Bird on twig
Photo taken at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria South Africa. Slightly denoised and cropped to reduce negative space. The yellow of the bird stands out against...
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Photo taken at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria South Africa. Slightly denoised and cropped to reduce negative space. The yellow of the bird stands out against the spring green. (BJE_8638c)
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Nov, 2016Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
People's Choice in Just 1 Bird Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
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Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Rietvlei Nature Reserve some 20 minutes drive from my house in Pretoria, South Africa.Time
The best time to capture birds is early morning or late afternoon, but it is not cast in concrete. This specific shot was taken at 9 am and the South African sun was already intense.Lighting
The harsh South African summer sun can play havoc with photos and lead to over exposure and burnout of lighter colours. One needs to compensate as best as possible.Equipment
I use my trusty Canon 7D mark II fitted with a Sigma 150-600mm (C) lens. As the photo was taken from my car I use a bean bag on the window for stability. My settings recipe are auto focus and auto ISO and AWB. I manually set the aperture (F8), shutter speed of 1/4000, metering is center weighted average and continuous shooting due to the unpredictability of birdsInspiration
I have set myself the target of capturing 500 of the almost 1 000 different bird species in Southern Africa (in the wild) as appose to serious birders who tick them off either through sight or sound. This is my way of gathering "evidence" that I actually saw the bird. Normally the first couple of images are just to provide proof and then I continue to capture them in a more portrait mode. But the first image can also be a winner. It all depends on the situation and opportunity that presents itself.Editing
I am not good at post processing so my challenge is to try and get it right in-camera. This specific image was cropped to remove about 60% of dead space and give more balance to the image. Because of this together with an ISO of 3200, I used ArcSoft MediaImpression Photo Viewer for auto de-noise. And that is it.In my camera bag
My bag is very basic and consists of my Canon 7D Mark II fitted with a Sigma 150-600mm (C) lens. This is augmented by a spare battery (fully charged of course) and 32 GB cards for in case I get "lucky" ;-)Feedback
As a self taught photographer, I spend ours reading articles and of course, study the technical detail of other VB members' images. My advice is to known your equipment's capabilities and limitations, know your subject's behaviour, envisage the image in your mind and above all; what do you want to achieve with your image? Always be prepared for the unexpected and remember that nature always has a surprise or two up its sleeve. Happy shooting.
