By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 86 Photography: Birdwatching Diary [6 words]

Next stop: Nanchang.

Li Younan's plan was to go from Nanchang to Hunan, and finally from Hunan to Sichuan.

However, just as Li Younan was about to set off from Jingdezhen, he hesitated.

Poyang Lake isn't a lake... it's the kind of big lake you can see on a map.

There are two main routes to cross Poyang Lake: one goes from the north side of the lake, and the other goes from the south side.

If you're going to Nanchang, it's naturally closer to go from the south.

However, that would mean giving up a lot of the scenery in the north, and if you choose the north, there are some places in the south that you can't visit.

Li Younan lay in bed agonizing for a long time before slowly sitting up. With a touch of helplessness, she thought that it was unrealistic to expect to see all the scenery along the way at once. She had a long life ahead of her, so she decided to just pick one at random.

Li Younan closed his eyes and chose the north direction, then looked along the way... He could pass through the town of Wucheng.

This place is also called Wucheng Migratory Bird Town, which, as the name suggests, is a place to watch migratory birds and is a famous wetland.

Li Younan wasn't as interested in ancient towns as Zhu Qingyue. Most ancient towns in this era were actually the same, heavily commercialized, and no matter where you went, they were all the same.

What interested Li Younan more was that there was a campsite and a viewing platform. After camping, one could climb up to the viewing platform and see the entire Poyang Lake.

Of course, the most famous migratory bird habitat here is no longer visible. Migratory birds usually gather on the shores of Poyang Lake in winter, and it is currently July.

Li Younan had no regrets. In July, during the high water season of Poyang Lake, the sight of the water highway was quite spectacular.

Once the route was decided, Li Younan stopped worrying about it. He sent all the videos he had taken during the day, including the video of the artisan, to JK Long.

After a while, JK Dragon replied: "Is the theme of this video this auntie who paints porcelain?"

Li Younan replied, "Yes, could you cut it out?"

Brother Long paused for a moment and said, "Editing this video isn't difficult, but the theme of your video is relatively serious. If you do it well, you'll get a lot of likes, and it's very likely that some local authorities will secretly promote it for you. However, editing the video itself is easy, but the finished product is more difficult. The main difficulty lies in the script."

After hesitating for a moment, Brother Long said, "To be honest, I'm not very good at writing those artsy copywriting pieces."

Li Younan thought of something, his eyes darting around, and said, "Wait for me a moment."

He then messaged Zhu Qingyue: "Could you help me write a script for the video from the daytime?"

Zhu Qingyue replied a moment later: "It's about that older sister, right?"

Li Younan said, "That's right, that's right. I wrote five or six myself, but I wasn't satisfied with any of them. They couldn't even come close to your writing skills, so I thought of you."

Zhu Qingyue sent a smirking emoji and said, "Let me see the copy you wrote."

Li Younan looked at the screen, a slightly embarrassed smile on his face, coughed, and replied, "Let's forget about it."

Zhu Qingyue didn't press him for it any further, saying, "Sure, I just had a few insights today and I'm writing something down. You can use it."

Li Younan said, "Don't worry, I'll pay you the royalties later."

After sending the message, Zhu Qingyue didn't reply for a while before sending another message: "I think you didn't mean it, but please don't say things like that in the future. There's something... I don't like it."

"I don't want money. If it were for money, I wouldn't give you the copy."

Li Younan blinked as she looked at the message, then gently tapped her head...

You can't talk about money with an artsy girl...

After finishing the copywriting, Li Younan immediately replied to Brother Long: "Brother Long, I've finished the copywriting. Do you need me to give you the copy so we can edit the video later?"

JK Dragon replied to the message: "I can cut out a rough draft first, and then make some adjustments after I have the copy."

Suddenly he sent another screenshot, this time of Zhu Qingyue, who appeared only a few times in the video. He asked, "Who is she?"

Li Younan replied: "A friend of mine."

JK Dragon asked again, "Weren't you traveling alone before? How come you suddenly have a friend?"

Li Younan didn't think much of it and gave a simple explanation, without going into too much detail. He just said that Zhu Qingyue was a friend he had met during a previous trip, and they happened to be traveling in the same area, so they had been traveling together for the past few days.

JK Long replied with an "Oh" and said, "You can have her help you shoot some third-person videos."

Let's skip this topic.

……

Zhu Qingyue had no objection to the route decided by Li Younan.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the summer heat in Jingdezhen had not yet fully set in.

The Land Cruiser was parked on the side of the road, and the engine's low, steady vibrations were very noticeable.

Zhu Qingyue opened the car door and got in. She placed her canvas bag next to her feet, and the hard corner of her notebook could be seen inside.

She fastened her seatbelt, yawned, and said, "The copywriting is done. I'll send it to you later."

