Batnap.
A rather large bat takes an afternoon nap at a coffee plantation on Bali, Indonesia.
A rather large bat takes an afternoon nap at a coffee plantation on Bali, Indonesia.
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Mar, 2016Views
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hollyhaskell
June 01, 2016
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at a coffee plantation on the island of Bali, Indonesia. I had never seen a bat close up in person before, and knowing that bats seem to have a bad reputation, I was more than a little startled when I first noticed a few of these creatures randomly hanging on skinny little trees so close to the ground. And they were so huge! But they were asleep and no one else seemed concerned, so I snuck up on one and took a few pictures. This was one of my favorites.Time
My metadata says that this was taken around noon, but that is doubtful. I likely forgot to change the in-camera clock after we arrived in Bali (very important to remember to do that when you are traveling!). It is more likely to be after 4:30 in the afternoon. I really don’t think the time of day would have affected the lighting much, as the area around the welcome center was in total shade. However, time of day may have made a difference as to the sleeping habits of the bats!Lighting
The blessing and the curse of street style photography is having to work with the available light. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes not. In this case, it was a cloudy day to begin with, and the area around the bat location was crowded with coffee and other types of trees, creating a lot of blue-cast shade.Equipment
This photo was shot with a Canon 5D II using the 24-105mm f/4L kit lens. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
I guess I was so surprised that here was a bat, but not just a regular 'evil looking' bat, but a very large bat, hanging on this small tree out in the open. It was stunningly beautiful, and I knew that I had to get some pictures. I guess there was another motivating element in that I didn’t know if or when it might wake up and fly away. So, for a brief couple of minutes, it received all of my attention. It wound up still being in the same position when we left the plantation about an hour later!Editing
Nothing extraordinary – some temperature and contrast adjustments and sharpening, all in LightRoom.In my camera bag
My bag, a Tamrac backpack, usually contains a Canon 5D II with the kit 24-105mmL lens, an SL1 body, a Canon 16-35L wide angle lens, a 100-400L telephoto lens, a Canon 580EX II flash, battery chargers, extra AA batteries and CF cards and 2 or 3 WD 2TB backup drives.Feedback
My favorite style of shooting is to capture people and life 'as-is'; what I think of as street photography. Unposed, candid – raw and real, so to speak. You must always be on the lookout for those moments that speak to your heart about life around you, that ultimately become part of our collective conscience. That might be a child who reacts with a smile to her father or it could be lighting that takes something ordinary and transforms it into something unique. In this case, I stumbled upon this huge animal that was resting…nothing really special about it other than I was amazed by it. I had my camera in my hand when I came upon it…you always have to be ready. I usually like to go with my initial instincts and just start shooting - when the scene is new and mysterious; and before it turns ‘ordinary’ to me.
