Southern Masked Weaver
Jan, 2016Views
206
Likes
Awards
Spring Selection Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Love it
Superior Skill
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 20 rankTop 30 rank week 1Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
The Southern masked Weavers are common garden birds in the Western Cape,South Africa. The male builds the nest and the female decides if the nest is acceptable. If rejected the male tears it down and starts again! In this photo the female was doing an unscheduled nest inspection and the male,pictured here,was flying up to the nest to chase her away!Time
Mid afternoon in semi-shade allowed me to highlight the bird, using the shaded mountain in the background!Lighting
I rely on daylight and love the soft morning and evening light.Equipment
I use a Canon 7D MK11 camera with a Canon fixed 400mm F5.6 lens. I don't use a tripod as most of my photo's are opportunistic and not set up.Inspiration
Our garden is where I do most of my photography. I love watching the birds,butterflies and dragonflies in their natural habitat and get to know their habits making my photography easier. The dedication of the Weavers building their nests is incredible and photographing them is challenging but very satisfying!Editing
I use Lightroom to enhance my photo's but very little in Photoshop except if I have to remove a leaf or twig that might be uncomfortable to my eye once I have cropped the photo. I do crop a lot and realise that I am loosing a lot of information but I have to be a minimum of 3.5m away from my subject. My backgrounds are all natural and I try to stay away from "busy" backgrounds. This photo is about as busy as my backgrounds get!In my camera bag
I normally only have my camera and this one lens as this is my passion for bird and butterflies! I have a Pentax K5 with a 31mm lens for landscape and a 77mm lens for portraits!Feedback
Spend time quietly looking in the garden or park or field. Very soon you see all sorts of things that you normally miss then look closely at the bushes and grasses - you will be amazed!
