The New Toy - An iMac

The iMac

I've been a PC user for as long as I can remember but when I needed to upgrade my home machine, I decided to take a serious look at what Apple had to offer.  One of the main reasons for looking at a Mac was the fact that I was into photography and Macs seem to be the best platforms for post processing. Also, I had never owned or used a Mac extensively.  Read on for more info on the Mac and how I lit the shot above.

It's a completely new operating system and a whole new way of thinking. As a result it does take a bit of getting used to but it shouldn't take too long. From a post processing point of view it is fantastic to work on. The 27 inch screen makes it a lot easier to work on images and the richness of the colours on the Mac are hard to beat.

I've had a couple of problems with the machine in the three months that I've owned it. Fortunately I purchased Apple Care and was able to resolve the issues pretty quickly. The first problem I came across was using flash player. I had no problems installing it but when I visited a web site which contained a flash component, I was unable to view that section of the site. I found that the problem was caused because a user profile file had not been updated correctly. 

The second issue was a bit harder to resolve. While working on the machine the entire machine froze and a message informing me that I had to "restart the machine" appeared. This happened a couple of times and I was able to find out how to reproduce it. The issue seemed to be caused by my external hard drive which was plugged in at the time. The disk is formatted using NTFS and Macs can only read NTFS. They can't write to it.  Unplugging the external hard disk resolved this problem.

Lighting Info

I wanted to give this shot a bit of a "techy" feel.  In order to achieve this, I used a Canon 430 EX flash with a full CTB gel on it. I placed the flash behind the screen and fired it towards the camera. I used a reflector, placed camera left just out of frame, to light the front of the computer. 

Glassy Tiger

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The Glassy Tiger belongs to the Danaid group of butterflies, which includes crows and Tigers. It's habitat includes India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Burma. Two subspecies have been identified but neither of them are consistent in markings or habitat. More info and images inside.

 

A pair of Glassy Tigers (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The male Glassy Tiger has scent patches on the hind wing. The pouch on vein 1 is larger than the pouch on vein 2 and both pouches are  more visible on the underside than on the upper side. It is a very common butterfly in Sri Lanka and can be found up to an elevation of 5000 feet. It is found all over the island except for the north where it is uncommon. 

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The flight of the Glassy Tiger is very weak and it flaps its wings a lot during flight. it spends most of its time within 5-10 feet of the ground and rarely visits the canopy.  It is often found in the company of other males in the Danaid family, when they gather on plants. The Glassy Tiger frequently visits flowers in the undergrowth for nectar and the male occasionally settles on wet soil.  

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The Glassy Tiger mimics an unpalatable poisonous species of butterfly and is avoided by birds and lizards. It also has tough leathery skin which helps it survive the occasional attack. When it is attached, it fakes death and oozes a nauseating liquid which makes it smell and taste awful. It also has the ability to recover from an attack very quickly. 

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

Another shot of this butterfly can be found here http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2009/11/glassy-tiger.html

These images were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens, in Anuradhapura.

Gloriosa superba

The Flame Lily (Gloriosa superba) photographed in Anuradhapura 

The Flame Lily is a tuberous climbing plant which is native to tropical central and southern Africa. It also grows wild in Sri Lanka and is also the national flower of Zimbabwe. Every part of this plant is extremely poisonous and can be fatal if ingested. It is called Niyagala in Sinhalese and is synonymous with suicide. Read on for more info and images.

The Flame Lily (Gloriosa superba) photographed in Anuradhapura 

These plants are known to reach around 2.4 meters in height and bloom between the months of November and March. The plant grows in sandy-loam soil, in mixed deciduous forests and is very tolerant of nutrient poor soils. Although ingestion of the plants can be fatal, the sap from the tips of the leaves is used to treat pimples and other skin problems. The tuber is used for the treatment of bruises, sprains, colic, chronic ulcers,  haemorrhoids, and cancer. 

The Flame Lily (Gloriosa superba) photographed in Anuradhapura 

These images were captured in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. I used a Canon 400D  with the 50mm f1.8 lens. 

White-throated Kingfisher

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

Amongst all the Kingfishers found in Sri Lanka, the White-throated Kingfisher is probably the most common. It frequents home gardens in urban areas and is often seen perched on telephone lines on the side of the road. More info and images after the jump.

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Anuradhapura

The White-throated Kingfisher is also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher. It is a widely distributed Tree Kingfisher which can be found from Bulgaria, east through South Asia up to the Philippines. It is a resident throughout this range but some populations are known to make short migrations. It is a large Kingfisher, measuring up to 28cm in length. It can be found in a variety of habitats, ranging from open country with trees, up to 7500 feet in the Himalayas. The White-throated Kingfisher is not considered to be threatened and its range is expanding.

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

It is often seen perched on wires or other exposed perches within its territory. It usually hunts reptiles, insects, rodents, snakes and fish. Predations of small birds have also been reported. The young are fed mostly on invertebrates.   

