Extreme Photography Conditions – Birds Of Paradise

As I continue through my series covering my trip to West Papua, I starting feeling more and more inadequate as a photographer and went searching for better footage I could show on this blog.  I found this stunning documentary filmed by a National Geographic crew in Papua New Guinea.  Although a different political entity, the geography was familiar and I was amazed at the extremes these professional photographers had to go through to get those amazing shots!  These techniques will be well outside the scope of a normal eco-traveler, in one case they had to wait 80 days to get 90 seconds of footage!  The muddy trails, slipping in the mud and agile locals who make you look like a clumsy oaf by comparison were familiar!  Rather than feeling inadequate, I now feel extremely lucky to have gotten the shots and footage I did in the few days I was there which will be revealed throughout this blog series.   For now, enjoy this documentary done by top professionals and the beauty of the birds they filmed.

Caution:  there are some distressing clips of birds and feathers mounted on hats which upset me and may upset you too.