Many moons ago, I wrote a post on the cutest wetland couple - the seemingly inseparable male and female White-headed Marsh Tyrant. Nothing like a tyrant at all, this tiny bird is a member of the flycatcher family; so perhaps to a bee or wasp it might just be the most terrifying sight imaginable. A visit to any swampy area within Trinidad is bound to yield at least one couple of these adorable little birds. And I say one couple because once you see a male, you will see a female and vice versa.
On this occasion we spotted the female first. Her delicate appearance belies the killer's agenda as she scans...
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Back from a couple weeks away from the pc - returned to find 1,866 comments in need of moderation. 100% of which were spam. I've been on a loose photographic mission, with a couple life-changing experiences thrown in to the mix. I have been active on my recently revamped Instagram account, though - albeit with some older images from the archives.
Anyway, re-opening my account here with one of my favourite local pigeon species, and in my mind one of the most beautiful. The Pale-vented Pigeon is affectionately called Ramier (not sure about the spelling, or the correct pronunciation for that...
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Recently, while browsing one of the local bookstores here, I came upon a large, hardcover book that was apparently done as a tribute to three special valleys in Trinidad. Eye-catching and rather official-looking, I picked it up and began to leaf through the pages.
It's something I do on an on and off basis - peruse local literary products, I like to see how others see what I see. Whether it's a book on birds, cricket or waterfalls, it always leaves me with some special thoughts.
This time, though, it was different. I didn't ponder much, in fact I very quickly became angry. And still am to a certain...
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Just a loose follow-up from the last article I did - where I spoke about getting eye level with your subject and all that jazz. Now it makes little sense (usually) to lower/raise yourself to the level of your subject, only to miss out on the key ingredient in communicating the message - the eye.
Eyes are the window to the soul, as they say - and it's true for all species, humans included. Which is why it's imperative to highlight the link that will allow the viewer to look directly into the life of the subject of your image.
Working...
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It's one of the cardinal rules of wildlife photography - or any form of photography for that matter - the eye is the most important aspect of a strong image. The eye is the window to the subject's world, where the viewer can somehow by any small stretch of the imagination, put himself/herself in the shoes of the subject. The concept of being "eye level" gets introduced whenever this subject isn't a regular human, at regular human height.
Birds, being (usually) much shorter than us, require an adjustment in perspective. For those birds that are not generally found in trees - such as waterbirds...
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Life seemed to be so much simpler when I didn't know about Wood-Rails. Specifically, our resident species of Grey-cowled Wood-Rail. I wrote previously on the split that occurred within the Grey-necked Wood-Rail species - into Grey-cowled and Russet-naped Wood-Rail, both species differing in vocalization and plumage to a certain degree.
Trouble is, there are multiple official bodies that are involved in the naming of birds - and they still haven't come to a definite agreement it seems.
So although some purists (like myself) enjoy using the name "Grey-cowled Wood-Rail"; if you refer to this...
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Every time I'm out in the field, I see these birds and see them being ignored. Everyone likes the bold, the flashy and the extravagant. I'm also guilty of this, by the way. So many times I've just checked "House Wren" off on a list and moved on with my life. But the aural landscape will miss one of its main ingredients, should "Housey" go missing one day. Many of us would be familiar with its song, as it is a bird that has adapted wonderfully to human encroachment. In fact, I have a family right now in the terminal box for an air conditioning unit.
Somewhat...
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With the recent backlash in the wake of the Trinidad and Tobago edition of "Parts Unknown" - I think we all should be reminded of the bigger picture. Yes, the most important always seems to tie in with our perspective, but that is what it is. Perspective. And that's all it will ever be. Some of it may have some merit, some may not. The funny thing about truth (apart from the fact that it hurts) is that there can be many subtle "truths" - it's all dependent upon one's plane of existence.
I'm fortunate to be involved in nature - which brings me in contact with many different people from many different...
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I wish I had a dollar for every time someone made that joke about the kinds of birds I go looking for. It's one of those jokes that probably was funny under a certain circumstance, once, eons ago. It's not offensive or anything (to me at least, I can't speak for any avian glares that may ensue), but it's like that Hispanic buddy named Jesus who's constantly given bottles of water with the expectation that they'd suddenly change chemical composition.
Anyway, in writing yesterday's post I realized how many female hummingbirds I ended up photographing. Today I'm still stuck on females - but we're...
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Around seven years ago, when I was just getting into bird photography, I found the work of Dr. Theo Ferguson on Flickr - my preferred medium at the time. Prior to this, I had no idea that anyone locally was involved in this artform. I contacted him, and he very graciously agreed to meet with me to discuss my dreams and aspirations.
I remember entering his office, adorned with large-format, exquisite images of birds I had never seen before. He told me the story of photographing a flock of American Flamingos on the west coast a few years earlier. I was in complete awe. He asked about what gear...
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