So its the raining season and one of the most difficult time to do this project – wet, poor lighting and…mmm the lightning! but still this is also when the birds come out to play especially after the rain – here in this area where you can find acres of grass field and as much as 5ft tall. Loads of wild life right inside the grass fields – insects, snakes, frogs yeah and birds! particularly the ‘Yellow Bellied Prinia’ aka YbP.

It wasn’t so difficult to spot the YbP, she loves to sing and her melodies are really something to enjoy. We have this wonderful system given from God – that is the ‘eyes – so beautifully created we can spot pratically anything so when the YbP sneaks out from the maze of reeds or sedges we’ll spot it…yeah!

Still this small beauti is illusive – she will dart right into or fly above the grass fields from any slightest movement from me. So i’ve to be camouflage and mostly be a still ‘mime – artist’ which i’ve quite acustom to maybe even master it…wow! again YbP she is illusive and i need to lure her out: these grass fields have a slight uneven top and there is always taller grass stalk – thats where i want the YbP to be. You can find a fitting one with a good colour Bg…yeah! Now comes the lure: YbP calls, i got it using a recorded calls. Camera settings for BiF – yeah! Again i must say its always not succesfull…luring her that is…

Oh yes…. what about the ‘Lesser Coucal? well one at a time bro…one at a time!

To be continue….

Thanks for reading ~ Novice at Work

My custom setup : made up of a two man tent and a camo net. This is the birds migrant season and lots of: curlews, redshank, sandpiper, plover….etc

and they gathered here in SG every year ending - onwards till early next year. I’ve observed this area since last year and these, waders, migrant gather at this particular place - it has two ponds with the dike in between and the surrounding eadge of the ponds are thick vegetation and mangrove swamps. The raining season comes at this time too usually the sea water tide will flood the ponds and drain it when low tide. Perfect for the birds to feed..yeah!…..

I notice that when it rain the birds will gather onto the dike. It is here that the birds really express themselves i guess the rain has an affect on them. They play with each other, groom, chase…etc – its difficult for me to get close, not much cover for me and thats where my comes in..yeah! I setup the hide at the position i need for my photography – i want to first get up close and capture the birds natural expression at play also i get a good position of the BG. I want a good play on the – i have the water, land sand, wood and the forest. Greenery that is any trees or whole vegetation. Remembering that these bird are not passerine, i might need to arrange the scenario a bit – by arranging drift wood or broken tree trunks on the ground, to give the birds a little lift, this will expose them to a wider BG. I am shooting from ground level just as the birds are: landing, running, leaping…etc

The camo~hide provide me the position i need to do the above, so setup the hide and left it there for a week before i start my ‘project’. A week, i guess, will provide enough time for the birds and animals to get comfortable with the present of the hide – which it did but i realize later that the surrounding of the hide is open no coverage for me to enter without being spotted…arrrh! So i’ve to ‘leopard crawl’ my way into the hide..lolz it didn’t work the birds spot me long before…lolz

Well next best thing is to wait for the rain..yeah! from my observation: when i am in the hide during the rain and high tide the birds will congregate onto the dike and will later forget that i am in the hide…yippy – again the problem will be the rain, the tide, the time its going to stop raining!…again arrrh!

Still i was able to observe and photo-video them – got some surprises too and sadly its really a surprise that means not picture or video: otters, black capped kingfisher, the largest boar, passerine birds i don’t know the names…lolz ~

Yeah during my time observing the place i notice this lone ‘Heron’ – i am not sure if its the ‘white bellied’ or the ‘greater billed heron’ he is always there and some how we became buddies, thought we didn’t intro personally but hey buddies all the way till now..lolz and surprise! he came right up to my camo~hide and i got some good shots of him, him being so close i can only photograph his head…lolz what a Beautiful Day!

Look at his eyes below….oh  yah! his fleas too..lolz. This picture was taken with the sky as BG – still raining.

This is my first time using a hide in the rain and with all the factors surrounding the project i hope to do better especially the photography and videography – the subject , well thats another thing…just hope for the best yeah.

So the ‘camo~hide’ will be left there till the migrants leave once more and i will continue to better my techniques, observe better – how to better prepare such an event…

to be continue

Thanks for reading ~ Novic at work

Its nice to be colourful isn’t it…yeah! well the reason for the colourful banner is this bird ‘Grey Heron’ – when he perch he’s so plain like a skinny boring bird. But when he is in action expressing his whatever you will see the beauty – his head crest pops out like a crown with his large wing, his feather waving with the wind like a silk gown and his colour seem to be radiant….mmmm

couple months old chick with inmature crowns…cute

This work was done early this year and i was using Nikon D200 + Sigma 150-500 lens. Its breeding season then and i was having a wonderful time observing them – again time is always not on my side i never did photo the parents coming back with food. I waited and waited but no show….how come?

this parent looks after the chicks she goes off and on to bring back water under her belly – water the chicks…

looks like next round i need to camp out yah! this time it will be done with canon gear and HD video video documenting this bird is really difficult especially when you need expression otherwise its hours of stills – expression when food is being brought to them and when they are about to fledge. So its a pretty short film – i then added my so call ‘making of the grey heron’…lolz

Title: Searching for the Grey Heron – ‘The spot & setup’

I was able to find the right spot closes to the nest (as required full cover & hide) and got shots of the chicks but the surrounding is not adviseable its under the  nesting tree…wooow! ouch! ouch!

week old chicks

video: Searching for the Grey Heron – ‘parenting & chicks’ Pt II

again next roung early next year, if i get my 5d2 – i will redo all my work into

(with permission from Bro Romy)….oh yeah!

