Got this Brahminy Kite at mid-day over the fishponds of Binmaley, Pangasinan some time ago. Shooting in RAW helped me mitigate the exposure nightmare - white head/neck, dark underparts and harsh noon sun.

1DM2 + 400 5.6L

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/55188591.jpg

Regards,

Romy

Beautiful!!

Catching this birdie in sharp focus is already a challenge on it's own... And exposure is another horror as well... Indeed, you deserve your title Bro.! :) Itaas mo bandila natin... :D

sir romy, thanks for showing us this....its a damn gorgeous bird... excellently captured.

WOW! Amazing! :) so sharp ...

Gleng-gleng!

Great capture Romy. Backlighted, juxtapose underwing contrast, and white head, this one surely rocks. Btw, was this better beamered or shadow pp, to bring out the details, just curious.

Great capture Romy. Backlighted, juxtapose underwing contrast, and white head, this one surely rocks. Btw, was this better beamered or shadow pp, to bring out the details, just curious.


Thanks, everybody....:)

Reyno, I didn't use flash but exposed to the right (manual mode) as far as possible.

I converted the RAW file twice in ACR - one for the highlights and the second one for the shadows. I blended the two conversions (16-bit TIFFs) in CS2 via layer mask, then processed it further (levels, contrast, USM, etc.). Had I shot in jpeg (as I did in my first two years of birding), the highlight detail would've been lost....:)

Romy

hanep.... tough to beat yan sir..

romy that is superbly shot. looks like a perfect raptor shot to me, by the way i dint even realize we had birds like that in the country

You nailed it there Romy. Didn't know there were quite exotic birds in that part of Pangasinan.

Wow that's a beautiful bird! Very nice capture, Romy! :)

Romy!!! :) Its beautiful! :Grin: What a great shot!

I nearly missed this thread. Buti na lang nagpost di Marton at nasa taas ulit ng Today's Posts. Hehehe! :D

Anyway, this is one hell of a shot Boss Romy! You nailed the focus and exposure perfectly! Galing! You really deserve to be recognized as the top philippine bird photographer! :)

Thanks again, guys..... BTW, this raptor is called Lawin in Tagalog and Kali in Ilocano.....:)

Here's the "story" of this accidental sortie:

These birds stole my hot lunch....

I motored along northwestern Luzon's scenic highway en route to La Union province from Subic last January 20, 2006. This was not a birding sortie, but rather a long trip for a series of business meetings.

Lunch time found me at the town of Binmaley, Pangasinan - an area where fishponds abound. I stopped at one of my favorite roadside eateries where the best grilled catfish on this planet is served. I ordered a big, plump whiskered one and sat by my table, waiting and salivating over the prospect of pampering my taste buds with the unique flavor and texture of freshly-caught catfish grilled over hot coals to golden perfection.

As my eyes instinctively scanned the fishponds around the eatery, my attention was caught by a group of Brahminy Kites (5 individuals) dive-bombing small fish not so far away! Wow.... even when I'm not supposed to bird, my feathered friends wouldn't just leave me alone.

I rushed to my car, took out my flight combo, and had my closest flight encounter ever with this raptor. A one gigabyte CF card was promptly filled up with hot photos in minutes. But, needless to say, I ate cold, grilled catfish that day...:D


And here's one more pic for the road, same sortie, same combo:

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/55147995.jpg


Romy

Sighhhhh those raptors are "KAKABIGHANI" !!! Iba talaga pag magaling yung kumukuha !!! The beauty of those birds can't be denied. Pag ako kumukuha ng pictures ng Brahminy Kites, bakit kaya mukha silang manok lahat :Grin:

Galing Romy !!! Galing is an understatement pero what the heck, at least you know I am in awe with the beauty of these photos :)

Wow :) More please! :)

hi romy,

actually went through your site. pretty impressive. if i may ask you a "stupid" question, what's the fascination with birding from your perspective? what draws you to shoot these flighty creatures? i'm impressed at the commitment level of birders, hence the question as it is a tough subject to really get into.

raul

wow, just wow.....nothng else to say.....

Thanks, Tina, Marton, Raul and Christopher....:)

Raul, that's actually a tough question to answer.... let me give it my best shot in as few sentences as possible.

Some people get their kicks in golf, others in making piles of money, and many in other forms of hobbies.

We birders enjoy the preparation, the planning, the travel, the seeing the beauty of the Philippine countryside, the search and capture, the processing, and the sharing.

We are not much different from hunters, but we shoot under tougher conditions (good light, nice pose, clean BG, etc.), and leave the subject unharmed, to breed and to be photographed again in another day.

So for me, the prime motivation is I find wild bird photography more challenging and gratifying than most hobbies I've tried. That Philippine birds are not well documented yet is a bonus - our amateurish shots are welcome by the local and international birding community as real contributions to Philippine ornithology.

Because so few of our local shooters get into the genre, it's one area of photography where a novice can make his/her mark in a short time. I'm sure other birders in the board (Tina, Reyno, Gil, TJ and others) can put it better than I can....:)

Romy



hi romy,

actually went through your site. pretty impressive. if i may ask you a "stupid" question, what's the fascination with birding from your perspective? what draws you to shoot these flighty creatures? i'm impressed at the commitment level of birders, hence the question as it is a tough subject to really get into.

raul

Looks like the first post was a teaser, now here's comes to bomb...great capture as always Romy. Keep em coming please.

We are not much different from hunters, but we shoot under tougher conditions (good light, nice pose, clean BG, etc.), and leave the subject unharmed, to breed and to be photographed again in another day.
So for me, the prime motivation is I find wild bird photography more challenging and gratifying than most hobbies I've tried. That Philippine birds are not well documented yet is a bonus - our amateurish shots are welcome by the local and international birding community as real contributions to Philippine ornithology.
Because so few of our local shooters get into the genre, it's one area of photography where a novice can make his/her mark in a short time. I'm sure other birders in the board (Tina, Reyno, Gil, TJ and others) can put it better than I can....:)

I second that!!!

I just like to see the pretty result and not to remember the post processing since I am basically 100% jpg only :~). Inspiring shots.

I share your sentiments on the whys of photobirding. It is one thing to appreciate nature and another thing to get a capture of those moments. Nature is the earth's soul and admiring/respecting it is akin to having spiritual awakening.

cheers,
gil

wow anlake naman ng bird mo. glad to know napili nila magmigrate sa pinas.

wow anlake naman ng bird mo. glad to know napili nila magmigrate sa pinas.

Thanks, Reyno, Gil and Derek....:)

Derek, the Brahminy Kite is actually a resident in our islands (they live and breed here). Here's a couple of migrant raptors...:)

Chinese Goshawk at Subic rainforest, 350D + Sigmonster + 2x TC, 1600 mm

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/50833466.jpg


Pied Harrier at Candaba wetlands, 350D + Sigmonster, 800 mm (dual status - migrant/resident)

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/52762160.jpg


Romy

Great captures and excellent timing on the Pied Harrier and a nicely posed Chinese Goshawk. Well done Romy.