photo-lifestyle.com

Orangutans in Indonesia

I got these amazing nature photos of wild orangutans in Indonesia from a brand new friend today. He goes by “Mike Henry” on FaceBook, and has a fascinating blog: About Indonesia. It appears wild orangutans in Indonesia, or anywhere else for that matter are very nearly extinct.

Here’s what Mike has to say:

I just came back from a weekend in Bukit Lawang. Bukit Lawang is about a three hour, bumpy bus ride from Medan and is apparently one of the best places for seeing orangutans in the wild. It was my second trip to Bukit Lawang, but the first time to see orangutans.

There is a feeding area where National Park staff feed the orangutans two times a day – at around 8:30 a.m. in the morning and 2:30 p.m….

There are only around 7,000 orangutans left in Sumatra according to Wiki and they could be extinct by 2012. They are beautiful and amazing creatures and it would be a huge loss to see them become extinct. Apparently 96 per cent of their genes are the same as humans.

Read the rest, and see more nature photos on About Indonesia. Thanks, Mike, for letting me borrow these terrific nature photos!

Hmm… I didn’t know there WERE orangutans in Indonesia. I wonder if their orange color has anything to do with the name? Also, this second picture has me stumped. Is that limb the orangutan is holding on over his head with an arm or a leg? What do you think?

Swan Photos from Belle Isle

©Photos By LaTease

Here are some great nature photos from my new friend LaTease. She had several swan photos she told me I could post, and I had trouble choosing, as they were all amazing.

I chose these two swan photos. The first one is a beautiful angle, and shows the face well. I also love how the focus blurs in the distance, making the ice look even more cold and austere.

The second one is great composition. Having the swan in the lower left corner following roughly the rule of thirds makes this one a winner. LaTease could well send this one as a Christmas card this year!

©Photos By LaTease

Here’s what she had to say about taking swan photos:

Here are some photos I took of a white swan on Belle Isle in Detroit. The swan was totally oblivious to me and my presence…I believe it is hard to capture animals in their natural habitat unless you do not disturb them. When animals notice you, then they will instinctively move away from humans…And they are smart too. They know that I can not stand on thin ice, so this is where the swan moves.

You can see the rest of her photos at http://www.teasasworld.com/
Thank you for the awesome nature photos, LaTease!

Using the Night Portrait Mode

A great shot of Rainbow Bridge from a cafe on the shore of Tokyo bay. My pharmacist friend was visiting in Tokyo, and took this shot using his “night portrait mode”. Some cameras don’t have this option, but you can get the same effect manually. Raise the ISO speed, set the IV setting to quite light, use the flash and take a 3 second exposure. The trick is to explain to your subjects that the picture is a time exposure, and they mustn’t move for 3 seconds after the flash. I think that might explain the somewhat strained look on the young people’s faces.

Even though they look a bit awkward, you can still tell they are having a great time. I like that he thought to take the picture before they started to eat, so you can wonder what it is in their bowls. I asked. He said it was “loco-moco” – a tropical rice bowl affair with spam and a fried egg on top.

I love the extra signs and chairs in the foreground. It gives the classic city lights scene a sense of reality, as if to say, “Yes, some of us live here, and its a real place and time, not just a picture postcard.”

Once again, thanks to Tokunaga Masayoshi for the great snapshot.