Giving it another shot

[Mark Itol]

After a long hiatus from imaging our feathered friends, I decided to give it another shot last weekend at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Practically my first visit to the place, I had low expectations of getting usable photos, and I was delighted to have had my misgivings proven wrong.

Less than five minutes of entering the garden, I and a few local photographers were treated to this guy. It was on a distant perch so I had to slap a 2x TC.

Hodgon's Hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus nisicolor)
70D, 400/5.6 + 2x, 800mm, ISO 400, f/11, 1/6s, manual exposure, manual focus, tripod/gimbal, wireless shutter


From other birders, I learned the location of this fella and a pair of Orange-headed Thrushes. I took my chances and somehow got rewarded. This guy would chase off the thrushes from a fallen trunk which seemed to have become prime real estate. The lighting, or the utter lack thereof, was a complete nightmare.

Hooded Pitta (Pitta sordida)
70D, 400/5.6, ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/8s, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal, wireless shutter, denoised to kingdom come


And here's one of the pairs who received a consistent bullying from the bigger, green-colored bird above. It was so used to people and came within point-blank range that I had to back a bit.

70D, 400/5.6, ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/8s, manual exposure, tripod/gimbal, wireless shutter, denoised to kingdom come

[Bobby Kintanar]

Very nice captures, Mike! Even the first shot with the 2X converter looks great. Congrats!

[Mark Itol]

Thanks, Bobby! I was wondering whether to use the TC or to crop. While I haven't conducted proper tests, I think putting the TC will yield better results.

[Tateo Osawa]

Beautiful all perfect capture, Mark.