Exposure Fusion

Pre-Monsoon clouds were gathering as I shot this photo at Seethanadi Nature Camp inside Someshwara Wild Life Sanctuary, Hebri Karkala. I used Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens on a tripod to get 3 bracketed images at 2 stop difference. I used Photomatix Pro to fuse exposure of these three bracketed shots to produce this photo. In Expo­sure Fusion a series of brack­eted images are processed to produce a dynamic range image. It takes the best tonal­i­ties from each image in the sequence and com­bines them to cre­ate a sin­gle image. Best part of each image gets recorded and fused together to com­bine all of the best ele­ments in final image. You have quite a lot of control to adjust which tonality of the exposures are used in the final image.

You might ask how is Expo­sure fusion is different from HDR? The only resem­blance the two have are that they com­bine a sequence of brack­eted images together. In Expo­sure Fusion the final prod­uct looks more real­is­tic to how the scene really would like. This means that the shad­ows main­tain a cer­tain amount of shad­ows and the high­lights remain brighter in higher tonal­i­ties then a high con­trast scene.

HDR takes the sequence of images and blends the images seam­lessly but does its best to even the tonal­i­ties in the extreme tonal­i­ties of shad­ows and high­lights. That is why HDR the appear­s arti­fi­cial­ and unnat­u­ral­.

Expo­sure Fusion after fus­ing the images together keeps the tonal­i­ties how they would appear if one was to be look­ing at the actual scene being pho­tographed. HDR image most of the time shows the uneven tran­si­tion between the lumi­nance and can there­fore lose the appeal of real­ism. Expo­sure Fusion pro­duces results that are truer to the scene that the pho­tog­ra­pher is try­ing to capture.

Photomatix Pro produces both fantastic HDR as well as Exposure Fusion. Try it and you will love the results. Trial mode is also available for Photomatix Pro.

Trying to go beyond my comfort zone has been my effort for last few months. I tried my hands in travel photography in my Lakshadweep island trip. Now I am trying my hands with my new lens Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM. I bought this lens as I wanted a considerable reach for shooting birds. After trying out Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens successfully for macro it was difficult to use Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM. There were 2 main reasons. Minimum focusing distance of 300mm f/4 was 1.5meters with a magnification of 0.24x. With 300mm f/2.8 minimum focussing distance increased to 2.5 meters and the magnification decreased to 0.13x. I used Canon EF 2x II Extender to increase the Extenders do not affect the Minimum Focus Distance of the lens they are mounted behind, thus the Maximum Magnification of the lens is also multiplied by 2x. I got 600mm lens with 0.26x magnification which was great. If I need more magnification I need to add my Kenko extension tubes but I haven’t resorted to that yet.

Because the Canon EF 2x II Extender is multiplying the aberrations/flaws of the lens it is mounted behind by 2x, there will be noticeable degradation in image quality when using the 2x. Sharpness and contrast take a hit with all but the best lenses. Additional CA (Chromatic Aberration) is introduced as is slight barrel distortion, but vignetting is somewhat reduced. The best 2x results will only be made using a very sharp lens such as the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens. I have tried this 2x Extender on my other lenses almost all of them have failed.

Female Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)

Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)
It is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.

It is a medium sized dragonfly that is commonly found in weedy tanks and ponds, marshes, channels, and slow flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills. It breeds in streams, rivers, canals, ponds and tanks. It is found commonly and widely distributed in India throughout the year.

The male of the species is distinctly different from the female.

The male has a reddish brown face, with eyes that are crimson above and brown on the sides. The thorax is red with a fine, purple pruinescence. The abdomen, the base of which is swollen, is crimson with a violet tinge. The wings are transparent with crimson venation and the base has a broad amber patch. The wing spots are a dark reddish-brown and the legs are black.

The female has an olivaceous or bright reddish-brown face with eyes that are purplish-brown above and grey below. The thorax is olivaceous with brown median and black lateral stripes. The abdomen is reddish-brown with median and lateral black markings. The black markings are confluent at the end of each segment and enclose a reddish-brown spot. The wings are transparent with brown tips. The venation is bright yellow to brown and basal amber markings are pale. The wing spots are a dark brown and the lags are dark grey with narrow yellow stripes.

