A Flying Rainbow - Painted Bunting in New York City

New York City is always on the go, at any given day and in any given time you can find something exciting happening here. This time of year, the Christmas decorations usually top it all, but this year a little bird was the symbol of holiday spirit and the best attraction this city had to offer.
On November 29, a birder named Keir Randall, noticed a very colorful bird near Prospect Park's LaFrak Skating Rink. He saw a small bird, at a size of a sparrow, with multiple colors: blue, red, yellow and green. In the New York area it is impossible to find a bird with so many colors. Sure, we have the Northern Cardinal and the Blue Jay, but their bright colors are not to be confused with this rainbow-like visitor.

"When I first tried to photograph it, I was literally shaking so much I had to calm myself down to get the shot", Randall said. The identification of this colorful bird was a no-brainer, it was the Painted Bunting. It is a fairly common species to spot breeding in the coastal southeast and south-central US, but its rarely found in New York.

This beautiful male is one of only 10 birds of this species to have arrived to NYC since 1927, according to data compiled by the New York State Avian Records Committee. This is the first adult male Painted Bunting to ever visit Brooklyn. A female was spotted visiting Brooklyn at 1999.  Since Randall found this bird, every day, at least 100 enthusiasts birders and locals came to see the latest celebrity in NYC.

The first time I went to see this little rainbow, I saw more reporters than birders. Channel 2, Channel 5, reporters and photographers from the New York Times were all surrounded the little celebrity, while the birders took a step back. Some of the reporters interviewed the birders and I overheard some parts of the conversation, including: "People are losing their s--t over this bird" and "It is like a unicorn emerging from the fog". After that day, the news about the most colorful bird in North America were making waves outside of the US and made it all the way to London and even (with a little help from my Hebrew blog) to Israel.

Surprisingly, the flying rainbow didn't care too much about all the commotion around him. He was hopping on the ground gathering food. This is probably his first year of migrating, which can somewhat explain his unusual route.

Even though the reporters got the upper hand on viewing this guy, I defiantly got my fair share of view. Not once, but twice, he flew right towards me and set on a branch in a tree next to me. He made me feel very special. Usually he spends his time on the ground and completely blends in with the autumn leaf colors and vegetation. His favorite spot is the new grassy wildlife habitat by Lakeside Brooklyn, which was once a parking lot.

I took his photo while he was posing on the branch and then when he stood on the fence. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I was admiring his beauty until a Northern Mockingbird decided to chase him away from the scene.
The Painted Bunting is completely oblivious to his beauty and the happiness he brings to people hearts. I got very emotional the first (and second) time I saw him and I wasn't the only one. Although he is of small size he was able to bring people together as if they were one big happy family. Good luck little rainbow, I hope you will find your safe way to Florida soon!
    

Fall Road Trip to Hudson Valley

I have been waiting for the best opportunity to get out from the city. The perfect time came this weekend, when autumn delivered peak fall foliage around Hudson Valley. Saturday morning, before my friends and I went on our trip, I checked the foliage map to make sure that we will catch peak time. First stop on our way upstate New York was Muscoot Farm, an hour away from the city. Last year, I found the place by mistake and this year I couldn't resist the temptation of visiting again. Growing up at the Kibbutz, I was surrounded by farm animals. Visiting the farm, smelling the hay and watching the cows, sheep and horses reminded me of home. The pumpkin patch was a nice addition and the trails surrounding the farm are absolutely gorgeous.     

From the farm we headed to Anthony's Nose. The place was so beautiful I couldn't wait to get out of the car. The minute we stopped I ran up the mountain and by the time I've reached it, I realized that I left all my friends behind. I took a deep breath and a couple of pictures, ran down and found them climbing up. The view from the top was spectacular but we were all extremely hungry at this point so we rushed back down to get some food. Driving to the diner, we took a quick stop near Bear Mountain Bridge for an overlook at Popolopen Creek. This late afternoon, food at the Barnstormer Barbeque was highly appreciated and we enjoyed every bite. Finally, we gained up enough energy for the grand finale at Seven Lakes Drive.  

