East African Crested Crane
East African Crested Crane at Wingham Wildlife Park.
(Panasonic Lumix DMC- FZ200)
Apr, 2015Views
150
Likes
Awards
2020 Choice Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
Top Ranks
Top 20 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1Categories
tonyboicelli
April 12, 2015
Tack sharp! Would love to see one outside of a zoo, they are so photogenic
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Behind The Lens
Location
On one of my visits to a local wildlife park (Wingham, Kent). I have not had the wonderful opportunity of going to Africa, but I am lucky enough to live close to several great animal parks!Time
It was midday in August so plenty of bright sunlight.Lighting
The light was fairly strong, luckily, I was able to move to a position with the sun behind me. Usually at this time of day it can be a hindrance but found it worked quite well especially for this bird as it helps to mimic its natural settings of Africa. In addition, I love how it glints off the eye and illuminates the details of the iris.Equipment
Simply my a Panasonic Lumix DMC- FZ200.Inspiration
I adore wildlife photography and I was looking to practice and experiment with my first camera. Reading up online it was recommended to visit your local zoo. When visiting, the East African Crested cranes were out and in a perfect position.Editing
I was extremely happy with the original photograph so in this case there was just a small increase in contrast to help those various colours and textures of the bird ‘pop’.In my camera bag
My camera bag is pretty light, just my bridge Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 and a spare battery.Feedback
Visit your local zoo at different times of the year, if you visit more often you’ll discover the best times of day for each species and even learn when the non-advertised feeding days/times are. Try to get on the same eye level as the animal, if that isn’t possible then experiment with different angles, the more extreme the better! You may get some weird looks from other people (and possible from the animals themselves) but you’ll have some more unusual shots.
