Juicy
Malayan Banded Pitta Hydrornis irena. Lanchang, Malaysia.
Wang Bin, Singapore. Category: Attention to Detail. COMMENDED.
Photographer’s Story: ‘Over a weekend my friend and I drove over 400km from Singapore to Lanchang in the Malaysian state of Pahang. Our aim was to see and photograph a Malaysian Rail-babbler, which had been reported in the jungle for some time. Early in the morning I sat in a hide waiting patiently for the target bird to appear. But instead, suddenly this young female pitta jumped out from the bush and landed on the log in front of me. I wasn’t prepared for its sudden appearance and scrambled to adjust my lens focus; this bird caught a cricket from the ground, and fortunately I got the focus spot-on in time and released my shutter. The pitta was pretty close, thanks to the hide, and this allowed me to capture the intimate details of the bird with its food. Capturing an image of this beauty more than made up for missing my ‘lifer’ bird, the Rail-babbler.’
Nikon D810 with Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4G FL ED VR lens. 600mm focal length; 1/40 second; f/8; ISO 720. Tripod. Remote shutter release. Hide.
