Water, centre of life
A thirsty Great Tit comes to the pool for some refreshment creating a copy of itself in the cool water.
Click on picture to see on dark background....
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A thirsty Great Tit comes to the pool for some refreshment creating a copy of itself in the cool water.
Click on picture to see on dark background.
Read less
Click on picture to see on dark background.
Read less
Apr, 2015Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Playing With Reflections Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from a bird hide in the Netherlands. It was the first time I visited a bird hide. It was the start of a whole new experience to me.Time
The photo was taken around 10:30 am. We had to wake up at 5:00 am because it was a long drive to the hide. When we arrived there was already lots of activity from the birds in the wood.Lighting
It was early spring and the light wasn't too harsh so details in both light and dark parts of the photo are well visible.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 7d and Canon EF 400mm f5,6L USM, a great combination because of the sharpness of this lens. It's called "the poor man's tele" but it is a great piece of kit.Inspiration
Before I visited a forest hide I was walking around with my gear trying to capture birds in their habitat. I was never really pleased with the results. Photographing from a hide took my photos to another level. The birds are more at ease as they can't see you and you have more time to observe them quietly and to anticipate where they will be landing in order to get the right composition.Editing
First I always do the normal postpropressing of a raw picture in LightRoom to correct whitebalance, contrast, highlights, shadows etc. Then I import the picture in one of Nik's add ons to further posprocess sharpness, colors and noise. Before I used LightRoom and Nik software all of my pictures were rather dull and colorless.In my camera bag
Most of my photos are bird pictures so I always used my Canon 7d and Canon 400mm lens. They now are used as backup gear, nowadays I use a Canon 7d mark II and and a Canon 100-400mm IS II USM because of it's flexibility. Also with the 7d mark II it is easier to remove noise in the photos and it has silent mode. A Canon 1,4 extender is also in my bag for when I need some extra mm's.Feedback
I was extremely lucky when I took this picture that the bird decided to have a drink on that particular spot so I had both the mirror effect and the fact that everything in this picture leads the viewer to the centre. So when taking bird pictures you have to be very patient, sitting still for hours and don't react too fast, let the bird get at ease. Observe the behaviour and learn about the subject you are watching. You may need a bit of luck, being on the right place at the right moment, but the awareness that you never know what's coming keeps you alert to take that one picture that stands out. Good luck!
