Late feed-back of the weekend on the farm. I find regularly visiting the same place stunts one’s artistic or photographic abilities. You see the same things, birds, trees etc and start missing the photos. I’m fortunate to spend most weekends on the farm and I run out of ideas. Fortunately nature is constantly changing. Last weekend I took a walk into the bush with serious intent, looking for something new to capture. In the middle of an old cultivated field – in the process of rehabilitation – I discovered Southern Milkweed or Monarch Butterflies (Danaus chrysippus orientis) feeding on Scottish Thistle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_thistle ). I had great light to work with not 12:00 harshness, just enough to illuminate the butterfly. The open field offered clear uncluttered backgrounds especially if one changed the angle of view to a horizontal one. This also gives better control over the depth of field.
Camera Model Canon EOS 1000D; Shooting Date/Time 20/3/2010 08:42:08 AM; Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE; Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/500 ;Av( Aperture Value ) f11.0; Metering Mode Center-Weighted Average Metering; Exposure Compensation 0; ISO Speed 400; Lens EF300mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x; Focal Length 420.0mm
The bonus for the weekend was spotting 6 new birds for the farm amongst which 4 were new ones on my list. The best was the Little Sparrowhawk Accipiter minullus unfortunately the photo quality wasn’t great, but good enough to identify the bird. The season is changing and with it will come new birds and some birds will depart for their summer breeding grounds in the Northern hemisphere or warmers parts of Southern Africa.
