Let's Go Postcard

By Keita Sin
 
Dunlin calidris alpina
 
Izumi, Kyushu, where I took this photograph, is one of the most entertaining places I’ve ever had the chance to visit. The place is an important bird area that annually hosts over 10,000 migratory cranes in winter. They feed and sleep at the fields in the area and fly around in big groups every now and then with a purpose. It never gets boring to observe the gorgeous looking birds engaging in their shenanigans, all of them cackling away for the entire day and defecating all over the place including on my rental car for good measure. The rich habitat also serves as a temporary home for many wintering ducks and shorebirds, and in this photograph, I focus on a flock of Dunlins – a species almost 100 times smaller than the cranes and certainly not a star of the site, with the cranes in the background. The slow shutter speed pan was a carefully designed setting to give their flight a sense of motion. My dynamic photograph illustrates the strength of their wings that enables them to migrate over thousands of kilometres every year. Let’s keep it a secret between us that I was actually just forced to lower my shutter speed because of the low light levels, okay?