Cardinal Woodpecker (486) - DSC04998
Oct, 2017Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in the Lower Sabie Rest Camp in The Kruger National park in South Africa. The nest was in a Marula tree which was about two meters from the restaurant verandah where hundreds of people had to walk past the nest all the time. This did not worry the Cardinal Woodpecker at all.Time
The photo was taken at 13H16. Being midday the human activity was very busy which did not make it easy to photograph the bird.Lighting
13H16 is not the best time of the day to photography so I used a flashEquipment
I used a Sony A57 with a Sigma 150 -500mm OS HSM Lens. the flash I used was a SonyHVL-F58am. As I did not have a Tri-Pod with me I used a bean bag which I rested on a wooden fence on the edge of the verandah. What made it very difficult was that there were so many people walking passed me and they took no notice of what I was doing and walked in front of the camera.Inspiration
About a week before I took this photo we were at the Afsaal Picnic Site in The Kruger National Park. I was taking photos of Yellow-billed Hornbills when a gentleman started talking to me and mentioned that if I go to Lower Sabie I should photograph the Cardinal Woodpecker at the restaurant, he explained where I would find it and that is what I did.Editing
Not much post-processing was done except to darken the lighter parts of the imageIn my camera bag
I have two cameras, Sony A55 Sony A57 Spare Batteries for both cameras and battery charges Sony 16-105mm Lens Sony 70-300mm lens Sigma 150-500mm lens Sigma 105 macro lens Various filters which I very seldom use Bean Bag & Tri-podFeedback
When photographing in game reserves ALWAYS respect the wildlife, do not harass them. We are visitors in their homes. When entering a Game Park, read the rules and adhere to them, never ever get out of your vehicle. You have to have a lot of patience. If you sit quietly in your vehicle you will be surprised how close animals and birds will come. If there are viewing or bird hides, visit them. The birds and animals will come to you and you will get excellent shots from a hide.