Li Younan blinked. He noticed that Zhu Qingyue had slightly dark circles under her eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Did you stay up all night writing this?"

Zhu Qingyue glanced at Li Younan, stretched, and then slowly said, "Actually, the copy was finished at eight o'clock in the evening, but I wasn't satisfied with it, so I kept revising it until two in the morning. I took a nap, but still felt uneasy, so I got up and revised it back to the first version..."

Li Younan was speechless for a moment, unsure how to comment.

After staying up all night to get going, Zhu Qingyue fell into a deep sleep. Even after falling asleep, the artistic young woman maintained a serene expression.

As we drove away, the smell of porcelain on the streets of Jingdezhen gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

There weren't many cars on the highway, and outside the window were the rolling hills of northeastern Jiangxi, shrouded in a thin morning mist.

Part of the journey involved taking a national highway, which was a bit roundabout, but the road conditions were good. The area on both sides was mostly farmland and villages. At the roadside in a small town, the two stopped to buy some water and simple groceries.

Although it's called camping, we don't plan to sleep outdoors; the main purpose is to have a picnic.

The detour took a bit longer. We found a small restaurant on the outskirts of Yongxiu County for lunch. A simple stir-fried dish with rice.

As Zhu Qingyue ate, she remarked, "There aren't many migratory birds in the summer; white cranes only come in the winter."

Li Younan responded.

There weren't many birds to see on this trip, only some summer resident birds. However, you can experience the waterway highway; we've already applied for a permit in advance.

When the boss heard that they were going camping in Wucheng, he gave them a piece of ice to take with them.

We arrived at the Wucheng Visitor Center before 1 p.m.

At the entrance, staff wearing reflective vests checked identification and passes.

He handed Li Younan a route map: "Drive along the road and you'll reach the waterway highway. The destination is near Wanghu Pavilion, where you can park."

The asphalt road stretches straight ahead through the wide reed beds.

The water had just overflowed the road surface, about twenty centimeters deep. As the wheels rolled over it, they created two transparent curtains of water.

Zhu Qingyue opened the car window, and the lake breeze, carrying moist air, rushed in.

There are water level gauges by the roadside. If the water level rises any higher, cars will not be allowed to pass.

The waterway is about a few kilometers long and travels very slowly.

On both sides are endless reeds and water, and occasionally you can see water birds flying by.

At the end of the road, the terrain rises slightly, and the outline of Wanghu Pavilion appears in front.

The pavilion looks quite old, and there's an empty space next to it.

They parked the Land Cruiser near the pavilion.

After getting off the bus, the lake breeze became more noticeable.

The air was filled with the scent of lake water and plants. In the distance, the water and sky merged into one, stretching to the horizon.

The clouds piled up in the distance, their color darkening.

Zhu Qingyue stood by the car, gazing at the lake, and said with some joy, "This is it!"

As soon as I got out of the car to stretch my arms and legs, I heard a slightly impatient "click" sound from the side.

Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw a man wearing a brand-new multi-pocket photography vest, holding an expensive-looking telephoto camera and tripod, snapping photos rapidly towards the lake.

Beside him was a huge equipment case, its lid open, revealing that it was crammed full of lenses, filter boxes, and various accessories.

He made a lot of movements when changing lenses, muttering to himself, "Oh dear, the lighting is still a bit off. I'll have to wait until evening to use a neutral density filter to fix it... Tsk, these migratory birds aren't cooperating either, they're flying too far apart."

Not far away, there was an older woman, probably his wife, preparing camping gear, completely ignoring the man. Two children were running around the canopy like crazy.

As he spoke, the photographer pulled a box containing a square filter from his trunk and gestured towards the sky.

Li Younan walked over a few steps and looked in the direction of his camera.

There were indeed a few white waterbirds flying in the distance over the lake, but they were far away and just small white dots moving around.

"Big brother, taking pictures of birds?" Li Younan casually asked.

As if he had finally found someone to confide in, he immediately turned around and patted his gleaming camera lens: "That's right! I came all the way from Nanchang. Look at my equipment, paired with this big white cannon, it's a bird-hunting marvel!"

His tone was filled with undisguised pride, then he complained, "It's just that the bird isn't cooperating; it flies too high and too erratically. I've tried a few shots, but the composition still doesn't have enough impact. I need to find a better angle."

He enthusiastically showed Li Younan the photos he had just taken.

The birds on the camera screen were indeed very small, almost submerged in the gray-white lake and sky background, and some of the photos were even blurry because the birds were flying too fast.

He pointed to one of the blurry-edged birds in flight: "Look at this moment, the posture of the wings is captured fairly well, right? It's just that the position is a bit off. As for the composition, we still need to work on it. We have to take the rule of thirds and the golden ratio into account, right?"

Li Younan nodded, offering no further comment.

He started swiping on the camera screen again, studying his composition grid lines, while muttering exposure parameters under his breath.

