
Photo Story: One Legged White-Browed Wagtail
On a recent trip to Hyderabad, India, I stayed at the Hyatt in Gachibowli. The Hyatt has a jogging / walking path through the gardens that surround the property.
One Legged White-Browed Wagtail
This exercise path is a great place for nature photography. Every morning before heading in to the office, I took a nature photography walk along this path. Along the path, I photographed flowers, insects, butterflies, and a surprisingly large variety of birds.
Each morning, right after sunrise, I was greeted by this one legged White-browed Wagtail. In the early morning light, he was searching for food in the grass lawn of the Hyatt. While there were other Wagtails around the property, he seemed to prefer feeding by himself.
I’m not sure what happened to his other leg. Since his leg appeared to be completely missing, it didn’t appear that he was involved in an accident. He got along quite well, hopping on one leg, and it didn’t seem to bother his flight at all.
It was a real treat to see him each morning. But since he was out so early, it was difficult to get a good photo of him in the early morning light.
When traveling in India, make sure to check if your hotel has a garden. This can be a terrific place for nature photography.
Wagtail Photo Details
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1
Lens: Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm F/4.0-5.6 Lens
Focal Length: 300mm (600mm full frame equivalent)
ISO: 800
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/125 of a second
Exposure Compensation: +3/10
Lighting: Sunny Morning, Just After Sunrise
Bird Photo Processing
- Cropped the photo in Lightroom 5.
- Applied the Lighten/Darken Center Filter in Color Efex Pro 4.
- Added contrast and pop to the photo by using the Fur and Feathers II filter in Topaz Clarity.
- Lightened the shadows on the bird using the Shadows Slider in Lightroom 5.
- Used Viveza 2 to selectively lighten the darken the image.
- Selectively removed noise from the photo using Topaz DeNoise.
- Selectively sharpened the photo using the Unsharp Mask Filter in Photoshop CC 2014.
Written by Martin Belan
Related Blog Posts
15 Tips for Better Bird Photography
Photo Story: Parakeet Couple at the Taj Mahal
The Birds of India