Practical Photography - UK (2020-04)

I shotthisphotohandheldin one

ofmy favouriteplacesforbirdand

wi ldlifephotography– Thalangama

Wetlandin Sri Lanka.I’ma pro

wedding and nature photographer,

but since 2014 I’ve found myself

re turning to this picturesque location regularly

as I love to photograph these beautiful blue-tailed

bee-eaters in their natural habitat.

Chris says: There’s a certain elegance to photos

that suspend the motionof fast-movingsubjects,

highlighting any intricatedetailsthatwould

otherwise be difficultto spot.Thisexpertly

constructed image doesjustthat,witha pleasing

rule-of-thirds compositioncapturingthestriking

beauty of this majesticblue-tailedbee-eater.

Mohan shot witha super-fastshutterspeed

of 1/1250sec, but eventhishasresultedin a slight

amount of motion blureffectaroundthewing

ti ps. If Mohan’s intentionwasto capturethis

sl ight sense of movement,thenhistechniqueis

flawless. If he was aimingforcompletesharpness,

an even faster shutterspeedupwardsof 1/2000sec

would have eradicatedanytraceof movement.

The use of aperture-prioritymodeatf/6.3has

al lowed Mohan to focushiseffortssquarelyon

acquiring a pixel-perfectimageof hisfeathered

fr iend, while creatingan appealingsoftfocus

effectin boththe

backgroundandforeground.

The wideapertureandrelativelyhighISOof

2000 hasresultedin a bright,vibrantimage

meaningthatpost-processinghasbeenkeptto

a minimum.DespitethehighISO,thereis little

evidenceof digitalnoisein thescene,thoughthis

issomethingthatcouldhavebeenremovedeasily

duringtheedit.

The expertly-usedsettingsandeffective

compositionworkwonderfullytogetherin

creatinga strikingwildlifephotograph.Mohan

cl earlyhasa sharpeyefordetailandan obvious

abilityto getthebestoutof hiscamera.

82 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY

TIP

KNOWYOUR

SHUTTERSPEEDS

Watchthisissue’sPractical

PhotographyLiveto learn

aboutshutterspeed

es sentials.Turnto

page6.

There’s a

certain elegance

to photos that

suspend the

motion of

fast-moving

su bjects

Feedback

Blue-tailed bee-eater

by Mohan Hathnapitiya

Our experts analyse & critique your best images.

Send them to [email protected]

Chris Parker

PP’s new deputy

editor is a

hugely talented

photographer and

tutor with a love

of landscapes

and weddings.

BenHawkins

Withover18 years

as a photographic

journalist, Ben is

an experienced

competition

judge, picture

editor and writer.

Kirk Schwarz

With over ten

years spent as a

wedding, fashion

and product

photographer,

Kirk has an eye

for finer details.