Getting up-close and personal with flamingo
Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo has been taken in Kuala Lumpur, Birds Park, Malaysia. This park is so peaceful, you forget totally the busy life of KL.Time
I was lucky to live in Kuala Lumpur for 4 years, this park was my favorite place to go after leaving my sons at school. I was always there in the morning at around 9:00AM, no tourists, the temperatures are not too hot, and you have all the birds singing together to welcome the day, so peaceful, priceless. Plus, if you're lucky enough, the wild monkeys jump all around you, like flying from branch to branch, walking with you on the ground, and stealing your food if they like it. You almost feel like being in the jungle although you're in one of the most bustling city in southeast Asia.Lighting
The morning light is always the best. Flamingos love bathing in the sunlights. Just have to make sure of your settings not to burn the highlights.Equipment
At that time I loved playing with the 70-200mm from Canon, mounted on the 7D. This lens allowed me to take amazing close portraits of animals or humans, just perfect to focus on the personnality of the model.Inspiration
I was more interested in architecture, but then I bought the Canon 70-200, started to take portraits of my kids then decided it was about time to try it with animals. Flamingos are fascinating, so beautiful, delicate, and graceful. My eye got caught by all the curves of the eye first, then the head, then the feathers, couldn't help but take the photo.Editing
I'm the kind of photographer who likes to get the right shot in camera, so, little processing was done, some contrasts adjustments to get details in the feathers.In my camera bag
I'm versatile, I started photography as a photo reporter in Kuala Lumpur, needed 2 cameras with multiple lenses. Then, I specialised in architecture, so I mostly used a wide angle lens, then culinary photography, at that time I bought a 50mm, I wanted to get creative, a fixed focal is perfect to train the eye and get more creative. Nowadays I photograph newborns in maternity during weekdays and Models for fashion books on weekends, I always have in my bag, 7D + 5DIII, together with the 50mm, 85mm and 135mm, added a cobra flash and a reflector.Feedback
Taking pictures of birds or any other animals require to be, first of all, very patient. That's said, I recommend to get a zoom lens like the 70-200mm or more, so you can get very close to animals while being far away from them, that way you don't disturb them or even scare them. Think of bringing along a tripod too, cause the waiting can be long, and the equipment is heavy, plus with a zoom lens you're more likely to move because of the weight and get blurred photos, we all know you don't want that.
