Shoebill Stork
A shoebill stork. One of the strangest birds I've encountered!
A shoebill stork. One of the strangest birds I've encountered!
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Aug, 2014Views
889
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Awards
Winner in Unique or Out of the Ordinary Animals Photo Challenge
jeffreycresswell
January 05, 2015
I am going to Uganda this year to photographs this incredible bird, well shot I love this image...Jeff
Platinum
ShellyRwanda
January 27, 2016
Where did you find this beauty. We have then in Rwanda but they are very shy and we have yet to see one. It is my dream bird to check of my list right now.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was on holiday in the Czech Republic & spent a day at Prague Zoo, which is where I came across this beautiful but unusual bird.Time
This was abut 10.30am. I was in an area of aviaries with water fowl when I came across the Shoebill Storks.Lighting
This was a closed in area with a glass viewing panel in the front so it was all in artificial lighting. I had to hold my lens right up against the glass to prevent reflections. The image came out a lot better than I expected to considering the light.Equipment
This was taken on my old camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50. I've since upgraded a couple of times. I couldn't use a flash as the birds would not have liked that at all. My camera had the standard factory lens, a Leica 25mm-600mm wide angle.Inspiration
I just thought this bird was so ugly it was beautiful. It looks so prehistoric!. It's grey colouring stood out so well against the green foliage. The expression on it's face also caught my eye, so grumpy!Editing
I adjusted the exposure slightly in post processing to correct the shadowing in the foliage. Other than that I was lucky it was such a good image.In my camera bag
I'm very lazy when it comes to equipment. I'm not a geeky person about camera bodies, lens etc. I usually only carry a camera, sometimes a tripod but that's very rare.Feedback
My best advice would be go to zoo's! You have a greater choice of animals & birds to photograph & many do have species that you would rarely see in the wild. Take you time & have the patience to watch your subject. They eventually give you that photo your waiting for.
