Avian - 1st Place

Gallery: EPA 2016Posted September 22, 2016560 views15 comments

Stilt and Heron

Early in my recent South Africa trip I spent some time in a couple hides, which produced some nice close-up, eye-level bird photo ops. Here, a Black-winged stilt wades through a pond in front of a massive Goliath heron.

Canon 1DX
Canon 100-400mm
ISO 1600
1/320th
f/5

Max

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on September 22, 2016 at 11:01 AM

Eye-catching image. The narrow depth of field works well here. Very nice.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on September 22, 2016 at 3:59 PM

I love this Max, nothing else to say but "wow". The super low pov and the near matching leg positions with that colorful sky make this a very cool image. devil

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on September 22, 2016 at 8:53 PM

Max:

Very cool image. Gotta love the juxtaposition of the stilt and the Goliath heron. It creates a very dynamic composition.

Nicely seen and executed.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on September 23, 2016 at 4:36 PM

Super shot Max, the heron looks not real, it's so large. Was this at Zimanga? devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 23, 2016 at 4:41 PM

Thanks, folks. Nate, yes, it was in one of the hides at Zimanga, on my very first afternoon. That hide provided a spectacular encounter involving that same Goliath heron and another species a bit earlier in the evening too.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 23, 2016 at 6:22 PM

The similar poses are really cool, Max, and I like your choice of dof. Nice work.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on September 25, 2016 at 12:38 AM

Other than the perfect capture of these two very different shorebirds in the same pond. I really like the warm colors of this photograph.

It's a beauty Max!!!

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on September 25, 2016 at 9:08 AM

.. Wonderful, Max ! A true winner. Love everything, both bird's poses, the light, the colors and of course the surreal huge Heron behind the BNS ! Congrats ! Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on September 25, 2016 at 1:39 PM

Clever, and very effective. Well seen.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on September 26, 2016 at 11:05 AM

It's all been said Max, this is really cool.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Basri Akcasoy on September 28, 2016 at 4:54 PM

Very impressive shot, congratulations...

Registered on February 16, 2012, 118 Posts, 767 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on October 24, 2016 at 7:36 PM

Fascinating image Max, congrats on the WP. The focus is incredibly narrow and accurate, and I love the light striking the heron's head and neck.

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on January 15, 2017 at 9:38 AM

Heartiest congratulations on the First place!
Very fine image indeed!

Jagdeep Rajput devil

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on January 16, 2017 at 4:28 PM

Wonderful shot, Max.
Congrats on the award.
D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on January 21, 2017 at 11:53 AM

Congrats on the award Max, more than deserved ! Cheers, Hans *I predicted it to be a winner as I read back the commets devil

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments