When it comes to wildlife shooting, except for a few professional photographers, I believe that the first thing that comes to mind is the "old gentlemen" carrying long guns and short guns in the park. However, after I started photographing birds myself, I found that more and more knowledgeable, cultured, energetic, and skilled young people were joining the circle. Fun Bird "Four Haves" Youth Interview Series Articles hope to show you a different bird circle.
After determining the main idea, the first interview subject I thought of was @Xu Keyi Shirky , a post-85 "hardcore" young woman, a master's degree in journalism and communication from the University of Chinese, Hong Kong, carrying a camera through seven continents, five oceans, Antarctica and the North Pole. She has won awards in domestic and foreign photo competitions and has appeared on CCTV programs as a guest many times.
▲Xu Keyi holding Canon EOS R5 and RF800/11 IS STM
The dream-chasing path of "hardcore" young women
Can mean to call herself a "hardcore" young woman. Whether it's the heat of Kenya, the cold of Antarctica, or the tens of kilograms of packing equipment, or the mountains and mountains during filming, these are all tests of willpower. Everyone always says that shooting wild animals is an errand for more men and fewer women, largely because the shooting process requires wind and food, and sometimes it is faced with snakes and insects and poor health conditions, and the physical and psychological endurance must be required.
▲ Frostbitten while shooting in Antarctica
So why do you love photographing wildlife? Ke Yi said that he was born in Hangzhou, his home is next to the Hangzhou Botanical Garden, and he has been playing in the mountains and forests with his grandfather since he was a child. Her childhood experience made her particularly close to nature, and when she grew up, she ran around the world, and she liked to go to various national parks and freeze the charm of wild animals with a camera lens. In 2012, in South Africa's Kruger National Park, I saw flocks of African elephants, heroic lions, purple-breasted Buddhist monks in colorful clothes, red-faced hornbills looking at tourists with contempt, and lucky to see a dreamlike whale rainbow. She then went on to travel to Northern Europe, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Antarctica, wildlife-watching destinations.
▲ Some bird photos taken by Xu Keyi overseas
Speaking of Antarctica, it can be said that it was the beginning of her bird watching. At a landing site, the skua is seen trying to sneak up on the young of the Penguin of Kintu, but is fought back by the Penguin Daddy, flapping its small wings that cannot fly to drive away the intruders. "That scene deeply touched me, penguins are usually stupid and cute, walking in the snow will fall a heel, but when defending the family and defending the country, it is really pitiful to the hearts of parents in the world." She describes it this way, "Birds are not only beautiful in appearance, but they are also attractive to me in such an interesting theater. ”
▲ Penguins drive away skuas
Due to the epidemic, everyone has had to adjust their travel plans, but it is also possible to pay more attention to the wildlife in and around the country. In recent years, she has also run dozens of times for bird watching. She said that she planned to shoot 200 species of birds in China this year, and as a result, more than 170 species had already been photographed at the end of July, which was really very actionable.
When talking about the most impressive bird watching locations in China, Hangzhou and Hainan were mentioned. Even in industrialized metropolises, if you look, you can find a lot of wild birds. They share urban space with humans, and in the process of discovering birds, they also give themselves a new understanding of their very familiar environment.
▲ Brown-headed gull (shot with Canon EOS R5)
TIPS: A demonstration site for the harmonious coexistence of man and ecology
On the west coast of Hainan, there is a very beautiful little bird: the national second-class protected animal chestnut-throated bee tiger. In recent years, their habitats have also had to migrate inland due to the expanding range of human activities. At this time, the Wuyuanhe Wetland Park in the neighboring city has played a huge ecological role, providing shelter and habitat for the national key protected wild animals such as chestnut-throated bee tiger, black-winged kite, brown-winged crow, and red original chicken. Viewed from above, Wuyuanhe Wetland Park is located next to the main road, residence and hotel, setting a good example for the harmonious coexistence of people and ecology.
▲ Chestnut-throated bee tiger (shot with Canon EOS R5)
No need to get out of the city
Wildlife can be found as well
A popular saying nowadays is that many people suffer from "nature deficiency", and bird watching is an unlimited ticket to the Nature Theater, allowing us to pursue freedom and get close to nature. As long as you look for it carefully, you will find that there are many wild creatures in the community and the park.
▲ Long-eared owl in the park (photographed using EOS R5)
What about after discovering "wildlife"? We have the same feeling about this as Keyi: The first reaction of many people when they encounter wild birds in the early 90s is "how can it be good" (can it be eaten, can it be delicious, how to eat it?). ）。 Now, many villages and towns recognize that the protection of wild birds can attract tourists and drive the economy, so as to consciously embark on the road of protecting birds, and people in the city will immediately pick up mobile phones and cameras to record when they see unfamiliar birds, send them to the Internet to find relevant big V questions, obtain relevant knowledge, and after knowing that the birds living in the city are extremely difficult, they also try to maintain an appropriate distance from these wild animals.
A small number of photographers excessively pursue the "simplicity and cleanliness" of the picture, so as to make some behaviors that interfere with and destroy the normal life of birds. The younger generation generally has a stronger sense of environmental protection, and the shooting concept and aesthetic concept are also more progressive. Driven by them, more photographers began to realize that photos should reflect more realistic living conditions, and there will be active discussions on whether the shooting behavior will interfere with bird activities, which fully reflects that the ecological awareness of bird shooting and bird watching groups is gradually improving.
TIPS: The impact of human activities on urban birds
An ornithological study showed that after San Francisco was shut down due to the epidemic and the city noise was greatly reduced, the white-crowned bunting that lived there also began to sing more deeply and softly, a tone that researchers had not heard since the 1970s. This also reflects the impact of human activities on the surrounding wildlife.
For girls
Lightweight equipment is really important
After paying attention to Keyi Weibo for a long time, it is not difficult to find that she is a hardcore Canon user: she has used Canon cameras since the film era, has the first digital SLR 400D in 2007, visited Antarctica and Kenya with 5D4 and 1DX2 in 2018, and is now using the latest generation of full-frame micro cameraS R5. In addition to the flexibility of composition brought by excellent focusing ability and high pixels, the most impressive feature of the EOS R5 is the 4K 120p video recording. Slowing down the movements of the wildlife is a lot of fun. But a few years ago, it was hard to imagine that we could shoot something as light and popular as a documentary with such a lightweight, popular device.
In terms of lenses, keyi is currently most commonly used in the RF800mm F11 IS STM, a full-frame ultra-telephoto lens weighing only 1.26kg. She said that for girls, lightweight equipment is really too important, and the RF800mm F11 IS STM is also very satisfactory in terms of image quality in full light.
▲ Red-eared Quail in the cell (shot using EOS R5, RF800/11 IS STM)
▲ Red-tailed Water Plover (shot using EOS R5, RF800/11 IS STM)
▲ Falcon (shot with EOS R5, RF800/11 IS STM)
▲ Goshawk (shot with EOS R5, RF800/11 IS STM)
▲Forktail Sunbird Female and Male (Photographed using EOS R5, RF800/11 IS STM)
My dream is to make a nature documentary
When it comes to future plans, Keyi laughs and says that the ultimate ideal is to make a nature documentary. I used to think that a documentary like Animal World was far away. But now, whether it's with 5D4, 1DX2 or the latest EOS R5, we can take high-quality photos and videos.
When I was in college, Ke Yi began to travel around carrying a SLR, and then met Chen Haiying, who also loved photography, and the two walked hand in hand and traveled to many places. Now the two of them have the "fruits of cooperation" - the daughter Xiao Olive, and they have more innocent eyes on the road of going out to explore. With the words and deeds of his parents, little olives have been aware of nature since they were very young.
We also discussed with Keyi why more and more young people are starting to shoot birds. The first is that high-performance cameras are getting cheaper, and both the EOS R5 and the EOS R6 offer continuous focus performance that is no less than that of flagship SLR, as well as better stabilization and video capabilities. And now there are RF600mm F11 IS STM, RF800mm F11 IS STM such affordable, back-moving ultra-telephoto lenses, so that girls can also enter the bird watching, bird shooting circle. Then it is now more convenient to obtain information and communicate with each other, and everyone is exposed to more popular science knowledge on a daily basis, which stimulates curiosity about nature and wildlife. Finally, young people who have been repressed for a long time in modern urban life are psychologically in urgent need of a window into nature – and bird watching and photography is one of the ways to contact nature and protect animals, and birds are also the most pure and free symbols of nature.
More photos taken with the EOS R5
▲ Chestnut-throated bee tiger community
▲ Crested ibis
▲ Terns
▲ White-breasted emerald
▲ Collared finches