SamuelCoxPhotography

Flocking Together

*Featured by National Geographic in their Photo Of the Day.

It was at the end of a long day in South Luangwa, Zambia and the sun was beginning to s...
Read more

*Featured by National Geographic in their Photo Of the Day.

It was at the end of a long day in South Luangwa, Zambia and the sun was beginning to set when we came across these grazing zebras bathed in the golden light,” writes Samuel Cox, a member of our Your Shot photo community. “Before I could stop the driver, thousands of quelea birds erupted out from the surrounding bushes and flocked up in unison over the nonchalant grazers. I was quick enough to raise up my camera and stable (or lucky) enough to shoot whilst in motion before the moment was lost a few seconds later. Upon reviewing my images I was relieved to see that I had managed to capture the scene in all its glory; the moment was gone, but not lost.
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Canon EOS 7D

settings

Aperture f/8 ISO 250 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 300/1

upload_date

Sep, 2015

Views

914

Likes

+184

Awards

Zenith Award

Top Shot Award 22

Legendary Award

Editor's Choice

Member Selection Award

Featured

Contest Finalist in The Battle Of Professionals Photo Contest

Staff Winter Selection 2015

Peer Award

+63

Superb Composition

+31

Absolute Masterpiece

+20

Top Choice

+19

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Superior Skill

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

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PRO+

Hi - this image would be a great entry for my ‘ABUNDANCE’ challenge I have created.
It closes on 19 August 2020. Could I persuade to give it a go.
The URL is:
viewbug.com/challenge/abundance-photo-challenge-by-paulatchinson
I hope you enter and best of luck.
Paul

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

A lone male Impala taking a quick and cautious drink from a still dam.

A mother hippo reassuringly coaxes her nervous baby calf out of the river.

A lazy lioness being ushered to move on by approaching elephants.

The rising sun, captured as it rose through the dense bush at a time when it was framed by an arching tree branch.

A white rhino standing tall as the sun sets.

A giraffe walking graceful across a dramatic stormy sky, illuminated by the light of a setting sun.

A beautiful sunrise out in the African wilderness after a dramatic stormy night.

A lioness giving a curious look over her shoulder, staring straight down the camera.

A burst of light escapes the smothering clouds as night begins to encroach

An armoured cricket comes face to face with a curious cheetah.

A young leopard, basking in the sun, lazily rolls over to a different side whilst glancing ahead.

An extreme macro close-up photograph of dew-drops clinging to a small spider's web, glistening in the early morning light.

A brown hooded kingfisher being dwarfed by the background presence of an elephant.

Behind The Lens

Location

This photograph was taken in South Luangwa, Zambia where I was visiting specifically for wildlife photography.

Time

This was during the final hour of the day, at the start of the "golden hour" if you will.

Lighting

It was the lighting that first drew my attention to the scene, seeing the zebras grazing whilst being bathed in the lovely dusk light. At the time I was preparing to shoot I had no idea the birds were about to erupt out onto the scene.

Equipment

Canon EOS 7D & Canon 100-400 f4 L IS.

Inspiration

The lighting and peaceful ambience of the scene is what drew me originally to take the photo. As the birds took flight I immediately re-conposed and upped the shutter speed as quickly as I could to try and capture the quickly evolving moment.

Editing

Brought up the shadows to bring more detail in the dark birds and shadowy region. General contrast adjustments and a lowering of the highlights.

In my camera bag

Canon EOS 7Dmkii Canon EOS 5Dmkiii Canon 100-400 L IS Canon 16-35 f4 IS Canon 100mm f2.8 L macro

Feedback

Always be prepared for the unexpected and have your camera set up so that you can react as fast as possible and focus on the moment rather than changing settings (and thus possibly miss getting the shot).

See more amazing photos, follow SamuelCoxPhotography

SamuelCoxPhotography

SamuelCoxPhotography

Flocking Together

*Featured by National Geographic in their Photo Of the Day. It was at the end of a long day in South Luangwa, Zambia and the sun was beginning to s... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow SamuelCoxPhotography

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

*Featured by National Geographic in their Photo Of the Day.

It was at the end of a long day in South Luangwa, Zambia and the sun was beginning to s...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.