Male Pardalote
Jan, 2019Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
My husband and I had just moved into our new house in the country. We had only been there a week and I discovered that the spotted pardalotes were nesting in the roof of the back porch. Needless to say our renovation plans were put on hold.Time
I remember this day well. It was early morning and I had walked out the back door with a coffee in hand and sat down to think about the day ahead of me. I felt a flutter above my head, looked up and there sat this tiny little bird, chirping at me furiously as it was perched on the top of the window frame. I slowly got up and went inside to get my camera, wondering if it would still be there went I got back. Sure enough it flew back and forth above my head for about thirty minutes, all the while chirping angrily at me as if I had interrupted his morning.Lighting
With the morning light, I’ve found, is a fantastic time of day for photographing birds. The sun was only just above the horizon, creating a soft glow - not the harsh light of day.Equipment
This photo was taken with a Nikon coolpix P900 set on auto. This is quite a bulky camera and has some weight to it but the zoom is an incredible 83x wide optical zoom 4.3-357mm. Great when you’re starting out.Inspiration
Sometimes you can have a plan in your head about what you want to achieve in a photo and sometimes the world will throw an opportunity your way, this was one of those opportunities. One of those moments in life that you are grateful for. I am never without a camera.Editing
I’m still new to photography, I don’t have any expensive equipment and only have an iPad to work with but you still can achieve some great results with the basic free apps available. The only post-processing I did was to enhance the exposure and some sharpening. This was done with Snapseed.In my camera bag
When this photo was taken the only equipment I owned was my Nikon coolpix P900. I have since upgraded to a Nikon D5600. I always have three lenses in my bag. The first is the standard lens that came with the camera : an AF-P Nikkor 18-55mm. Also an AF-P Nikkor 70-300 that was included as an extra when I bought my camera. I’ve since added an AF-S Micro Nikkor 85mm. I’ve also added an extra battery. I got caught out once with a flat battery. Never again.Feedback
Photographing birds and wildlife in general is a game of patience. Once I sat up a tree for two hours just waiting for the right moment. Try to take time getting to know your subject, where they might be at a certain time of day, where they find food and water. Wait, watch and most importantly enjoy the moment.
