Austin, Texas – Peacock (HDR)

In Austin we have a cute little park called Mayfield Park.  It is about 10 minutes from downtown.  At this park..I’d guess there are anywhere from 10-20 peacocks living here.  At various times of the year going to visit is wonderful!   From Feb-April it is mating season for the peacocks and this is when you get the best shots.  The peacocks are eager to impress the peafowls (ladies) and spread their feathers out ready to show what they got!    Or sometimes I have noticed they spread their feathers out to other males for a territorial display.

So this past week I stopped by at lunch and the ladies were out and I saw about 7 males bopping around making their loud calls.  Only one dude was spreading  his feathers.  Im guessing with no women around he was a teenager and had no idea what he was doing!  During my one hour visit…he had opened up about 3 times.  Just perfect for me to grab a few shots!  This is one in HDR!  I’ll head back again soon when I have more time.

Talke Photography Settings:

• Camera:  Nikon D300
• Lens: Nikon 70-200 f/2.8
• Setting: Manual  Mode
• Focal Length: 200.0 mm
• ISO: 200
• Exposure:  Single Exposure HDR (1/1250 second)
• Aperture:  f/8
• Gear:  Hand Held
• Post Process: Adobe CS5, Photomatix, Color Efex Pro,  Photo Tools 2.6