Hong Kong photos

Well I'm back from Hong Kong and it was a fabulous trip. Although the photography opportunities were few in the forests of Tai Po Kau, it was great to see so many exotic species and to get a sense of what the area is like. All good research for future trips!

Here are my two favourite pictures. As you can see, one is of a peacock, which is not a wild bird but is part of the small collection at Kowloon Park. I took the photograph in colour and then converted to black and white in post processing, cropping it as well to create my window framing effect. 

This next image is on the other hand of a very common native bird, the oriental magpie robin. I saw these everywhere I went, whether it was in Kowloon Park where this individual was photographed or in the depths of the Tai Po Kau forest reserve. They were very approachable but often hopping along tarmac, so rarely offered photogenic opportunities. This is hardly a brilliant picture, but it's a classic portrait shot of an attractive bird on a perch with out-of-focus background. 

Most of the time however I spent watching the wildlife rather than photographing it, which, to be honest, is really what I prefer doing. I think any wildlife photographer would say the same thing, that they would rather sit back and watch a beautiful animal than constantly click away at it through their SLR. I have written up a birdwatching report here, with some additional photos (albeit all ID shots), for those who might be interested in what wildlife watching in HK is like: 

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=227285

Stay tuned for photos from Italy and Normandy within the month. 

Thanks for reading, 

Paul