Auckland Zoo Photography part 1 – Blue & Gold Macaw

I have not been able to use this site as life has become so busy I was unable to visit.

One of the things I have done is to take a Beginners Photography Course at the Auckland Zoo. 

Yes, my photos are generally on automatic and just point and shoot! I have a beautiful camera and wanted to know more about it, in fact I have 2 canon cameras. Canon 7 D with an attachable zoom lens and Canon Powershot. SX HS 50.

So the outcome of it, is that I still yet have a lot to learn. 

So, there were 5 women in our photography group, one of them was our tutor a very successful photographer who trained in London, she has done fashion model work and now works along with other photographers at the Auckland Memorial Museum. Most of the other women were very interesting people of the same age.

I will begin with the lesson of the Blue & Gold Macaw and just stick to that.

This is an enormous parrot that lives about the same age as a human and retains a mental age of a human 3 year old. It would require a lot of specialised bird see and the screech it makes certainly would shatter your best crystal glasses . Probably destroy your household furniture as well. Not to mention the giant size poo.

So the best place for this bird to live is either the country and place of origin or else inside a Zoo! Unless you have a lot of patience and indestructable furniture and since it will be still with you at age 80 at the mental age of 3, I would not advise it is a suitable pet.

The Zoo keepers would be very fond of these magnificent birds and they have them well trained outdoors so that people can watch them fly to get food from their faithful caretakers.

I set my shutter speed to take photos very quickly and this is what your need to catch birds in flight. I used my Canon 7D with the attachable Zoom lens. My tutor was a great help.

I am used to moving fast with bird flight but the hardest part for me, is the hours of photo editing after the photo shoot.

Some people travel around the world to find themselves, but I don’t really believe in that. I find that it is a great idea to learn about people, the world and nature and that is a very interesting and valuable lesson in life. 

Some people have their head in the clouds, but I find the most inspiring is right down on planet earth!

You can learn something by visiting your local Zoo and even a large Blue & Gold Macaw Parrot with a mental age of 3 can teach you something about life. In order to learn, you need to give something back of yourself. Some people are not able to do that, give of themselves. I don’t know why but I find its precious for something always comes back if you give of yourself. (with care)

Flying involves moving the air with wings, and this bird is highly focused on gaining food from the Zoo keeper. I also know that these beautiful birds form a bond with people. It is a terrible thing to be abandoned, and because the Auckland Zoo has the right environment for the Blue and gold Macaw, in New Zealand, it is the best place for them.

As I concentrate on the flight path of this bird it reveals its many types of abilities.

You may notice that the Zoo Keeper has protection for their hands and they would need it. The bird has great strength in their claws and beak, which they need in the wild.

To photograph or even draw or paint anything that is really special you need to focus on what you are doing and give yourself to task. In the same way, this Blue and Gold Macaw does the same, mental of of 3 or not. They have survived with great difficulty. Man has often killed these creatures with their selfish schemes 

Yet there are also enlightened people who hold out a light and seek to preserve the life of nature by learning about the environment and its wonderful magnificent creatures like birds.

The Blue and Gold Macaw is a magnificent beautiful bird and I hope you like the photos.