CJ Dias Abeyesinghe's photostream  

The pier at Galle Face gets the long(ish) exposure treatment at daybreak.

I set out to shoot Galle Face just (9hours!) before my departure from Colombo with the understanding that most of the coastline would be reclaimed for development in the near future. (Is this still happening? I don't know!) Quite a lot of the Colombo 'scene' has changed within in a year so I'm keen to capture as many key landmarks as I can before they fall to the dozer of development. Hope my next visit isn't too far away!

Notes: Black and White conversion, tweaked black clipping and fill light to control contrast. Digital GNDs used to control exposure of water vs sky. USM sharpening.

450D | EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM | 10-Stop ND
ISO100 10mm f/8.0 90sec

On an evening wade in one of the villus. Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. The evening light was fading fast but not before we caught a few waders lit by a nice warm glow. The Godwit is a winter migrant and somewhat sadly considered 'Near Threatened' by IUCN : www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/106003003/0

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Notes: Curves adjustment, mild crop. Fill light to expose the tailfeathers.

450D | EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM
ISO800 400mm f/5.6 1/500sec

View Large

A common garden lizard giving me a wary eye -near our bungalow at Panikkavillu, Wilpattu National Park. I found this critter in the underbrush when I did a quick recce around the bungalow with the macro lens for a change. It was harsh light so the shadows of the trees provided a decent OOF background.

Notes: Black and White conversion, curves adjustment. Noise reduction and USM sharpening.

450D | EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
ISO800 100mm f/8.0 1/200sec

A pair of great stone plovers. Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. View Large

A reasonably common sight in the park, these guys do a cute bob of the head and dip of the tail that you can't quite capture in a photograph!

Notes: Curves and white balance adjusted. USM Sharpening and 8x10 crop (vertical only).

450D | EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM
ISO200 400mm f/5.6 1/400sec

Sunrise at Panikkavillu. Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. View Large

The villu (water body/small lake) at dawn was extremely still with the exception of the croaking frogs and insects of the night but soon after sunrise, life emerged out of the surrounding jungle. A lone elephant approached the villu from the sandy embankment on the further shore and began its morning feed and the usual water birds returned to their usual spots in and around the plain. As my father put it; life goes on around these villus unchanged as we toil away at our respective urban routines.

Notes: Curves adjsustment and mild crop. USM sharpening. Painted in some positive exposure on the tree-line to lift the shadows.

450D | EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM | 3-Stop Reverse GND
ISO100 10mm f/7.1 25sec