because they were building a nest right above our front door and were active very often.Time
The best time to photograph Swallows is during the sunset because that is when they are most active. That is also the time when insects like mosquitos become active which is the Swallow's main food source. So at this time they are always flying around very quickly trying and catch as many insects as they can. And that's also an advantage for me because then I have less mosquitos to worry about while I'm out there photographing!Lighting
I have always loved taking photos at sunset, it's such a beautiful time of the day. That particular day the sunset was extra beautiful and the whole sky was yellow. What I love about this photo is that the light from the sunset is shining right on the Swallow's chest and therefor showing all the beautiful colours that they have. These birds are so small and so super fast, you hardly ever get to really see how beautiful they are. But now in this exceptional lighting, the colour on their face and chest really shows which I love.Equipment
I took this photo using a Canon EOS 1000D with a Canon 75-300mm lens. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
I am always photographing birds and other animals. But I have always had this will to get a very good photo of a Swallow since they are such difficult birds to photograph. Because they are so small and so fast and agile, even very experienced bird photographers have trouble to shoot them. I have some friends who do bird photography with much more advanced camera equipment than me and even for them it is extremely difficult. I have just always wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and that gave me the will and desire to keep on trying. When the birds started building a nest above our front door and were active every evening, I knew then that that was my chance and I just went for it.Editing
The only post processing I did was adding a watermark.In my camera bag
Whenever I go somewhere with the intention to photograph animals (that is the main thing I photograph) I always pack my camera (Canon EOS 1000D) and either one or both of my lenses (75-300mm & 18-55mm). When I am going to go photograph underwater or photograph somewhere where my camera could get wet, I pack my Fujifilm XP 10m waterproof camera with 5x wide optical zoom lens.Feedback
Well whenever you are trying to photograph wildlife but particularly birds, patience is a huge part of it. Of course, photographing a heron who waddles through the mud very slowly will be easier than these little rockets with wings. All I can say is dedication, determination and will. If you don't have the will to capture a photo like this, it's never going to work. I photographed Swallows for weeks and could just throw all my photos away. Patience, patience, patience. If you can do that, you will eventually get the shot you're after.
