In the last couple of weeks there have been a lot of tui flying about our street. There is also a lot of kowhai trees in our area and tui visit in large numbers around this time of year. That said, most of the trees have now been well and truly picked over and only one remains with flowers intact. The one that is left is a miniature kowhai and it sits in my front garden.
Every year we get tui visiting our wee kowhai tree and every year I forget to have the window clean and ready. The tree sits in front of a large picture window and to be able to photograph the birds from a good distance I need to be inside the house sitting at the dining room table. Quite frustrating when you look at the grunge on the outside of the window and there is a bird staring at you almost grinning.
Thankfully I have a great big lens that is capable of ignoring the dirt and focusing beyond it. It leaves me with an image that is a little flat in colour but nothing an extra bit of contrast won’t fix. Being as I don’t have to be outside waiting for the birds, I can leave my camera handy and pick it up when I see a tui feasting on the kowhai flowers.
And now for the news… as many of you probably know, I am a member of the Photographic Society of New Zealand, and for the last couple of years have been serving as a Councillor for the Society. This month, our digital magazine CameraTalk did a profile on me. I was expecting a single page or two, but it ended up being a four page spread, with a cover photo and the last image. Check it out here!