This species of Kingfisher begins breeding at the onset of monsoons. During the mating displays, males perch on high posts and call in the early hours of the morning. The wings are flicked open for a short period of time to expose the white wing mirrors. They also raise their bills high to expose their white throats and front. The nest is a tunnel in an earth bank and is usually around the 50cm mark in length. The nest building starts with both birds flying into the earth bank until they make an indentation which they can perch on. They then continue digging with their bills. A clutch consists of 4-7 white, round eggs which take 20 days to hatch. The chicks fledge in 19 days.

A White-throated Kingfisher photographed in Colombo

The images taken in Colombo were captured in our garden using a Canon 7D camera with a 100-400mm lens. I also sighted this bird in Trincomalee and Kandy during my last trip to Sri Lanka.

  

Oriental Garden Lizard

An Oriental Garden Lizard

The Oriental Garden Lizard is widely distributed throughout Asia and has also been introduced to many other parts of the world. It is an insectivore which is often incorrectly referred to as the bloodsucker due to it's red throat. More images and info after the jump.

An Oriental Garden Lizard

The coloration of these lizards vary from an uniform brownish or greenish olive or yellowish. The ground colour of the lizard is generally a light brownish olive but the lizard can change it to bright red or black or even a mixture of the two. This change is sometimes confined to the head but can also be distributed throughout the body and tail. Black streaks radiate from the eye and some of them are continued over the throat, running obliquely backwards. These bright changeable colours are peculiar to the male during breeding season. 

It is very common in Sri Lanka and the specimens found on the island seem to be relatively large. A specimen measuring 16 inches has been recorded in Sri Lanka. 

An Oriental Garden Lizard

Males are highly territorial during the mating season. They are known to discourage intruding males by brightening their red heads. The males try to attract females by inflating their throats and drawing attention to its coloured head. About 10 - 20 eggs are laid and buried in moist soil. The eggs are long, covered with leathery skin and are known to hatch in about 6 - 7 weeks. 

The lizard is known to feed on insects, and small vertebrates, including rodents and other lizards. The lizards teeth are designed to grip prey and not to tear it up. Prey is swallowed whole after it has been captured and stunned by shaking it vigorously. 

 

A male Oriental Garden Lizard

These images were shot in Kandy, with the Canon 7D and the 100 - 400mm lens.

Portraits of two Kandians

A self appointed tour guide at the Embekke temple in Kandy

This post contains two portraits of people I met while I was in Kandy.

The photograph above is of a man who was at the Embekke temple when we visited in January. He was at the gate having a conversation with some other people when we walked in. A little while later he came  up to our group and started giving us a "tour" of the temple. It was a bit of a surprise to all of us as no one had indicated that we needed a guide.  

I took this photograph of him on our way out. I thought he had an interesting face and an impressive moustache (which was completely white). The sun, falling on one side of his face, accentuated the wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead. In hindsight, I should have used a reflector of some sort to lighten up the area around his eyes. I decided to convert this image to black and white as colour didn't really add anything to it. I also felt that a black and white image would highlight the different textures on his skin. 

The second portrait is after the jump.

A woman who was drying coves at the Lankathilaka temple in Kandy

This woman was drying cloves at the Lankathilaka temple when we visited. The temple itself is built on a massive rock which the people of the area use to dry their spices on before sale. We visited the temple at around mid day and found that it was almost impossible to walk around without some form of foot wear as the rock had got heated up by the sun. The woman was quite friendly and was more than happy to strike a pose when I showed her the camera. She was thrilled to see the image on the LCD! 

I spoke to her for a few minutes while waiting for the others and found out that she lived in the village near the temple. She also told me that she would have to sit around for three whole days, in the burning hot sun, and watch over the cloves until they dry and are ready for sale. I'm glad I was able to capture an image of her kind face and her smile.

These images were captured using a Canon 7D and a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens.

Indian Robin

A male Indian Robin

The Indian Robin is a common bird found in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The males of the northern (Indian) population have a brown back which gradually reduces in extent southwards, with populations in the southern peninsular having a completely black back. More info and images after the jump.

A male Indian Robin

The Indian robin resembles a smaller version of the Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) in shape and habits. The males found in Sri Lanka have backs which are black in colour with rufous undertail coverts. It also shows a white patch on the wings when in flight. The female is dark brown in colour. It is a common resident garden bird in the dry lowlands of Sri Lanka and is also seen in the mid hills but it is rare and scattered in the wet zone.

A male Indian Robin

The Indian Robin feeds on insects but is known to take frogs, especially when feeding young at the nest.  The breeding season is generally from September to December but varies depending on region and usually begins with the rainy season. During this season, males sing and display by lowering and raising their tail feathers while strutting around the females. Males guard their territory and drive away other males and protect their territory by flying with slow wing beats from perch to perch. 

A male Indian Robin

Nests are built between rocks, in holes in walls or in a tree hollow. Nests are lined with animal hairs and it has been  noted that many nests have pieces of snake sloughs. The eggs are oval in shape and are fairly glossy. A clutch usually consist of 3 - 4 eggs. Only the females incubate the eggs which hatch in 10 - 12 days. Both the male and the female feed the the young. The same nest may be reused in subsequent years.

A male Indian Robin

These images were taken in Anuradhapura and Kandy. I used the 7D and the 100-400mm lens to capture them. The birds were not shy and allowed me to get quite close to them .