Making A Joyful Noise

An Oriental Pied Hornbill struggling to regurgitate pellets in the botanic gardens. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Sunlight was streaming through the leaves casting uneven lighting. Thankfully, the hornbill was spared.

Afternoon Snooze

A King Penguin catching forty winks in the former Jurong Bird Park. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

A stop of positive exposure compensation was used to lift the shadows of this snoozing king penguin. The camera had to be braced against a handrail as the shutter speed was a mere 1/50 second at ISO3200. Lighting was pretty dim in the air-conditioned penguin pen.

A Moment On The Pedestal

A Blue Peafowl looking for a moment like it was on top of the world in Sentosa. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

I had masked the peacock and assigned it to a layer to work on the backdrop that originally had a notice board. Unfortunately, the edge refinement on the feathers below the bench didn’t turn out very well. So the original capture of that section was instead used for the lower part of the image.

In Two Minds

A blue peafowl half wondering if it should open its train for the photographer. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Camera was held low and the screen was used to get the shot. There was a little motion blur on the head of the peacock visible at actual size but, thankfully, things seemed fine at this size.

Shouting For Joy

A Red Junglefowl crowing in the undergrowth in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

After the first time that it had shouted, it was then just a matter of pre-focussing and waiting for the moment.

A Solo Outing

A pelican presumably from the nearby zoo taking some fresh air by a reservoir. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

This was actually a 30 percent crop of the original as it was the only angle of view available and some 150 metres away from the pelican (a little over 160 yards).

It was overcast at the time and so the image had come out a little drab and desaturated. In post, saturation was increased a bit to restore the colours.

Scarlet Flight

A Scarlet Macaw homing in on fruits in the local zoo. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

Tracking could’ve been an issue with such a busy backdrop. So prefocussing was used for the shot.

Tough Renewal

A Great Hornbill trying out its repaired casque in the former Jurong Bird Park. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

This Great Hornbill had apparently lost part of its casque to disease and was retrofitted with a replica by the bird park. The original image had distracting wire mesh and dense foliage in the background. That was because I couldn’t isolate the hornbill well enough as it was a good way inside the cage. So in post, the busy background was replaced with this grey one.

Intermediate Appetite

An Intermediate Egret seeming to have an appetite for new things as it searches among the petunias. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

The egret was on elevated ground so I had only need to walk up the slope slowly towards it until the camera was level with the bird.

I preferred this view as it drew me instinctively into its world and also it gave better subject isolation from the background.

Lovey Dovey Mynahs

The official bird of Bali in the former Jurong Bird Park. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Shooting against the light, the exposure was biased brighter by just 1/3 stop but had need to be brightened further in post. The colour was also a little desaturated and had to be intensified some 40 percent.

Safe At Home

A yellow-vented bulbul watching the photographer warily as it incubates its eggs. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

We nearly missed the nest as it was very well camouflaged among climbers near the top of a trellis. This had to be taken with the camera held overhead using live view. Thankfully, the camera with me that day had an articulated screen.

The Hunt Begins

A Grey Heron gets ready to hunt as the tide recedes in the Changi river. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

The sun was beating down relentlessly and so the exposure for this one had need to be biased 2 stops darker to keep the heron from being washed-out.