Spot Billed Duck

Spot Billed Ducks at Hauz Khas, Delhi

I have to admit I was crazy about bird photography once. I bought a macro lens (75-300 mm) thinking I would click flowers. After I got the Macro I started chasing the birds instead. I did it for a long time. But I would never be too happy with my pictures barring a few. And I always wonder what was I doing wrong?

I then interacted with some photographers and looked at the gear they used. In the end a bigger zoom or a teleconverter would help my cause. But birding is a patience game too . And many a times you need to use a tripod (that reminds me I am without a tripod at the moment) and that once again means patience.

Spot Billed Duck Creating Ripples, Hauz Khas, Delhi
Spot Billed Duck Creating Ripples, Hauz Khas, Delhi

I do think I have patience but it is the time that is at a premium. I don’t think I ever have devoted more than 2-3 hours to my bird photography at a stretch (with a few exceptions). And with a 75-300 you need to get really close to the bird to get a decent picture. Using it hand held will make everything blurred unless there is a lot of light! When there is a lot of light the birds might decide to hide away and take their afternoon siesta!

And I went round and round in circles till I decided it is alright. At the moment I don’t see anyway where I could devote more time to developing my bird photography skills. But I do like clicking birds and I will and post the pictures occasionally. So what if they are not what I would really like them to be. I love clicking birds and that is enough I guess.

10 thoughts on “Spot Billed Ducks at Hauz Khas, Delhi”

  1. A BRILLIANT CAPTURE
    *Nice Start *
    There is a bird century in Noida near the Yammuna . ( when we come from Sarita Vihar ) I hope you wud find many kind of birds many in this winters

    Thanks for the information about Valley of flowers n Ghangaria

  2. lovely capture… its been years and years since i have been there.. and i certainly dont remember ducks!! about bird photography, i was almost enroute to buying a dslr, and then went on the corbett trip with lakshmi, karthik, neelima and the others, and realised that travelling with samhith, there was no way i could take proper care of the camera, lenses, tripod, other equipment.. and keep changing lenses with my varied interests… which is why i settled on the bridge camera i now have… and every time i see a bird and want a better shot, i remind myself why i bought this in the first place!

  3. Thanks Amit.

    Thanks Niranjan.

    Sushil I will search for that bird sanctuary near Yamuna for sure. Thanks for the tip.

    Anu 😀 I miss those times when I could just tell myself that I started blogging for fun and forget the rest! I really wonder if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

    Thanks Rama.

    Desi Traveller but it has to be a big zoom lens! And even then it is uncertain whether the bird will pose or not. 😀

    Thanks Chirag.

    Thanks Panchali.

    Thanks Tom and Charlie.

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