Ahhh, birds.

For a long time I considered myself anti-bird. The only birds I enjoyed watching or photographing were ones that were flightless (penguins) or of immense size (ostriches).

Gradually my bird hatred has faded away. I blame those old feelings on the fact that amazingly bright coloured birds are rare at home in Canada. But the more I travelled, the more interesting birds I saw. Toucans, hornbills, flycatchers and all sorts of birds of prey – all different than what I was used to at home. As my interest and knowledge of photography has grown, so has my interest in birds, which often make for challenging photography subjects.

This one here is a simple purple swamphen in Sri Lanka. There were a few of these hanging out, and fighting, in a field on my way to the ancient fortress of Yapahuwa. I liked the contrast of the bright green background with the blue, purple and red colouring of the swamphen.