Thank you for reading ~ Novice at Work

]]> http://www.sheewai.com/2009/11/03/486/feed/ 0 http://www.sheewai.com/2009/11/02/438/ http://www.sheewai.com/2009/11/02/438/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:22:36 +0000 sheewai http://www.sheewai.com/?p=438

these things happen: the last encounter with the lapwings nesting site, i guessed the time of the hatching and i was ’spot on’ – on that day my camcorder was send for service…how timely can that be arrrr! Though i was able to take some pictures worse after comparing with the pictures of the pacific swallows it was confirm lens problem. As you can see from the pictures taken – what a day! So pardon the unsharp pictures still do enjoy the videos edited – lens send to csc.

The lapwing’s chicks once hatch minute or so they will be up on their feet and looking for the parents. Looking around their nest nesting area you find no sign of a bird nest – no eggs shell or feather. The parent lapwings will remove any remain of their chicks.

not sharp..not sharp!

The above works that i’ve done is a learning, observing..etc process for me as for all the past work too – when i upgrade i will be back with…HD and better technic! yay! lookout for my coming blog on ‘migrating to HD’.

Thank you for reading ~ Novice at Work

Yay! this is the time – the time when you know that this hobby is it! when you first started lots of equipment fill your mind, what to know, to get, to do? and all these cost you big bucks – yup big ‘Sing’ dollar for me that is! Fortunately it wasn’t that costly spend by me because i read the reviews, make the plan and look for cost effective buying…lolz second hand stuff – used, throw aways…

Don’t throw yourself into the pit of buying just because it: complement or its ‘all-rounder’ equipment - i look for what fits me, my style, my requirements. But still remember you do fall down once awhile, wrong stuff, dont fit, better model…etc ok i guess we all learn one way or another and mine is that…yeah!

So my hobby or rather hobbies: photography & videography (I’m still a novice) now i am sure for sure this is it – foreverrrr! well..emmh till i can’t carry my equipment(going pass big 50) i know now what style i like to do and that gives me the equipment required to do the job – not this or that or lets try but the exact equipment…at last!

Photography: people faces, landscape, wild life, action, art

videography: people journal, wild life

Right, remembering that the above digital works require processing: PP & editing and this softwares require solid hardware…well solid so as you won’t need to upgrade and you want smooth work flow – yeah thats what you want believe me!

photography: there are lots of used equipment out there sometimes newly used, now thats a plus! The canon 1DMK III + 5DMK II: its really exciting finding out what i can do with the 5d2: reason to go FF! and its got HD video w..i..t…h the new firmware 24p & 25p coming out early next year. This camera, thought i dont have it yet the reviews are stuning! HD videos i particularly like ‘Philip Bloom’ go thru his reviews on everything :  ,  and of course the

The 1d3 gives me the speed i need and it is a… camera!

when i’m out in the forest shooting i consentrate too much on my subjects and i need camera that can handle me…lots of bruises but still going strong…yeah..hip hip 1d3! what about the 5d2 you’ll ask…mmm well  or  the fella: i’ve got to make it into a ‘hardcore wear & tear’ body..lolz!

To be continue…Pt II coming soon

Thank you for reading ~ Novice at Work

In early Aug. 2009..while waiting for the  chicks to hatch I went looking for the My work is tocapture their expression: movement.  The bird  or  (bird in flight) also the landing and take off. Its really difficult for this two birds, especially for a novice like me but not impossible. What a trip on my work – you really need to observe the birds in order to get what you want, for ’swallow’ its out in the open and it took me four ‘outings’ to finally come to this: a young thin tree , with a wide green BG.  Where the swallow will land perch on the branch -

everytime same tree…same branch! under the sun no shade! Worse the thin tree with the thin branch and moving with the wind…wow! how the AF of my 1d3? difficult but with another two ’outings’ of practise shooting I got it! but hey.. not sharp! not sharp…whats happening!…aiya and BG not green enough - caught some of  the sky high light …lolz!

Thank you for reading ~ Novice at Work

Thank you for reading ~ Novice at Work

Thank you for reading ~ Novice at Work

What are the chances of spotting an ‘endanger species’ pitta megarhyncha- the SG resident mangrove pitta! that day was actually plan for my ‘photography learning lesson’, I’ve migrated to canon and i love it – well so far! so planing to learn the canon system by photographing flight birds like the grey heron, pipits or sandpipers if any. Out in the open day light also in the forest low light good way to learn the EV on canon system: OK so there were mangroves around where i am heading and the call just rang out ‘wieuw-wieuw’..recorded by Craig Robson. it was loud and
continuous, you don’t get continuous call so near to you in the forest – mostly after short calls the bird will fly off noticing you are around them! Surprisingly i remember that call – don’t know why but i did yippee!

There is no excuse for this shot it could should have been sharper, tech sharper! But I’ve – I’m learning…lolz. so is the video, I don’t have much space to move and i don’t want to frighten the bird I guess what i did – moving slowly like a tortoise, the pitta thinking I’m just another animal or a moving tree (I’m camo dressed) it worked! Better i counted 6 pittas and this time some were displaying mating dance. I believe I wont have this moment again…or will I?