Beautiful Macaws

teacher386 · Oct 27, 2012

There is a wildlife park about an hour from me that is absolutely phenomenal for photographing animals. I love macaws and they happen to have a few. I could spend all day shooting these beautiful birds.

#1

Blue and Yellow Macaw by smjphotography, on Flickr

#2

Blue and Yellow Macaw by smjphotography, on Flickr

#3

Blue and Yellow Macaw by smjphotography, on Flickr

#4

Scarlet Macaw by smjphotography, on Flickr

#5

Red and Green Macaw by smjphotography, on Flickr

#6

Great Green Macaw by smjphotography, on Flickr

SCraig · Oct 27, 2012

They are beautiful birds. Besides being LOUD their faces seem to convey a lot of emotion. To me they always look like they have a sneaky grin on their face, like they are up to something that we don't know about. Yet

The Nashville Zoo is about 2 miles from home so I spend a lot of time there. They have several Hyacinth Macaws and I can't help stopping to watch them for a while. They are always active, and squabbling, and playing and I could watch them for hours I think.

MLeeK · Oct 27, 2012

They're a bit dark in general, Especially on the Blue and Gold's face. LOVE them. I have a blue and gold, African Grey and a Meyers parrot. I recently lost the love of my life, an Umbrella Cockatoo.

teacher386 · Oct 27, 2012

MLeeK said:
They're a bit dark in general, Especially on the Blue and Gold's face. LOVE them. I have a blue and gold, African Grey and a Meyers parrot. I recently lost the love of my life, an Umbrella Cockatoo.

Thanks. I would love to see pictures of your birds. Sorry to hear of your recent loss.

As for them being a bit dark, it's probably due to where the birds were located. They're inside a building but outside light comes in and I had to shoot through glass. I also find that I tend to like my pictures a bit on the darker side. Thanks for the feedback.

manaheim · Oct 27, 2012

I hate macaws. They're nasty, viscious, obnoxious birds that can pretty much rip your fingers off without the slightest effort.

Very pretty though.

And yes, a little dark. Fill flash or better angle to the light source would be appropriate.

MLeeK · Oct 27, 2012

I like dramatic lighting a LOT.
This is my Lilly and some dramatic light...

manaheim · Oct 27, 2012

What kind of bird is that? And is that you?

MLeeK · Oct 27, 2012

manaheim said:
What kind of bird is that? And is that you?

No, not me. Bird is an African Grey Parrot. She was assisting that day.

manaheim · Oct 27, 2012

I thought that was a gray. Timneh or Congo? Looks like a Timneh.

We had a Congo as a store bird at the pet shop I worked at for some 10 years. Damned smart bird.

She...

1. Whistled the entire theme song to the Andy Griffith show.
2. Would make a whistle-bomb noise and scream "AIR RAID!"
3. Cursed like a sailor, but knew only to do it after the lights went out (it was closing time-no customers)
4. Knew how to manipulate people into paying attention to her (she would say nothing until they walked away, then say "Hello" typically, which would make everyone run back and talk to her in vain for 20 minutes, repeat as necessary)
5. Knew and would say the names of most of the people who worked in the store.
6. Would let you pet her and then wait for you to look the other way and would then nail you. :lol:

She was clever and nasty. She was really mainly just quite bored. I used to give her peanut M&Ms and wouldn't take any crap from her so she respected me enough that I was one of the few people who could get away with holding her. She bit me once and I held her beak for 20 minutes in retaliation. She got the point and never did it again. :lol:

Smart bird.

teacher386 · Oct 27, 2012

manaheim said:
I hate macaws. They're nasty, viscious, obnoxious birds that can pretty much rip your fingers off without the slightest effort.

Very pretty though.

And yes, a little dark. Fill flash or better angle to the light source would be appropriate.

I've honestly never used flash at all. I really need to start learning more about it. Any suggestions?

manaheim · Oct 27, 2012

If you can, pickup an external flash that you can control and angle. Then it's a good idea to invest in items to soften and/or bounce it... though much of these things you can actually make yourself. Look for DIY bounce cards and such on google and you'll find a lot of interesting stuff.

manaheim · Oct 27, 2012

BTW... getting into lighting is a whole pandoras box that is as, and possibly even MORE , complicated than the core camera stuff itself. I've been doing this for a good 7 years now and I'm pretty confident I know about as much as I'm ever going to learn with the camera... and I've barely scratched the surface on lighting. It's a very very deep pit.

MLeeK · Oct 27, 2012

Yep, she's a Timneh. They are said to be the most intelligent of the parrots. I know this one is smart as hell! Mine are all rescues of some sort and she came from the worst situation of them all... and she's the sweetest little girl. She was DNA'd male and her name was Fred... She laid eggs for me. Her name is now Lilly. She loves to mimick our voices and gets the kids all of the time. She's got several 'voices' and matching personalities to go with them!

Funny how you mention not liking macaws because they can be a dangerous bite your finger off problem... I am less afraid of the macaws and as the birds get smaller I am more terrified of them. That damn Meyers parrot (smaller than the grey) scares the crap out of me. His beak is like a little wrecking ball!