Grey Pansy Butterfly (Junonia atlites)

Grey Pansy Butterfly (Junonia atlites)

Wingspan of 55-65 mm. A medium sized light gray butterfly with darker colored wing margins. The sexes are similar. The upper side is marked with a row of post-median ocelli on both wings. There is a series of short wavy bands hanging off the costal margin of the fore-wing. The underside ground color is much paler, and the hind wing has an oblique line running across the wing. The markings and the intensity of color on the undersides of this butterfly are quite variable; the dry season forms showing the lightest color and fewest markings.

It is a much more habitat specific species than the other pansies, inhabiting areas in the vicinity of water such as rice fields, canals, tanks and marshy areas. It is not plentiful but may be found throughout the year and is the least common of the pansies. It is seldom seen above 2500 feet elevation.

Its behavior is very similar to that of the other pansies except in egg laying. It will often lay eggs on plants above the waterline in rice fields or open water bodies. The larvae are capable of surviving a rise in water levels by moving to high ground or other host plants nearby with relative ease. Like the other pansies, it joins migratory flights.

Black Torrent Dart Damselfly (Dysphaea ethela)

Black Torrent Dart Damselfly (Dysphaea ethela)

A large black damselfly with amber coloured wings. Lives in torrential hill streams from 300-1000m ASL. This damselfly is rare and usually sits in the middle of streams on boulders or emergent twigs. If disturbed flies high up to riparian trees. Breeding: Not known. Flight season: June to December. Distribution: Western Ghats from Agastyamalai to Aghanashini river in Uttara Kannara district. This species is also known from the Eastern Ghats.

Coppersmith Barbet

I had written earlier about Two Barbets. I had opportunity to follow same Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) which was at that time building a nest. I was able to observe their nest at close quarter for over 1.5 months. I saw them raise their two chicks which finally flew off as healthy juveniles. I had use my Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM with Canon EF 1.4x II Extender on Canon EOS 7D to take these series of photos as my 300mm f/2.8 was still not available.

The Coppersmith Barbet, Crimson-breasted Barbet or Coppersmith (Megalaima haemacephala), is a bird with crimson forehead and throat which is best known for its metronomic call that has been likened to a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer. It is a resident found in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia. Like other barbets, they chisel out a hole inside a tree to build their nest. They are mainly fruit eating but will take sometimes insects, especially winged termites.

Emerging out of Nest

This bird belonged one of the nine sub species called Megalaima haemacephala indica (Latham, 1790) which is found in the Indian Subcontinent form northeastern Pakistan and extends into Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

This Coppersmith had built its nest in a small tree hole of a Mango Tree (Mangifera indica) Courtship involves singing, puffing of the throat, bobbing of the head, flicking of the tail, ritual feeding and allopreening. They breed through much of the year with local variation. The breeding season is mainly February to April in India. Both sexes excavate the nest on the underside of a narrow horizontal branch. They may also roost inside the nest holes. Three or four eggs are laid and like in many hole nesting birds the incubation period is not well known but has been estimated to be about 2 weeks. Both sexes incubate. Often two broods are raised in quick succession.

On a Branch

Throughout their wide range they are found in gardens, groves and sparse woodland. Habitats with trees having dead wood suitable for excavation is said to be important. Birds nest and roost in cavities. In the Himalayas it is found mainly in the valleys of the outer Himalayas up to 3000 feet. They are rare in the dry desert zones and the very wet forests.

Keeps solitary, pairs, or small groups; larger parties occasionally on abundantly fruiting Ficus trees. Fond of sunning themselves in the morning on bare top branches of tall trees, often flitting about to sit next to each other. The flight is straight, with rapid flaps.

Inspecting nest hole

They compete with other cavity nesting birds and frugivores. Megalaima asiatica have been noted to evict them from their nest holes, while Red-vented Bulbuls have been seen to indulge in kleptoparasitism, robbing the male of berries brought to the female at the nest. The nest holes are also used for roosting and some birds roost alone in cavities and these often roost during part of the day. Immatures will roost with the parents but often return to roost early so as not to be prevented by the parents from entering the roost cavity.

Fly away

The call is a loud rather metallic tuk…tuk…tuk (or tunk), reminiscent of a copper sheet being beaten, giving the bird its name. Repeated monotonously for long periods, starting with a subdued tuk and building up to an even volume and tempo, the latter varying from 108 to 121 per minute and can continue with as many as 204 notes. They are silent and do not call in winter.

Fly away

Prefers Banyan, Peepul, and other wild figs, various drupes and berries, and the occasional insect, caught in aerial sallies. Petals of flowers may also be included in their diet. They eat nearly 1.5 to nearly 3 times their body weight in berries each day.

Feeding Chicks