Daniel Petrescu Photography

Rose-coloured Starling (Sturnus roseus)

Daniel — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:21:31 +0000

The Rose-coloured Starling (Sturnus roseus), is one of those birds that demonstrate how superficial humans are. La Vie en Rose its really paying off for this little birds. They are not so different from the well known Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) but whenever they show up the twitchers are moving in. These are amazing birds and they look 'nice' but that pink doesn't make sense… The scientific name of the Common Staling is vulgaris… now that is not fair. Romania is one of the few European countries where this specie is nesting almost every year. They prefer Dobrogea's dry climate and old stone quarries while feeding mostly on grasshoppers and locusts. Almost every year you can find a colony in the area but during some years they decide to show off and form huge, noisy, pink, smelly colonies in the near of Tulcea town.

In the past their name was Pastor rosaeus and the archaic name in English was Smelling Pastor… so there goes the myth that shows the human conspiracy regarding this species. Like every obvious beauty this one has it's dirty secret… it smells like hell. Later in history they tried to hide this… so they have changed it's name from smelling to Rose-coloured… now that's convenient isn't it.

I took the pictures below in a colony situated just a few hundred meters out of Tulcea town a couple of years ago and I can tell you they smell. I have learned my lesson many years ago when I have discovered the largest colony ever recorded in Dobrogea (30.000 individuals). I stood in that colony for half a day with my friend Paul Sterry, a renowned wildlife photographer, to try and take some photos. At the end of the day I had to throw away my clothes as they where stinking like hell…

If you want to see them in action and smell them you will have to take a tour in Dobrogea from 15th of May to end of June. Not all the years you get lucky but if there is a dry hot summer the chances are higher. You can contact me if you want info from the field so you don't travel for nothing.

Don't forget to visit my Nature Stock Photos site in case you want to buy any of this pictures and also visit my Ibis Tours site for birdwatching tours in Romania.

The best Slow Motion I’ve seen

Daniel — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:15:40 +0000

Here is one of the best slow motion shots I have seen. They are taken with a camera capable of 1000 frames per second… it's just an add but it is incredible.

Sand Animation by Kseniya Simonova

Daniel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:22:30 +0000

This is an amazing artist… I've seen sand animations before but none like this. This artist Ksenia Simonova is the winner of a talent show in Ukraine. The first video is about the second world war and it's influence on Ukrainian people.

A life story…

Birdwatching Holidays in the Danube Delta.

Natura are nevoie de conștiința noastră!

Daniel — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:13:18 +0000

Un articol interesant de Lilia Cazacu pe care vi-l recomand.

"De multe ori mă cuprinde neputința, indignarea și ura față de oameni, inclusiv de mine. De căte ori revin acasă în Basarabia, lunca Prutului arată din ce în ce mai defrișată, mai pustie și mai goală. Oamenii nu pot înțelege că atunci când taie păduri întregi, distrug habitatele animalelor și păsărilor care mor! Mor uitându-se direct în ochii noștri și luptând doar cu lacrima! Anual dispar multe specii, iar nouă parcă nu ne pasă deloc. Este cineva care nu se bucură de magia sărbătorilor de iarnă? De aceste zile în care generozitatea, plăcerea de a face cadouri și de a petrece alături de cei dragi?" … CITESTE TOT ARTICOLUL

Make-up Artist in Tulcea

Daniel — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:52:23 +0000

A few days ago I have started an experiment together with Ana Anghel, a make-up artist from Tulcea. As I have more experience with wildlife than humans I thought I might try this too. Andreea became the model, a beautiful girl from Tulcea. After a lot of trial and error and an old box of shoes transformed in a softbox for my flash here are the results. Please let us know what you think and give us some advice on how to improve our images.

The lenses I used for this are:

Canon 70-200 F4 IS L

Canon 50mm F1.8 II

Sigma Macro 180mm f3.2

Ana Anghel – Make-Up Artist

If you are ever in the need of an make-up artist in Tulcea don't hesitate to contact Ana. I am sure she'll charm you and make you feel good about yourself.

Here are some images of Andreea:

World record kick in the nuts…ouch

Daniel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:51:54 +0000

A bit of topic but just a great video to loosen up while watching )

Winter birds and landscapes

Daniel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:08:18 +0000

Few people are lucky enough to be able to travel in the Danube Delta during the winter. There are many reasons why you shouldn't travel during this time of the year – cold weather, few birds and again cold weather… but for those who can look past this impediments the delta can offer a rewarding experience. Photo wise there are many opportunities as the colors are great and different. The birds are a bit shy due to hunting in the area, but when the lakes are freezing the birds are concentrating on the channels. The main species you will encounter are found in the table below.

Winter Birds in the Danube Delta


- Great Egret (Ardea alba)	- Pygmy Cormorant(Phalacrocorax pygmaeus)	- Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)

- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)	- Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)	- Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

- White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)	- Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga)	- Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

-Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)	- Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)

Many other bird species can be encountered but this is what you will see mainly while on the way… the obvious.

The landscape is interesting in many way and it varies a lot depending on the weather. Ice brings the spectacular and is the most desired while photographing.

If you are a nature lover I highly recommend you to visit the Danube Delta during winter time. Be prepared with very very very warm clothe and you will not be disappointed.

Don't forget to rate this post and leave a comment if you like. Visit my other websites for Nature Stock Photos and Tours in the Danube Delta.

Winter Photography in The Danube Delta

Daniel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:21:36 +0000

This weekend I went again with my father in the Danube Delta, where we tried to take some pictures of the ice and wildlife. It was a cloudy day and even so we managed to find interesting subjects. The resulted images are not too exciting but they answer the question of many -"how does the delta look in the winter". I can tell you in words but nothing explains it better than a good photo. I love the delta when it is frozen and you can walk on the lakes and in the flooded forests but unfortunately this happens quite rare lately. This year seems to be a better one from this point of view as the winter is hard and unforgiving. The birds are concentrated in areas where the current is strong and the ice can't form as easy. Again I hope you will enjoy my pictures and let me know what you think of them.

Remember to visit my other websites for Nature Stock Photos and the one for Tours in the Danube Delta if you are planing to visit this part of the world.

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) -Pescarelul Albastru photography

Daniel — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:27:44 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was exploring the Danube Delta with my father to do a bird count and take some pictures of the delta in winter. The weather was not ideal and after a few hours of boat driving we encountered a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) sitting on a snowee branch. At first we thought it will take off as soon as we turn the boat around… but… surprise… it was the most tame Kingfisher I have ever seen. It ignored us completely and flew only when I was making noise or when the boat hit something in our attempt to get a better angle. While watching the Kingfisher it suddenly plunged into the water and came out with a Mole-cricket (Grillotalpa grillotalpa). This is an unusual siting and I was lucky to be able to photograph it. The Kingfisher struggled to swallow the insect about 10 minutes as the head and the big front feet and wings wouldn't detach.

We supposed this bird was a Nordic migrant by the way it behaved. I hope you will enjoy the pictures and if you would like to know more about bird photography in Romania don't hesitate to contact me. If you are into birdwatching than check out the tours offered by my company IBIS TOURS.

To purchase any of the pictures on my website please contact me or visit www.naturestockphotos.ro

Exotic fish photography on the cheap

Daniel — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:41:53 +0000

Exotic fish photographed in the Tulcea aquarium.