March 18, 2013

  • New Hobby in Ametuer Photography

    Since moving into my new place in Taman Equine, Seri Kembangan, I’ve developed a renewed taste for photography. Thus far, I’ve only been posting pictures unto Facebook. But I am only keen of uploading one-picture at a time per-animal as I’m aware that people “check-out” the photos more frequent than here. Blogging would also allow me to share more thoughts of what happened with each shot. Hence, I’m using this blog as an avenue to fuel my new hobby. 

    I used to interested in photography when I was very little. I won’t say I was die-hard for it, but as the only kid with a camera (we are talking the entire secondary school time and the era before digital cameras), it just became second nature to cover events and snap away. Over time, I got better with my shots and realised it wasn’t just about a picture but the story behind the picture. Positioning, lighting, angles and all factored in too, though not as complex as a SLR. Those days, film was costly.. making the need for the limited 36 shots count. 

    I’m rather new at nature photography.. more used to snapping people and sceneries. But after a round with a tarantula and a scorpion inside my own home.. I got slightly obsessed with wanted to snap more of this wildlife around my area.. especially when they present themselves so often.

    We will start the critter blog on events in the 18th March 2013, which proved to be a very busy day for my camera and I. My dad woke me up at 8.15am-ish, something he normally doesn’t do, especially on my off-day when I usually sleep in. He told me to bring the camera along and I knew this should be something interesting. Peeping into the trees, I could hardly make up a figure moving about in my drowsy state. My dad kept saying “There! Can see or not?”. I just aimed the Olympus Pen E-P3 towards the general direction he was referring too and snapped aimlessly. I asked him what it was and he told me it was a gibbon. Something that doesn’t pass by often, but had been making lots of noise in front of the house just a day before. Now it’s just several meters away from my sisters and parents bedroom window. I finally saw a distinct ape figure witch swung gracefully and effortlessly from branch to branch. 

    Failing to get the shot from my sisters room, we re-positioned in my parents bedroom where the creature finally stopped and was feeding off fruits from a parasitic plant latching onto another tree. It was darkish brown and had a white ring around it’s grey face. Very interesting creature. I search on Google later revealed it was a Lar Gibbon. All gibbons are threatened. My dad said seeing one this close to the house is unheard off. Even when he was growing up in Temerloh village, he’s never seen any in the wild.. though he did say my grandfather would rare some with little success (he had a permit by the way).

     

    The curious gibbon starring back at me from a distance

    I went back to sleep after the gibbon swung off elsewhere. Waking up an hour later, had breakfast, went back to the old house to collect piles of stuff and reaching home again.. a new set of fun begun. The gibbons weren’t the only visitors this busy day. My cat was startled by something outside.. so much his tail went all bushy. It turned out to be a troop of silverleaf monkeys on the prowl in search for food. The settled in a section of forest beside my house for most of the day and evening.

    Silverleaf monkey climbing the tree next to the house.

    Two Mynas nested in a tall dead tree directly in front of the house. Didn’t look quite like the common tiung though. 

     

     A pleasant surprise came in the form of a black long-tailed bird which visited more than a week before. Then I couldn’t tell what it was as there was not enough colour and features. It had a pale, but clear green beak, black body and a round red ring around it’s eye (next pic is more clear). It search on the Internet revealed that it was a chestnut-bellied malkoha. I saw this  while I was relaxing on the balcony next to my parents bedroom sometime after 5pm. 

      

    Another perspective of the malkoha. In this picture, it’s red eyes are more striking. 

     

    More birds started popping up. This one is a type of fly-eater. Greyish and brown. 

     

    Saw two of these on different trees. It’s a plantain squirrel. This one had a red-tipped tail.   

     

    The biggest regret of the day was not being able to get a clear shot of this bright feathered bird called the blue-winged green leafbird. It’s colours were beautiful!

      Another shot of the blue-winged green leafbird feeding off the fruits of another parasitic plant. This one was taken in front of the house, beside the carporch. 

     

     Rounding off the day with a picture of a cute asian red-cheeked squirrel taken at the side of the house. The tree it was on is within the house compounds and my parents have always mistaken them for chipmunks (can’t be as chipmunks have striped backs). They made a chirping sound, quite like birds. They were in distress as the silverleaf monkeys were near by.

    Will probably post more pictures in days to come or whenever something interesting pops up. Will also try to identify it’s species as that will be more informative and fun.

     

     

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