Birds of a feather
Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Umgeni River Bird Park in Durban, South Africa. There was a massive aviary which visitors could walk through instead of just viewing the birds through cages. The only thing was that you had to be very careful about carrying shiny stuff or any form of food stuff as it would attract too much attention from the birds!Time
This was taken late morning but the light was less than perfect as a firstly I was inside a massive aviary which was enclosed so as to protect the birds from predators and secondly, it was a cloudy day.Lighting
The lighting presented a challenge as the overcast weather and enclosure limited the natural light. Being in close contact with these mostly wild (but harmless) birds prevented me from using a flash of any kind, as using one would have been cruel and caused them stress/fear - the main rule when shooting birds and animals is to do no harm and respect their habitats.Equipment
That day I had an old Canon 350D and was using my 75-300mm lens. No flash was allowed in the enclosure and the park did not allow tripods as they clutter up the walkways.Inspiration
In this case, I chose the birds as they were almost identical and their bright coloring provided a nice warm contrast to a cool and gloomy day. Their grouping/positioning also caught my attention as it was the opposite to a photojournalist's nightmare - the dreaded 'straight stripe' grouping. I liked the diagonal line the birds and the stick they were perched on provided.Editing
Yes. The gloominess, and inability to use a flash resulted in an image which needed a few adjustments. I mostly balanced out the curves, reduced the shadows and upped the brightness and contrast. Also due to the less than ideal lighting situation, I had to shoot on a very slow shutter speed and was shooting from a bridge which was not 100% steady. People walking past caused a slight shake or shudder and I had to take a few images using different shutter speeds, ISO and aperture (1/30, f/5.6, ISO100) before I took one which I was satisfied with. For the extra stability I needed while shooting with a low shutter speed, I supported the camera on an almost out of reach railing (and twisted myself like a pretzel).In my camera bag
At the moment I have a Canon 100D, 18-55mm and a 75-300mm lenses, a speedlight, a small softbox attachment for the speedlight, a number of necessary (UV, ND and polarized) and a fun filters (my favorite is a really nifty 8-point start filter), a shutter release remote, lens cloths, a spare battery and SD cards and enough small change for emergency coffee (the coffee keeps the mommy-monster sane!). I have just enough space to fit an awesome 10-18mm lens and a 150-600mm lens, both of which are on my wishlist (yes, donations are welcome... Haha).Feedback
I tend to view my surroundings as if I am looking through a viewfinder. I spent a number of years as a journalist/photojournalist and it resulted in me always being aware of my surroundings and noticing what would make a great photo. Keep your camera in reach and pay attention to everything around you. If you notice something specific, that is probably because it is interesting or unusual which is a good enough reason to shoot it! Another thing I learned from journalism was that you can't always rely on having all the gear you need on hand. The best thing you can do is to carry the basics and improvise when you need to. Also taking time to unpack and set up equipment can cost you the shot if you are shooting in circumstances where you can't control the subject. Think fast, out of the box and use your surroundings. Rather shoot too many images that shoot a few which are rubbish. Experiment as far as possible with your settings when shooting in low light. And lastly, just have fun! (also a little yogo or gym every now and again, helps for those times you have to twist yourself into weird positions to get the perfect camera angle!)
