I'm back, and in a big way. The streaked wren babbler is rarely seen, even more rarely photographed, and still more rarely photographed this well. Man, I put my heart and soul into this one . . .
I'm at Skytree Nature Reserve in tropical Yunnan, China, just an hour's drive from the border with Laos. Many mainly Southeast Asian birds (such as this wren babbler) occur in China only around here.
I followed this individual off and on for two hours. That's right. Two hours. I followed it through the undergrowth and mud in the tropical rain forest here.
I finallly caught up with the little guy by walking into the shallow Hundred Bird Creek. When I began shooting, I realized I'd left the camera in mirror-up mode (having quickly shot a snowy-browed flycatcher minutes earlier), but I didn't switch back to continuous high, because mirror-up was working nicely. I'm surprised at how sharp even the unprocessed images turned out.
Yes, I know the BG could be less busy, but again, you need to understand the habits of this bird. It's a supreme skulker. A better BG is doable, but it was quite a project just to get shots of the entire body unobscured by leaves or branches.
Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal Length: 600 mm
Aperture: F/4
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: None
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 4000
Metering Mode: Center-Weight
Subject Distance: 10 m
Photoshoppery: Because even in the unprocessed image the babbler was so extraordinarily sharp, I was able to do more noise reduction on the bird than usually is the case. I did even more NR to the rest of the photo.
I look forward to your images from China (and the lengths you go to to get them). Delighted to see this one, and to hear of the journey to an image. It's a beautiful image, and a lovely little bird. Congratulations!
I think it's just the better sense of the whole bird. Body is nearly parallel to lens, image is equally sharp. Since I've never seen this bird, I was glad to get a more side-on view. I should also note that you are featuring all the little birds in the forest that I, for one, do not have the patience, energy, technique, or smarts to even try to photograph. It's a delight to see them.
Hi Craig, so good to see you posting again, and looking forward to so much more from you. I really like the alert pose, and you have brought out the colours and detail so well. Your persistance has paid off, and you have done well considering the surrounding conditions.