Here is an image of what I believe to be a juvenile Fiscal Shrike. I took this picture in the Masai Mara region of Kenya during a visit in 2010. The bird was feeding on bugs and insects but unfortunately chose to consume its catch in the dense areas of the bushes. That position made what I would describe as a “busy” image photographically, with lots of branches distracting the view of the bird.

This image was taken when the bird perched in a more open area, looking for its prey. Photographically it lacks action, but as a record image of the subject, the less cluttered background I feel helps the bird stand out.

My last blog post showed the power of light in an image. Light is always very important but that image showed, with careful use of light, how drama can be added to a photograph thereby adding interest to pictures of fairly common or easily accessible subjects.

This post shows how the point of view can also have a dramatic effect on a photograph. Had I taken this image of a Pochard when I was standing up, then it would have been very similar to thousands of other photographs, taken daily, of a duck on a local pond. By getting right down to the water level and the subjects eye level, I have created a much more intimate connection between the Pochard and the viewer. This connection I feel adds impact to the image. Without that “something extra”, this would be a very ordinary picture of a duck and I would have sent it to the recycle bin.

This weekend was for me the first weekend in 2011 with at least some light suitable for photography. I therefore decided to spend a couple of hours at a local Nature Reserve to see what was on offer.

This Great Crested Grebe has apparently only just appeared back at the reserve this week. Last year, at the same reserve, I photographed a pair of Grebes in these still waters that produced a pleasing brown shade of water that complemented the Grebes perfectly. Today I found the water was even darker so I decided to go “low key” and underexpose to produce a more dramatic image. I am sure that this will not be to everyones taste, but it is different to the “standard” image.

The image of the Grebes against a brown background is available HERE for those interested.

This has to be the most colourful bird that I have ever photographed. I am also pretty certain that every photographer has this species on their hit list when visiting Kenya.

I tried several times to get a decent image of this bird in flight, but I still haven’t got that image. I will therefore keep this species on my hit list for this years photographic trip in Kenya.