Peek a Boo
Captured this magnificent Rainbow Lorikeet in Adelaide's Botanical Gardens mid afternoon snacking on these flowers. The little fella was quite tame and had...
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Captured this magnificent Rainbow Lorikeet in Adelaide's Botanical Gardens mid afternoon snacking on these flowers. The little fella was quite tame and had no problem with me coming up a bit closer for a few snaps
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Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Spring Selection Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this beautiful Rainbow Lorikeet in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens, South Australia. I am a self taught photographer and this was on of the first opportunities that I had to take some really great bird shots. I particularly love how this bird seemed to have real character and charisma. He almost seems to be smiling in this shot as he watched me creeping closer to him for a better shot. I was in the area with this little guy for the best part of 45 minutes as he jumped from flower to flower eating the seeds he could pick out of the centres. He seemed completely unphased by my presence and just continued enjoying his meal the entire time.Time
This photo was taken one beautiful spring mid-afternoon day in November, at 3:50pm, while walking around the gardens admiring the flowers and birdlife which brought the garden to life.Lighting
As the afternoon was getting late, the sun was behind the trees at this point. The trees providing a really nice screen and some lovely filtered light so there was harsh shadows as I shot.Equipment
This was shot handheld on my Nikon D7100 with my Nikon 105mm f2.8 Macro lens. I didn't need a flash for this one as the light was still plenty to allow for a crystal clear shot, even at f8 which is what I took this on.Inspiration
Being self taught, I take any opportunity I can to go out into new areas to practice on any subject I can. This particular afternoon was my first photoshoot with my new 105mm macro lens. This Lorikeet was the perfect model as he was so content just doing his thing jumping back and forth between the flowers as I practiced using this new lens.Editing
I always shoot in raw and any post-processing is always done in Lightroom. This image was almost perfect in camera so I only needed to gently slide a few of the basic sliders to finish off this shot. Mainly I just boosted contrast a little bit and dropped in a touch more black. I like the effect I get out of boosting the clarify and vibrance about +10 and adding a bit of luminance and masking to the sharpening tool.In my camera bag
Since taking this image, my bag has now inherited a new Nikon D750 which I carry with me everywhere. To go with this amazing body, I always have my Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 zoom lens and my 105mm f2.8 Macro lens. I usually have my 50mm f1.8 portrait lens with me as well. That is more for a 'just in case' occasion as I am usually interested in landscapes and streetscape photography. If I am going out to shoot water, I would also have my 10-stop ND filter and tripod as well if I am in the mood for a long exposure. I love using these two lenses. The 105mm never ceases to amaze me with how sharp it is and how beautiful and soft the images I get from it are. Even as a prime lens, the 105mm is just beautiful giving amazing results when I use it for portraits. Anyone looking for a standard all-purpose lens I can't go past the 24-70mm, I use this lens for everything and am never disappointed.Feedback
If you want to get a similar image to this, patience is definitely the key. I was sitting in this area quite some time before the little guy joined me on the flowers. By the time he arrived I guess he was accustom to my presence and he didn't mind sharing the area with me. There is no need to rush to get as close as possible, I kept a respectful distance and used an f8 aperture setting so I could ensure that the whole flower and bird was in focus for the shot. At such a large focal distance, you don't really need to worry about not achieving a nice bokeh even at that aperture. Just like in portrait photography, I set the focus point to the birds eye and let the bokeh do it's job. I would recommend looking for early morning or late afternoon times (similar to landscapes) to try and capture these sort of shots. The harsh sun and heat of noon would likely keep the animal life away and less active. In Moreover, the harsh shadows you will get out of the direct overhead sun won't give nice even lighting so capturing every detail will be very difficult. I really try to pay attention to the birds tendencies and mannerisms, trying to capture a shot which really speaks to how it was moving and the sort of thing it was doing at the time. Of course even animals and birds have a good side to work with :)
