Stories Behind the 10s – Japanese White Eye
From the Photographer: Karl Fiegenschuh
I was in Japan for a Winter wildlife photography trip with Martin Bailey. I had a couple of days free in Tokyo after the workshop. I spent one afternoon photographing the Japanese White-Eye in the Shinjuku Goyen National Garden. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and dozens of birds flittered through the branches. The park was full of visitors on this Sunday afternoon enjoying the sunlight and the beautiful trees. There were only a few photographers around and I was asked several times what we were photographing. And, no, I don’t speak Japanese – It was remarkable that several people overcame their natural shyness to approach a foreigner and to speak English.
I was fortunate to be able to get some amazing images of these very photogenic birds in such a spectacular setting. Afterwards I wandered through the rest of the beautiful park before eating a nice sushi dinner and returning to the hotel.
Technical Data: Canon 7D Mark II camera with Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens, with 1.4x teleconverter. Handheld at 1/500 sec., f/9, at ISO 640. Cropped to a portrait format and slightly edited in Lightroom.