Male Baya Weaver at work

[Atul Sinai]

Hi Guys,

I was hiding behind the bush while taking this shot. Sat there for around an hour observing this hard working male build his nest. He was busy working and was oblivious to my presence. They do work very hard.

It was very windy, he had tough time in holding tight and so did I in getting my composition right.

Took some shots in between, sharing one of them.

Canon 600D. 55-250mm
Manual Exposure
Spot metering
Shutter Speed 1/125
Aperture 9.0
ISO 400
Focal Length 250mm
Full frame
Monopod support

Regards,
Atul

[Bhargava Srivari]

Always difficult to hold the camera steady when there are winds. I like the moment you captured...the bird looks nice.

Where did the focus lock? You could have tried to shoot with a wider aperture like f7.1 or so to get a higher shutter speed :)

tfs

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice behaviour photographed. The eye contact is nice. The grass straws in its beak add to the composition. Agree a higher shutter speed would have been good. A vertical framing would have enhanced the composition further. Did you try a vertical? Thanks for sharing.

[Praveen Siddannavar]

Lovely image Atul, it is always a treat to watch these birds, the have the amazing skill in weaving. As mentioned by Mrudul vertical may also look better.
tfs

[Atul Sinai]

Thanks guys. Bhargava, focus was locked on the nest in line with the bird. As the nest along with the bird was moving around with the wind, it was really tough to focus on the eye. Hence went for narrower aperture and had to sacrifice shutter speed.

Mrudul, unfortunately did not shoot any vertical images as my camera was mounted on a monopod and it didn't strike me as I was lost observing the bird. Tried cropping this for vertical composition. It looks good but the frame is bit too tight.

Regards,
Atul

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice Action Photograph of this Breeding Male taking so much Pains partially for attacting a companion.Colour looks slightly more yellowish.I love this Bird so much.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild