Friday, February 11, 2011

Birdwatching in Japan (Photo) I Got My Hands Full

Obviously I didn't take this picture because that'd be me sitting alongside the Okukubi River in Okinawa, Japan with my hands full.

This photo was taken by my sidekick, Rusty and I had no idea he was sneaking up behind me to snap the picture with his cell phone camera or I would have fixed my hair, smiled, or maybe stuck my tongue out at him.

We're not exactly what you'd call professional birdwatchers but, we try to shoot some professional-looking pictures of birds in the wild.

Part of being successful at wildlife photography is patience and another part is knowing the habits of the critters you want to shoot.

We know the area in front of the cameras is a spot where an osprey dives and comes up with some good sized fish. It's just a matter of being there and having the right settings on the camera when the split second event takes place.

You can spend hours getting your outdoor studio set up to catch a shot of wildlife in action and waiting for your guests to make an appearance. And, sometimes nobody shows up.

The minute you decide to move on to another location or walk away from your camera to take a break a freakin' osprey will hit the water with the speed of lightning, grab a humongous fish dinner and leave you cussing for moving away from your position.

Well, nature called and Rusty had to go drain his radiator, or something. I figured maybe instead of us doing birdwatching and not seeing any birds, maybe it was the other way around; the birds were watching us.

An osprey could have been up in the pines and seen Rusty leave his camera. If the bird figured he could make a dive and grab a fish dinner without getting caught in a photo because there was nobody but some old man sitting there, he was wrong.

The old man just moved between the two cameras and got his hands full of cable releases and kept right on birdwatching. Nothing happened.

Things happen that way, sometimes, when you're birdwatching in Japan. Patience.....


2 comments:

Unknown said...

I laugh to think this... but I just can't help it... you kinda look all Buddha-esque with your pose. Looking for some divine inspiration?.... I dare not dwell on the thought anymore, so I just had to release it with a comment.

RyukyuMike said...

Adelaide,
Buddha-esque? Why, I guess that's a compliment. That's just what it looks like when I'm trying to be patient, I guess.