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| Sri Lankan Jungle Fowl, Sinharaja Biosphere Reserve |
No, this is not a chicken, although you can be forgiven for thinking
it looks like one. In fact, it is a wild Sri Lanka Junglefowl, a close
relative of the Indian bird that was domesticated into the Colonel
Sanders variety thousands of years ago. These bizarre, familiar
birds are common in the forests of Sri Lanka – and face it, if they
didn’t look like chickens, we’d think they were among the most
spectacular birds in the world. Sadly, it is their fate to be ignored.
it looks like one. In fact, it is a wild Sri Lanka Junglefowl, a close
relative of the Indian bird that was domesticated into the Colonel
Sanders variety thousands of years ago. These bizarre, familiar
birds are common in the forests of Sri Lanka – and face it, if they
didn’t look like chickens, we’d think they were among the most
spectacular birds in the world. Sadly, it is their fate to be ignored.
The Jungle Fowl is not a rare bird; to be honest, it is probably the
most obvious and ever-present bird in the forests here. But I was
lucky to find one that allowed me to get close, making possible this
motion-portrait of him racing through the rainforest. It is a classic
blur pan situation, with a long exposure and and fill-flash combination
that lets the background blur, but stops the action of the subject.
To make it work, I had to lay on the ground and shoot a mess of
seat-of-the-pants exposures trying to get what I wanted. Many were
out of focus, or missing the bird itself, but in the end I got a handful
which capture the extravagant colors, and motion, of this wild-looking
bird. What the picture doesn’t show is the host of leeches that took
advantage of my prone position to crawl up my body and feast on
my blood. I was pinching them off of me for hours after this little
exercise…
most obvious and ever-present bird in the forests here. But I was
lucky to find one that allowed me to get close, making possible this
motion-portrait of him racing through the rainforest. It is a classic
blur pan situation, with a long exposure and and fill-flash combination
that lets the background blur, but stops the action of the subject.
To make it work, I had to lay on the ground and shoot a mess of
seat-of-the-pants exposures trying to get what I wanted. Many were
out of focus, or missing the bird itself, but in the end I got a handful
which capture the extravagant colors, and motion, of this wild-looking
bird. What the picture doesn’t show is the host of leeches that took
advantage of my prone position to crawl up my body and feast on
my blood. I was pinching them off of me for hours after this little
exercise…
More soon; I'm still on my way home.
Serious editing starts tomorrow.
Serious editing starts tomorrow.
Nikon D3, 17-35mm lens
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