5 Tips for Capturing Beautiful Photos at the Zoo

If you ever photographed animals at a zoo, you probably know that it is far harder than it seems. When taking photos at the zoo, you need to avoid bars and fences, dirty, stained and reflective glass, people that block the view and also bushes, trees and logs inside the exhibit. Sometimes you can’t even see the animals because they are hiding. Even with a clear view, the animals are most likely to be resting or sleeping, often facing direction opposite from the human spectators. On the other hand, the admission fee is much cheaper than a flight ticket to Kenya, and in one visit to a large zoo you can see more species of animals than you would if you took a trip around the globe. With that in mind, I compiled some tips that will be helpful if you want to get the best of your visit to the zoo.

1. Overcoming barriers

To avoid the bars and the glasses, get as close as you can to them. When I’m shooting through glass, I take off the lens’s hood and place the lens against the glass. To avoid bars in the photos I open the aperture as wide as possible, usually f/5.6 and wider.

As for the crowd, I strongly suggest to get to the zoo during an ordinary week day. Although it is possible to get nice photos during weekends, holidays or pay-what-you-wish days, you should try your very best to avoid them. Another possibility is to buy a membership, which (in some zoos) allows you to enter before or after official opening hours.

2. Stay in one exhibit

Zoo visitors tend to move around very quickly between the exhibits. They will spend less than a few minutes looking at a specific animal. When I go to the zoo, I choose one exhibit and stay there for most of the day. Of course, choosing the right exhibit is crucial and following the next tip on this article will be extremely helpful for you.

After studying the animals for a while, you can learn about their favorite resting spots and walking paths, group hierarchy and daily schedule – when they are sleeping, feeding and playing. Soon enough, patterns emerge, and it is becoming easier to predict what the animals will be doing next. With experience, you can also predict the location where it is going to happen. This information is crucial because it allows you to set up the gear and be prepared when the action begins.

3. Babies are always a safe bet

Babies are cute, lovable and are more likely to move around the exhibit and play. They are also very curious and will investigate every inch of their exhibit. If there is a baby in the exhibit, odds are that the adults will also be more active and display natural behavior. Among the different animals at the zoo, baby apes are extremely lovable because of their resemblance to humans and because they display a wide variety of facial expressions and emotions. I for one, can never get enough of watching the great apes.

4. Telephoto lens

Not applicable for all exhibits, but in the right place and the right time, a telephoto lens can give you a great advantage over “civilians” with their point-and-shoot cameras (and, of course, their iPhones). It will allow you to get a nice close-up portrait, even if the animal is keeping its distance.

Long focal length, together with wide aperture will overcome some of the barriers and soften the artifacts in the background into a nice-looking bokeh.

5. Love and be emotional

I have a deep, profound love and respect for wildlife. I only go to modern zoos, like the Bronx Zoo, which I know spends a lot of efforts in wildlife conservation and education. When I photograph, I let my emotions go through the lens and translate them in the photos. If you feel that emotion when looking at my photos then I’ve reached my goal.

The article was published in 500px Prime

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Black Background

I know that you really like my black background photos and a I've been receiving a lot of questions about it....so I decided to write my first article about how to create a dramatic image with a black background without going to a studio. The first thing you should do, which is very obvious if you think about it, is finding the black background for the scene you are shooting. For example, my baby gorilla photos were all taken when the baby was carried by his mother. Since Mama gorilla is black you can get a nice effect. This is not the traditional black background but you get the idea.

One of the most frustrating situation for a photographer is watching a wonderful scene with very little light. You can't focus, the ISO is high so you know the photo will come out grainy and...you can't focus. Some of my best photos were taken on a very low light and I hardly ever use flash. If you shoot RAW you should try to shoot RAW + JPEG and don't forget to set your aperture to the widest aperture possible in order to get the background blurry and limit your ISO to ~1600. The black background will reveal itself once you start shoot JPEG and with that you can find your best angle for the shoot.

Water can be a perfect black background under the right light. I used water to get the black background for the flamingo. Shadows can also do the trick. At the zoo we tend to ignore animals behind bars and under low light but this can be your perfect shoot. After taking the shoot you can adjust the contrast and watch the background turning black and your object popping out.

If it is a sunny day and you don't have enough shadows it is probably not the best situation for taking a black background photo, try to do something else.... Maybe a light background photo?