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Thai delight

Puff-throated Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps), Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, December 21, 2008, 10:45 am, photographed by Paul Kusmin
Published: April 24, 2009
Puff-throated Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps), by Paul Kusmin
When Paul Kusmin visited Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's first national park, with his wife Audy at the end of 2008, a pair of hard-to-photograph species were high on his wish list: the shy but charismatic Blue Pitta and the secretive Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo. The park, located a few hours east of Bangkok, is a reliable spot for each.

Kusmin purchased a portable blind from a popular local manufacturer, Wat Krating, and sat hunched inside it for four hours as shrieking monkeys raced by every now and then. He was rewarded for his patience with many good shots ­- White-rumped Shama, Siberian Blue Robin, Orange-headed Thrush, and the handsome bird shown here, Puff-throated Babbler - but he never did see his target birds.

Not that it matters. "Being in the company of other photographers who are just as passionate about birds as I am made the trip memorable, to say the least," he says.
Equipment used
Camera: Nikon D300 body, Nikon MC-36 remote shutter
Lens: Nikkor 500mm f/4 AFS-I, Wat Krating lens-plate stiffener
Tripod: Gitzo 3530LS 6X carbon fiber, Jobu BWG-LW head
Settings: ISO 200, 1/20, f/8, aperture priority, center-weighted average
Light: Natural, no flash (possible flash from other photographers' cameras)
Format: RAW converted to TIFF
Adjustments: Cropped 5-10%, Capture NX and Photoshop CS2 used for processing
Blind: Wat Krating (length 46", width 46", height 54", weight 5 lbs.)
Paul Kusmin
Meet the photographer
BIRDING ESCAPE: Photographer Paul Kusmin takes a break from taking pictures. Kusmin has been reading Birder's World since 2006, and he has been a member of our bird photography forum since 2007 (screen name 45revs). He lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and works as a production artist for a manufacturer of environmental and architectural signage. "It can be stressful and tedious work," he says. "I find bird photography to be the perfect way to relax."
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