San Elijo Lagoon is a beautiful wetland that always has at least a few species of shorebirds and ducks for bird watchers to see. On this small trail we went on, we mostly saw ducks and grebes, but we got the occasional Phoebe, Egret and raptor.
I am also learning photography at my school from my teacher, and about how different lines can create different feelings. Example, horizontal lines can give a calm feeling, vertical lines can create a feeling of strength, oblique lines give a feeling of change, and organic lines(natural curves) give a feeling of a natural movement.
The two rules of photography I learned, are the Rule of Thirds and the Rule of Odds. The Rule of Thirds is about positioning the parts of the picture. Science explains that the eye looks at the middle of the picture last. So, if the main part of the picture is not in the middle, it has a stronger effect on the viewer. Imagine putting a tic-tac-toe grid on top of a picture. If the main focus of the picture is on one of the lines or intersections of the grid, or in a space that is not the middle then it has a stronger appeal for the person viewing. If the main focus of the photograph is in the middle rectangle, then it cannot be in the middle of the middle rectangle; it can be in the corner.
The Rule of Odds is about quantity of main focuses in the photo. Science also explains that it is more appealing to the eye to have an odd number of subjects than even number. In our pictures it is better to have an odd number especially groups of three. I tried to follow that rule as much as I can. With moving subjects and so many of them, it was hard. Also, there are only a few opportunities for good shots, and some of them only have even numbers. Take the mallard duck. The pairs are monogamous; they mate for life. It is hard to separate a pair in any picture.
Let's take a look at some pictures.It was quite a cloudy day, keep that in mind!
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| At the start of the trail, I took a picture to show where we are |
This is a wonderful view of Pintails in flight. None of them are in the middle of the picture. I tried for three but got four
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| Pintails in flight |
A pair of Mallards, but luckily a pintail came in. The pintail is the one with the long tail. None are in the middle and I followed the Rule of Odds.
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| Mallard pair + Pintail |
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| A beautiful Green Wing Teal, not perfectly in the middle. |
One, Eared Grebe, kept on diving, was hard to catch. 6 ducks in the background so I accidentally followed the Rule of Odds
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| Eared Grebe |
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| One Black Phoebe, really puffy (in my opinion). Purposely off-centered. |
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| Another nice view of the lagoon |
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| An off-centered Great Egret! |
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| 'nother puffy Phoebe, this time Say's |
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| Took it for the contrast; green and brown |
All good things come to an end.
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| I think these are bones of a dead bird. |
That is really great, Sree. I'm glad you're enjoying your birding and photography! I'll show these to the photography teacher at my college and get her to comment as well:)
ReplyDeleteVidya (Chitthi? It's complicated.)
what amazing write up even excelling the pictures witnessed. True is the saying poetry excels nature.from the words even going to the photographs my mind cud imagine the sight of birds & feel the emotional stir in me.however thanks to tr, the photographs were also elegant.It is a good past-time& such mental field trips both in terms of picturs & in terms of associated write up will sure develop ur personality to its Zenith.
ReplyDeletegood luck
mythiliA.K.
Excellent! Writing, photography and bird watching! Keep going
ReplyDeleteBy the way, your other blog on flowers too is very observant. Geometry and flowers - you are on to something. check out fractals.
We have a fractal flower growing in our backyard called Romanesco broccoli.
ReplyDeleteVery nice pictures and informative writeup. You have a knack of explaining things in the most natural way. That makes your blog almost interactive!
ReplyDeleteKeep clicking and posting, Sree!
M