Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Birds & Elections

The sharpest photos of birds are those when the photographer has been able to get very close to the subject. That is why, most often you will see a bird photographer inching closer and closer to the bird, even at the risk of spooking the bird. Closer you are to the bird, greater the detail and clarity you will get of the bird and its subtle colors and feather patterns.

But there can be those very rare moments when you chance upon a bird - suddenly and so close to it that you wouldn’t know what to do. Particularly when the bird happens to be a large one, all that you can do is look at in wonderment and be rooted to the spot where you stand. Because if you make a move, the bird will take flight.

Recently during my trip home for casting my vote, I chanced upon the very unique and endangered bird called the Rufous-necked Hornbill (Aceros nipalensis) at a place called Batasey. I chanced upon it so suddenly and it was so close that all I could do was fire off two frames. But as you can see from the following photo, the large bird was so close that all I could do was get a head-and-shoulder of it. In an effort to get it whole in my camera frame - I backed my car but it was spooked and it flew away. But I am glad that I was able to get its head and neck details with stunning clarity.


After chasing it for years, I also finally managed to shoot my life bird called Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica). This bird is fairly abundant in my area but it forages and feeds in dark and dank places. Thus, even when you see the birds, it is very difficult to get a good picture of it since most often the light condition is so poor that you can hardly get the proper shutter speed to get a detailed and sharp photo. This time though - I got a good one as the following photo will show. Bhutan is home to about eighteen doves and pigeons - of which I consider the Emerald Dove among the prettiest.


I did not realize it that time - but now that I think about it, I suspect that my luck must have been an omen of sorts - of the election results a day later :)-

2 comments:

  1. Well, here is wishing you more such omens of luck ! Thanx for sharing the pictures. Very amazingly coloured birds.

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  2. beautiful pics of hard to capture birds .keep up the photo shoots

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