Limpkin
Jul, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a local nature park which has both woods and wetlands kept in their natural state. I used to walk through that park when I lived in an apartment right across from Lake Lotus and it was the first place I thought of to take photos with my new DSLR camera. So this photo was taken on my very first attempt at nature and bird photography.Time
This was the early afternoon in July of 2015. It was already very hot but the shade in this park makes it bearable even in the summer. One of the few places I will go that time of day in Florida.Lighting
I had seen another Limpkin in the bright sunlight among the wetland grasses. I took a few photos but didn't like the bright sunlight and the clutter of the grasses. As I walked along the trail I remembered a small building with glass windows that was in the shade. To my surprise, another Limpkin was balancing on the railing next to the little building. He seemed to be fine when I quietly approached him with my camera. I felt the shaded area with just a bit of sun in the background made for very nice lighting.Equipment
This was my new Canon SL1 with the 75-300mm lens that came in kit. I have never used a tripod for a bird photo yet, always hand held.Inspiration
I really loved the wooden building as a background for the Limpkin. There was just a bit of the lake and natural foliage in the background to indicate the feel of the location. I also felt the brown shades of the railing and the building blended well with the darker brown of the Limpkin.Editing
So far I do very little post-processing on my photos. In this case I cropped the photo very slightly and used the "enhance" feature which adjusted the lighting on the entire photo just a bit.In my camera bag
At this point in time, I carried my Canon SL1 camera with the basic 18-55 mm lens and long with the 75-300 mm. That was basically all I ever brought with me, and I found it to be sufficient for most of the wading birds in Florida. They tend to be calm around people and allow you to get fairly close to them.Feedback
With bird photography you have to take a lot of shots. You can quickly see if the background is cluttered or the bird is too far away. I would suggest to just keep moving and looking. The birds are varied and you never know when you will come upon the perfect bird and background like I did that day.
