Martial Eagle
Photographed in Kruger Park, South Africa, against a deep blue sky.
Photographed in Kruger Park, South Africa, against a deep blue sky.
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Aug, 2017Views
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Awards
Winner in From below Photo Challenge
Peer Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the Kruger National Park in South Africa. I was working as a safari guide at the time and nature is so awesome, you just have to start taking pictures! I am a self taught amateur photographer. My favourite subject matter is African wildlife.Time
I loved working as a safari guide because you were always surprised with photo opportunities when you least expect it. We had stopped under some trees for a cup of coffee at about 10:00am. The weather was still quite fresh in the morning as it was August and we were just coming out of winter which also made for a deep azure blue sky. We had just passed the coffee around in the open safari vehicle when this Martial Eagle landed in the tree right above the vehicle. Being almost directly under him gave me a great angle for a good photo. I grabbed my camera and started taking a few shots.Lighting
The lighting was all natural. The sun was shining directly onto his chest which highlighted his contrasting colours. The sunlight also helped me to capture his yellow eye in the image.Equipment
Being a safari guide at the time meant I could not afford fancy computer equipment, so I used what I had. The camera was an old battered Nikon D40, which I still have today. The lens was a 55-200mm lens, also well used. Just shows - dont let the lack of fancy equipment stop your from getting out there and shooting.Inspiration
What inspired me to take this photo was the contrasts and simplicity. The big deep blue sky, the stark almost leafless tree and the sun highlighting this beautiful bird.Editing
The only post processing that was done was to remove a few "dirt" spots from dust on the lens. It is difficult to keep camera equipment clean in an open safari vehicle.In my camera bag
I normally have minimal stuff in my bag - the camera is a Nikon D40 as mentioned earlier and I usually carry two lenses, the Nikon 55-200mm and a 25-55mm. I also carry an external flash for pre-dawn or dusk photo opportunities and a basic cleaning kit to try and minimise the dust issue.Feedback
Any time of year in Kruger Park provides great photo opportunities of varying kinds. To get this type of deep blue sky though, the best time is winter, or just coming out of winter, so from June to August. Winter time also provides more potential viewing opportunity as the bush is less dense and fewer leaves on trees making it easier to spot photo subjects and getting a clear shot without vegetation in the way. The other piece of advice I can give is always have your camera with you, especially when on safari - you never know when you are going to be surprised with a photo opportunity!
