Gem mining continue at Bodinagala (Ingiriya Forest Reserve)
The gem I’m talking here is none other then Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. It is not only the rarity of this wonderful birds that made me call it a gem. Rarity combined with it’s vivid colors I can only compare it to a colorful gem.
First sighting for the day
It was about month ago we have last visited Bodinagala and there was no progress in photographing the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. It was hiding in the bushes far above and according to Thilanka they were feeding a juvenile.
On the very same week we were at Wilpattu, Isuru had been there and managed to get few good shots. Since I was reworded a leave on Friday (6th May 2011) and couldn’t get myself going anywhere with my photography buddies, I decided to go to Bodinagala and finish the unfinished business with Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.
On the last minute I was joined by Sasanka, who had finished his exams on previous week. We bought enough food from Horana and went directly to the reserve.
Better Pose
Sky was clouded and light inside the forest was too low for photography and the Kingfisher was not landing on a reasonable location to take a decent photograph. We managed to get some shots but they were not satisfiable. Until
about one in the evening we were unable to get a better sighting of the bird and finally we decided to return home. But it didn’t let us go that far, we heard its call and both of us were back in position for shooting.
Feeling glad about not returning home earlier we spent two more hours in the evening with the bird. Forgot to mention that it was most unlikely at Bodhinagala, we were unable to see any other birds that we could see on a normal days. May be it was due to the bad weather conditions on that day.
Once I uploaded photos to my PC I saw that those photos were way too under exposed. I had lower the exposer to get a better shouter speed under low light and end up w
Different Pose
ith lot of under exposed photographs. It had introduced more noise than I expected when correcting. What a disappointing incident. For those who do photography, make sure you get the correct expose or you will loose lot of details when reducing noise.
I was in two minds, whether to go back there on the following day or not. Finally I decided to give it a try even if it was way too late to do so. But the light has pushed me ever since the day began. It was much better than previous day. I managed to be at the sight by 11.30 and setup my gears there. After waiting about hour or so I got my first chance to take a shot.