There are many amazing birds of prey in Africa, but there is one that is undoubtedly the “king of the African sky” due to its beauty, splendour and hauntingly evocative, distinctive call. I am talking about the African Fish Eagle, of course.
During our recent Wild Eye photographic safari on the Chobe river that lies between Namibia and Botswana, we had some amazing encounters with these birds. This particular female was sitting on the edge of the river and we were able to glide our specialised photographic boat right up to her and capture some striking portraits. It’s not every day you can be this close to a raptor in the wild and capture these images (the ones you normally see are taken of birds in captivity or in rehabilitation centres).
This photo is pretty much full frame at 36 megapixels, and the details are mind-blowing. I particularly love the tuft of feathers blown up by the wind on the crown of her head. I opened the aperture as wide as it can go to smooth out the green riverbank behind her and create a pleasing separation between subject and environnent. I was hand-holding my lens, so I pushed the shutter speed to a high enough value to compensate for possible camera shake.
I used the amazing Nik Color Efex 4 plugin to extract some more detail and contrast from the bird – since the conditions were overcast and the light was flat.
I hope you enjoyed this one. Have a superb day, my friends…
Morkel Erasmus
Morkel Erasmus
I used to relish writing these kinds of “bio” pieces and would flaunt the odd impressive word and use dashing grammar to make it sound like I am a boundary-shifting photographer. These days I prefer stating it in much simpler ways, much more relatable ways, much more believable ways… The fact of the matter is this: I love Africa. I love its people, its wild places and its wildlife. I love being immersed in these places, observing and photographing the fall of light on the land and the daily lives of the creatures that call it home, and presenting the results to whoever will take a look. To me, nature photography is all about being in the moment, and capturing that moment in a way that can relate to someone who didn’t have the privilege of being there with me. Sometimes I am able to capture a unique vision of the scene before me, and sometimes I just capture it the way most folks would according to classical photographic guidelines. Yet I always enjoy sharing the images and experiences and imparting the knowledge I have, both in-the-field and later online or in presentations, workshops and courses. I also just simply enjoy capturing and sharing the beauty of God's creation! The greatest thing I’ve found about wildlife and nature photography in Southern Africa is the unity and familiarity of the community of people that share this passion. We come from all walks of life and all cultures and backgrounds, yet our passion for our natural heritage and our dream to see it preserved for future generations binds strangers together and fuels conversations around campfires long after other people have run out of conversation and energy. Join me on a WildEye adventure to experience this sharing community spirit and learn to anticipate that fleeting moment and be ready for it, learn to immerse yourself in the experience without losing focus of your photographic goals…and above all, learn to see Africa anew… because there are none as blind as those who look but do not see!
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