Zhu Qingyue coughed softly, as if reminding everyone that it was time to pack up.

Li Younan walked back to the car and took out a camping chair from the trunk.

The man was still adjusting the height of his tripod over the lake, making quite a few movements. One leg of the tripod got stuck in the soft mud, and it took him some effort to pull it out.

Zhu Qingyue handed Li Younan a bottle of water and said with a smile, "You've got quite the equipment." Li Younan was indeed a little speechless.

There's an indescribable sense of dissonance between that guy's top-of-the-line equipment and what he actually filmed, and what he tried to film.

Li Younan unscrewed the water bottle and took a sip. A lake breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness.

In the distance, those few small white dots were still hovering leisurely.

……

Li Younan and Zhu Qingyue began unloading camping equipment from the trunk.

The breeze by the lake carried moisture, which felt quite comfortable.

The photographer was still taking pictures, moving the tripod around several times, and muttering words like "lighting," "angle," and "noise" from time to time.

Zhu Qingyue set up a folding chair by the car, leaned back leisurely, and opened a book.

Li Younan then took out the canopy bag, preparing to find a flat spot.

Just as I bent down to put my bag down, I caught a glimpse of a shallow mudflat near the shore.

The water there was shallow, barely reaching ankle height, and the mudflats were dotted with aquatic plants and small puddles.

Several long-legged avocets were looking down, quickly sweeping their unique upturned beaks through the muddy water in search of food.

This bird is a local summer resident and one of the few birds that can be seen before winter.

They move quickly, but with a unique rhythm, their white feathers standing out against the gray background.

The scene is vivid, carrying the busy vitality unique to the lakeside.

Li Younan thought the picture was pretty good, and since the camera was in the trunk, he casually took his phone out of his pocket.

For Li Younan, even using just a mobile phone, at this distance and under these lighting conditions, was enough to capture interesting moments.

Li Younan squatted down, leaning slightly forward, to find an angle where he wouldn't be obscured by weeds.

I simply tapped the screen twice with my finger to lock the focus on the most gracefully moving avocet, and then gently touched the exposure compensation sun icon to slightly darken the background and make the waterbird's outline clearer.

My finger hovered over the virtual shutter button, and I waited patiently for two or three seconds. Just as the bird suddenly snatched a wriggling little fish from the water, leaned back slightly to maintain its balance, and gently opened the tips of its wings a little bit, I pressed the shutter button.

Li Younan straightened up and quickly swiped through the photos he had just taken on his phone screen.

It's alright. The action is frozen, the background is blurred naturally, the bird's details are clear, and the composition isn't particularly exquisite, but it has a sense of being there.

Li Younan casually stuffed his phone back into his pocket and continued bending down to untie the ribbons of the canopy.

"Hey, young man..." The photographer's voice suddenly rang out from behind, tinged with surprise.

I don't know when, but he strolled over, probably because he saw Li Younan taking pictures.

The confidence he had displayed while fiddling with the equipment had faded somewhat, replaced by a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty in his eyes.

He leaned closer: "I saw you take a picture with your phone just now?"

Li Younan stopped what he was doing and nodded: "Yes, it just so happens to be catching fish."

"Can I take a look?" He glanced at Li Younan's pocket where he had put his phone.

“Okay.” Li Younan took out his phone, swiped the screen, found the photo, and handed it to him.

He took it, zoomed in on the screen with his finger, and looked at it closely for a long time without saying a word.

"You can take pictures with a mobile phone?" There was a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Hmm." Li Younan responded without explaining further, reaching for his phone and putting it away. "The lighting was alright. I was lucky that it was close by, but the effect would have been better if I had used a camera."

The photographer opened his mouth, but in the end he only said "Oh...oh" twice.

Nothing was said.

Zhu Qingyue chuckled softly beside her, not looking at Li Younan, and continued reading her book.

A lake breeze blew, and the reeds rustled.

……

A few dark clouds drifted in and blocked the sunlight, making the light much dimmer.

Li Younan took his camera out of the equipment bag in the trunk of the Land Cruiser.

It comes with a telephoto lens.

Cameras in this price range, while having their own strengths, are sufficient for everyday photography of landscapes and wild birds.

After turning on the computer, Li Younan habitually checked the battery and memory card.

Just then, from deep within a patch of reeds near Li Younan and Zhu Qingyue, a rapid, loud, and somewhat harsh cry suddenly rang out—

Immediately afterwards, a medium-sized great egret suddenly burst out of the reeds, skimming across the water at high speed.

Its wings flapped extremely fast, and it flew low and swiftly, heading straight for the open lake surface where Li Younan and Zhu Qingyue were.

This bird's flight path is difficult to predict; it flies very fast and in very poor lighting conditions.

But this is Li Younan.

