Thanks to an
artesian bore at the Bowra Homestead and the efforts of the volunteer
caretakers, there is water in a shallow lagoon by the Shearer’s quarters and in
the bore dam near the house. This water and some rapidly dwindling water in the
waterhole at Sawpit was the only water on Bowra when we were there. The rest of
the property was bone dry.
A few
waterbird species were resident on the water at the Homestead while we were
there including the two Yellow-billed Spoonbills featured in an earlier post,
three Black-winged Stilts(1), three Black-fronted Dotterels and one
Australasian Grebe.
Late
afternoon light, thanks to the low winter sun angle (equals more atmosphere to
filter the sunlight) and a very dry atmosphere (no water vapour to reduce the
light reaching the subjects), produced some amazingly intense colours. A
Black-winged Stilt, Black-fronted Dotterel and an Aussie Grebe all gave me an
opportunity to capture some photos that I hope demonstrate the wonderful gift
of light.
As the
birds in the following photos moved, the light from the background changed. The
complex interaction of direct, reflected and refracted light together with the
different colours and patterns of the backgrounds made for some beautiful
images.
Please click on photos
to enlarge.
Black-winged Stilt
Black-fronted Dotterel
There is
only 10 seconds between the first and last Dotterel photos below. My position
did not change – the camera panned to follow the bird as it moved to the right,
no more than 10 metres in all. The camera setting remained the same and yet the
background and light is completely different in each photo. The play of light,
both direct and reflected, has a large impact on the images captured and is an
important consideration when taking photos, especially of small moving subjects
such as birds. Light changes are far slower for landscape photos.
Australasian Grebe (non-breeding)
There is a
3 minute and 30 second interval between the first and last Grebe photos below.
I tracked the bird from a fixed position as it moved about 30 metres across the
bore dam. The bird was diving for food so I had to wait for it to surface to
get some photos. Once again the change in reflected light has had a big impact on
each image captured.
The more
time I have spent looking at birds through a camera the more I see both the
subject bird and the changing background and look to capture the best
background by either waiting for the subject to move or by moving the camera if
the subject is stationary.
Of course,
there are many other aspects of bird photography to manage, however it is easy
to overlook the subtle aspects of background and the play of light, which is
just as important as the subject when it comes to achieving an acceptable
image.
(1) Regarding the name Black-winged
Stilt I note the BirdLife Australia English Names Committee has recently
recommended adoption of the name Pied Stilt for this species and the BirdLife
Australian Working List V2.1 now uses this name. White-headed Stilt has also
been used to name this species – even though the black nape extends to the back
of the head. I am inclined to continue to use the name Black-winged Stilt for
now!
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