Flamingo
I spotted this flamingo at the Nashville Zoo with his head tucked under his wing. I waited a few minutes and when his eye opened I took this shot....
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I spotted this flamingo at the Nashville Zoo with his head tucked under his wing. I waited a few minutes and when his eye opened I took this shot.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
When I was a novice, I took a 2-hour photography lesson at the Nashville Zoo with the official zoo photographer, Aimee Stubbs. Part of the lesson was a walk through the zoo, photographing the various animals. When we arrived at the flamingo exhibit, I saw this one particular flamingo with its beak tucked under its wing, asleep. I zoomed into its face and waited. Thankfully, it wasn't too long a wait for it to open its eye, and I managed to get the shot. This is one of my favorite captures.Time
This was a morning shot, about 8:30 am on a beautiful summer day. The birds were just getting active when we arrived at their pool.Lighting
There were lots of shadows from the surrounding trees, which helped with isolating my subject. I used Lightroom to enhance the background shadows.Equipment
This photo was taken when I still used a "bridge" camera, the Olympus SP570UZ. This camera has a fixed lens but gives you the ability to change modes like in a real DSLR.Inspiration
The flamingos are a great bird to shoot. They congregate together and you will see them in all sorts of positions. While waiting for this shot to happen, I missed getting a pair facing each other in a way that their necks and heads formed a heart. But I chose not to be distracted away from what I wanted to shoot. Luckily for me, I was able to get the shot I wanted.Editing
I used Adobe Lightroom to enhance bring up the shadows in the background as well as bring up the saturation levels on the flamingo's feathers.In my camera bag
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EFS 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, Canon EOS 80D camera.Feedback
When you're dealing with animals as the subject matter, patience is the key. I can go to the zoo many times and just never get the right shot. It's all dependent on what the animals are doing and what time of day it is. Mornings are the best time. In the morning the animals tend to be more active. Once the day gets warm, the chances of getting a good shot diminish as the animals go into their preferred areas and sleep.