The system even triggered his instinctive reactions.

Li Younan immediately squatted into a stable position, bent his left arm to support the heavy front of the lens, and quickly operated the camera's shoulder screen with his right index finger. He switched the drive mode to high-speed continuous shooting, increased the ISO by one stop, and directly turned the shutter speed to over 1/2000 second!
At the same time, Li Younan's eyes were pressed against the viewfinder, and the lens was locked on the fast-moving white figure.

It flew so fast that it rapidly magnified in the viewfinder.

Li Younan held his breath, his body slightly following its trajectory, and his finger half-pressed the shutter button...

Just as it was about to swoop down over Li Younan and Zhu Qingyue's heads, its wings fully outstretched, its body at its most graceful and powerful moment—

"Click, click, click, click..." The sound of high-speed continuous shooting rang out like tearing cloth, lasting for more than two seconds.

The sound stopped.

Li Younan put down his camera and quickly reviewed the photos he had just taken.

Of the dozen or so photos taken at high speed, only two or three were clear.

In one of the images, the white-winged gull is positioned entirely in the center of the frame with its wings fully outstretched. Although the background is dark, the subject is accurately exposed, rich in detail, and its flight dynamics are completely captured. The composition is also simple and powerful.

Li Younan breathed a sigh of relief. In this kind of lighting, it's already pretty good to be able to capture a clear image of the flying model.

Just then, the photographer had somehow gotten very close, his eyes fixed on the playback screen on Li Younan's camera.

He heard the rapid clicking of camera shutters.

Li Younan was generous and showed it to him directly, feeling a slight sense of satisfaction at having successfully shown off.

"This...this lighting...this speed...how did you do that?" He pointed at the screen. "I...I didn't even realize a bird flew by! You...you just held the camera still and took the picture? And it's so clear? The ISO must be over a thousand, right? Where's the noise?"

He fired off a series of questions, his tone bewildered.

"In poor lighting conditions, the shutter speed must be fast, and the ISO needs to be high. Noise can be reduced in post-processing." Li Younan explained simply, without mentioning specific parameters. He hung the camera back around his neck and bent down to continue working on the celestial canopy. "The main thing is to predict its flight path and keep the focus fast and stable."

He stood there, unable to process all this information.

Looking at the camera that Li Younan seemed to know so well around his neck, he remained silent for several seconds before taking a step forward, a slightly awkward yet extremely sincere smile spreading across his face: "Um...brother...teacher! Could...could you...teach me? Like...like that, how do I capture it? My equipment isn't bad, but I just can't seem to get the shot right..."

“I…I’ll treat you to dinner! Or…or you can take a look at my equipment and see if there’s anything that needs improvement?” He pointed to his pile of equipment.

Zhu Qingyue coughed softly beside her, as if she had choked on the wind, or perhaps something else.

She kept her head down, turning the pages of the book, and didn't look up.

Li Younan looked at the well-equipped but bewildered older brother in front of him, feeling both amused and understanding.

Photography is something that money can't always buy.

Some people rely on talent, some on skill... and some on a system.

Everyone made touching contributions.

……

When you're away from home, you'll find friends everywhere.

The photographer's surname is Wang, so let's just call him Lao Wang.

Old Wang said, "For people who often camp outdoors, sharing is a natural instinct. Borrowing salt or firewood at the campsite is as natural as breathing, and they dare to bite directly into food handed to them by strangers."

There were only two cars around, so they could easily have a picnic together.

Brother Wang brought fresh charcoal, heated it red-hot with a blowtorch, and threw it into the stove. It had been a while since then.

Right now, the charcoal in the stove is glowing perfectly red, with hardly any smoke.

Li Younan placed several small crucian carp skewered on iron skewers on the fire, about two fingers' width above the flame.

When the fish skin is heated, it quickly tightens, making a slight sizzling sound. Oil droplets seep out and drip onto the charcoal, causing a wisp of smoke to rise, carrying a smoky aroma.

Qingyue sat on the picnic blanket next to her.

She had a thick leather notebook spread out on her lap, and a pencil in her hand, the tip hovering over the paper for a long time without falling.

She gazed at the blurry gray line where the water met the sky in the distance, and the lake breeze blew, causing the stray hairs on her forehead to flutter a few times.

Occasionally, she would look down, her pencil drawing short lines on the paper, then stop, look up, and steal a glance at Li Younan.

A dozen meters away was the tent of Brother Wang's family.

Brother Wang was bending over, fiddling with a slightly larger portable gas stove. On the stove sat a stainless steel pot, the steam making the edge of the lid hiss. His wife sat on a small stool, holding an apple and peeling it with a knife.

After the meal was served, everyone sat together, ate, and chatted.

A gentle lake breeze blew by, carrying away the smoke from the grilled fish and dissipating the heat from the stove.

(End of this chapter)