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Sunset on the Chobe

Sunset on the Chobe



A marabou stork perches for the night as the sun sets over the Chobe River in Botswana.

A marabou stork perches for the night as the sun sets over the Chobe River in Botswana.
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cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III

settings Aperture 71/10 ISO 100 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 150/1 

upload_dateSep, 2016

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Contest Finalist in Visions Of Africa Photo Contest
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Tags

#sunset #silhouette #tree #sun #stork #marabou_stork

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3 Comments | Report
carolyns PRO
 
carolyns October 30, 2016
Stunning! Botswana must be a wildlife photographer's paradise!
chriswhittier PRO+
chriswhittier December 31, 2016
It certainly is- at least where I've been lucky to visit.
jamiesarkett
 
jamiesarkett December 30, 2016
wow !!!!
chriswhittier PRO+
chriswhittier December 31, 2016
Thanks.
jettahlily008 PRO+
 
jettahlily008 August 08, 2017
Beautiful capture & composition!!! :)

Same photographer See all

A deep water wave churns into the wind off the coast of California. A mountain gorilla's piercing eyes shine through the vegetation as he lies down to rest. An adult male mountain gorilla displays his impressive canine teeth, which- being vegetarian- they use primarily for fighting. The wolf's cousin, a coyote pauses for a break from hunting mice in a grassy meadow of the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Parks, CA. Two image composite of Malaysian sunset from near the top (86th fl observatory) of the Petronas Tower #2. A marabou stork perches for the night as the sun sets over the Chobe River in Botswana.

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Behind The Lens

Location
This image was captured on top of the bank leading down to the Chobe River in in Chobe National Park, Botswana.
Time
The setting sun makes clear that this was a late afternoon shot, shortly before sunset.
Lighting
I'm always on the lookout for silhouettes in nature- even risking my sensors shooting straight into the sunshine. Sitting in a safari truck there is never much option for movement or perfect positioning and alignment, but I've gotten pretty good at timing and anticipating shots like this without troubling drivers (too much). The sunset this nice was magnificent with the reds and purple captured here.
Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 5D Mark III, Tamron SP 150-600 f/5 zoom, handheld, no flash obviously.
Inspiration
We were finishing a day of safari at Chobe and the setting sun was perfect with it's pink and red sky. I spotted this lone marabou stork atop this beautiful twisted branch as we drove along the crest of the bank of the Chobe and thought I might be able to get a "Christmas tree ornament sun" dangling off the tip of the branch but instead settled for this bullseye.
Editing
I try to make minimal adjustments and strive for my images being "true" for the most part. Here I made slight adjustments to contrast and tones and dramatically cropped from the original with the stork dead center (for focal point).
In my camera bag
When shooting wildlife I normally carry just my 5D MkIII and one telephoto zoom lens, either Canon 100-400 L or Tamron 150-600. Most days I prefer to be light but sometimes carry my old 5D (or 20D if I might want flash) as back-up. When I'm out to shoot wildlife I don't even bother to carry a wide angle lens as my pocket Canon Powershot G9 and even my Lumia phone can both shoot raw files. I do sometimes use my Canon EF 24-70 L lens for landscapes and close-ups and love my Slik tripod, but rarely have the opportunity to use it. I also toy with a circular polarizer sometimes but otherwise avoid filters.
Feedback
Always be on the lookout for silhouettes, especially at dawn and dusk when the sun is low, and remember that birds are generally best shot in profile so wait for the right moment.

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