Miko
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Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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Stunning photography! And thanks for the great introduction, too! It almost feels like synchronized swimming. 😂 This is also one of those moments where still images can tell an even more captivating story than a video.
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At a café with many hummingbird feeders, after taking lots of photos with regular lighting, I decided to try capturing some silhouette shots of the birds, and I was really happy with this one! For the gray-breasted sabrewing on the right, the light not only illuminates its profile but also lights up its eye! (It may not be clear in the uploaded image—I might need further editing ) To me, it looks almost magical.
My bridge camera can't really capture birds sharply when they're not close enough and well-lit, but it still brings me a lot of joy by capturing their habitats and showcasing their fun behaviors at the same time. The parrots were so amusing as they went in and out of their nests. I also like how the tropical leaves in the foreground make the composition more interesting.
Pan blur will be my next exercise! I haven't got a chance but it is definitely worthing trying. -
During a recent trip to Peru, our guide spotted this great potoo mother and chick "hiding" and sleeping on a bare branch, perfectly camouflaged. In the photo, I positioned them in the lower third of the frame to leave some negative space at the top. I really love how the branches with dead leaves circle around the two, almost forming a heart shape.
For this greater coucal image that I took earlier in Southern China, the leaves were quite messy, and the bird's eyes were not sharply focused. It's by no means a decent of bird photography, but I really enjoyed the coucal's interesting wing-spreading gesture. So, I decided to place it right in the center and crop the image square to emphasize its posture and remove as many distractions as possible.
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It was really fun to experiment with the various techniques, though some are more efficient yet some are more time-consuming. I also had to be patient with the process observing the structure of each object. It was also quite rewarding after trying the techniques for different kinds of objects, and learn more about they are formed ! (For my exercise, some are physical objects, some are photos I found online.)
One thing I found not always easy was to select the "right" technique to represent a texture realistically — especially hard for the peaches with the tiny fuzz.
Also, sometimes I got lost in the drawing process, and overlooked the general light and shade! This happened for the cloud...After all, scribbling was so indulging...
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1. I just drew a simple sketch, for I only have a thick 6B pencil at the moment, and I am not confident of using colors to be honest. Drawing from the photo provides more time observing and drawing, no pressure on quick sketching or remembering the details. On the other hand, it captures more details than my eyes, which makes me hesitating on what to keep and what to leave. 2. From observing the photo, I pay more attention to the tiny details that give the bird its overall feel. For example, I realize the soft, blurry streak on its breast is made up by the fluff; and the folded flight feather are straight and solid, composing the clear stripes on the back. The exercise also make me realize that I need to find my ways to express those feelings, and find my strategies to decide on what details to keep and what not to. I think this actually inform me more about the birds, and help me with future nature journaling.
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1. I'm inspired by the beautiful natural journals I saw on social media. And Liz's Galapagos journal really touches me! 2. & 3. I like the collection of sightings for a month! I enjoy watching my feathered neighbors and visitors throughout the year, and had the impulse to draw illustrations of them in their habitats in each season. So this monthly journal really resonates. And the four-season drawings is what I'd like to share.
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I just bought a bridge camera (SONY RX10 IV) for documentation and identification. I have just been birding for a year, and still pretty much enjoy observing bird behaviors and discovery of new species. Though taking high quality images is appealing to me, too, I realized birdwatching and bird photography requires quite different strategies. So at the moment I still prefer simply watching than taking photos, but it's still satisfying to get some nice shots during birdwatching. Recently I found it can take pretty amazing photos in great lighting conditions, and when the bird cooperates. I will first fully exploit the budget camera I have now, to understand its limits and try to realize its full potential.
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It was a nice cloudy afternoon right before sunset, my birding buddy and I decided to go to our regular birdwatching spot near home, hoping that we may see the white-throat kingfisher again. We saw its dazzling blue back swept by for three times last week, but never got a chance to see it in detail, let alone taking any shots. However, once we got there, we knew we were sure to be disappointed because the tide was too low. It's nice afternoon to see wading birds. Herons and egrets were in a distance, waiting for prey patiently. So we quickly gave up after a quick scanning, and looking for other birds. Though we didn't see much birds of interests, there were several surprises from our regular neighbors. A male plaintive cuckoo was perching on a bare branch, singing pre-song. Though we hear this species singing every day since spring, we only saw one once. Today's encounter might be a juvenile? There are tens of house swifts hovering above the mangroves, they are not-so-regular visitors in this area! We also saw a mysterious brown bird... Merlin and another software says it's a light-vented bulbul, while it is 90% is one of the most common birds here according to the profile and some features, but its color marks is so different than the typical look! Perhaps some sort of mutated one? It was pretty late and the lighting was not good. So I only got some blurry images. There are for record only :P
At a café with many hummingbird feeders, after taking lots of photos with regular lighting, I decided to try capturing some silhouette shots of the birds, and I was really happy with this one! For the gray-breasted sabrewing on the right, the light not only illuminates its profile but also lights up its eye! (It may not be clear in the uploaded image—I might need further editing ) To me, it looks almost magical.
My bridge camera can't really capture birds sharply when they're not close enough and well-lit, but it still brings me a lot of joy by capturing their habitats and showcasing their fun behaviors at the same time. The parrots were so amusing as they went in and out of their nests. I also like how the tropical leaves in the foreground make the composition more interesting.
Pan blur will be my next exercise! I haven't got a chance but it is definitely worthing trying. 
During a recent trip to Peru, our guide spotted this great potoo mother and chick "hiding" and sleeping on a bare branch, perfectly camouflaged. In the photo, I positioned them in the lower third of the frame to leave some negative space at the top. I really love how the branches with dead leaves circle around the two, almost forming a heart shape.
For this greater coucal image that I took earlier in Southern China, the leaves were quite messy, and the bird's eyes were not sharply focused. It's by no means a decent of bird photography, but I really enjoyed the coucal's interesting wing-spreading gesture. So, I decided to place it right in the center and crop the image square to emphasize its posture and remove as many distractions as possible. 
It was really fun to experiment with the various techniques, though some are more efficient yet some are more time-consuming. I also had to be patient with the process observing the structure of each object. It was also quite rewarding after trying the techniques for different kinds of objects, and learn more about they are formed ! (For my exercise, some are physical objects, some are photos I found online.)
One thing I found not always easy was to select the "right" technique to represent a texture realistically — especially hard for the peaches with the tiny fuzz.
Also, sometimes I got lost in the drawing process, and overlooked the general light and shade! This happened for the cloud...After all, scribbling was so indulging... 
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)