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JohnLim

Having a bath.

The Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) having a quick bath in my garden.

The Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) having a quick bath in my garden.
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SONY ILCE-7R

upload_date

Feb, 2017

Views

103

Likes

+10

Awards

Winner in Bird's bath time Photo Challenge

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Magnificent Capture

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Behind The Lens

Location

This picture was taken at my home where we have a small swimming pool with a skirting on which birds love to stand to dip into the water and bath themselves.

Time

It's usually in the early afternoon between 1 pm to 2 pm or later part of the day, around 5 pm to 6 pm that the birds come down on the skirting.

Lighting

There's full sunlight on the skirting. The light may vary with cloud cover and this means resetting your exposure before shooting any frames.

Equipment

I used my Sony A7R with a Tamron 150-600mm lens. Rested the lens on a bean bag over my window's ledge. The ISO is set to between 250 to 500 and the lens at f/6.3. Shutter speeds between 1/800 to 1/1000 to freeze the action.

Inspiration

It's almost a daily occurrence seeing these birds bathing and enjoying themselves. I've taken many pictures of them, but thought that this time round, I would try catching them 'in action' so to speak, dipping in the water. There are several varieties of birds that come down in flocks or in pairs to bath each time.

Editing

I shoot in RAW so some post-processing is necessary. I mostly adjust the sharpness, definition and saturation. Sometimes the contrast needs to be adjusted.

In my camera bag

When I go out, my bag has the usual lens cloth, puffer to blow dust off, extension rings and an extra camera battery. I do carry polarising filters depending upon what I intend to shoot.

Feedback

Birds pictures are very common. People like to 'capture' them whether standing still, in flight or feeding, etc. In order to be different, one has to be a little more patient to watch them and to catch them doing interesting things. It's like knowing your subjects in order to get the best out of them. I find that many times I miss a particular shot because of the time lag in looking at the scene and pressing the shutter. So very often, it comes down to anticipating their action, their next move, to get the shot you want. I shoot in multiple frames, or set the shutter to continuous shooting so that you are more likely to capture that shot. Above all, it calls for patience... and lots of this!

See more amazing photos, follow JohnLim

JohnLim

JohnLim

Having a bath.

The Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) having a quick bath in my garden.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow JohnLim

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