Who will love a little sparrow?
Will no one write her eulogy?
- Paul Simon
And so in typical airbrained female fashion, after all my angst over my SLR cam, I went and got myself a zoom lens and have been happily discovering the world of difference it makes to my photographs. I still know zilch about the techno aspects of the cam - still in blissfully ignorant limbo about shutter speeds, exposures, ISOs and the like. But even in auto mode, I'm just blown away by the results.
I've been specially concentrating on the sparrows that throng the Mayflower tree right by the house. Leastways, I got in a few shots on a couple of sunny days till the weather turned on its head and has been spewing waterworks endlessly over the last couple of weeks, and just about denuding the tree of its vibrant, scarlet flowers. I've discovered first hand that birds are infuriatingly difficult to shoot because they're so timid and fly away at the slightest sound or movement. Also they just won't stay still unless you catch them at special moments. I have to say I've developed a very healthy respect for birdwatchers. That kind of patience is just phenomenal.
Though I haven't exactly managed to get really, really good shots yet, these are a few that I really like, even if I do say so myself. A couple of them I was even pursuaded to send in for a local photo exhibit that started today. I was bursting with curiousity to see how good or bad they looked so I went to check after work. It felt strange seeing something you had created out in public for everyone to see and though they aren't great pictures by any means, I'm proud of my little sparrows :)
Great pics, girl. If i've said this before, i have to say it again--you are a great shot. And like you write, shooting these birdies is hard. I specially love the one on the clothesline, looking so cute and curious.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I read this cute fairy tale about how a male sparrow got spots on its chest/breast. Ka google anga ka rawn post ang.
ReplyDeleteanyway -
sparrow with spots on its chest: Male Sparrow
sparrow with no spots on its breast (tee hee hee): female sparrow.
the chirping of sparrows cheers mah poor olde heart.
love the non-tree one. and did you exhibit? *neat.
ReplyDeleteHey you are a pro now with your photos being exhibited and all. Congratulations. Great shots. I too love the one on the clothesline.
ReplyDeleteNice pics. Sparrows are very small and I think you've captured that beautifully, esp the second last pic where the bird sits on the clothesline.
ReplyDeleteHey nice pictures. You got the sparrow on the clothesline really well. Now try something with hummingbirds.
ReplyDeleteIdeally you need 300mm or 400mm lens with low f number for birds, specially in a jungle setting. That was my experience when I was running our jungle lodge. Those lens cost a bomb though. And they shake so you need a unipod or a tripod. Borrow from someone?
Also great to hear about the public exhibition. Way to go girl!
Thank you, mesjay, fed, ruolngul and aduhi!
ReplyDeleteMoss, you gender discriminator, why should male birds have chests and females birds breasts?
Et tu, Loch? Yes I know, my 250 mm lens can't quite get as close as I'd like but it's still tons better than the 55 mm kit lens! Someone loaned me a tripod but I haven't got the hang of using it yet. As for hummingbirds, sadly enough, we don't have them here.
Catch a sparrow and make it hum. You would then having a hummingsparrow which is miles cooler than just a teeny weeny plain ole hummingbird.
ReplyDeletetak taka hummingbird hi a takin ka hmu ve tawh a an cute bawn tawp tawp ni mai.
The clothesline sparrow is my fave too. Sparrows are said to be timid but this one looks anything but. Beautiful shots. Wanted to see the photo exhibition but unfortunately couldn't get the time to do so. Were they good?
ReplyDeleteThey were, ku2, you missed a great show. Best part was mine was one of the only three that were sold :))
ReplyDeleteMos, a hummingsparrow sounds like something from a very unappealing, olde-fashioned sci-fi horror of a movie.