While watching a sleeping lion I noticed a Lilac Breasted Roller close by. I knew that this would be a wonderful shot as the background was a magnificent Jackelberry Tree, just showing its new leaves.

With the late afternoon sun and soft, warm light, I needed a high shutter speed to make sure the bird was sharp so I used an ISO of 640. The depth of field was set at f7.1 on my 500mm F4 lens as I knew that I had lots of space behind the bird to create a blurred background. The focus sensor was placed over the eye of the bird to make sure it was sharp.

Birds in general are wonderful subjects to shoot as they create so many opportunities; however, it takes lots of patience getting to know the subject and its behavior, high shutter speeds and a little luck to get these amazing images.

Happy snapping,

Rod Wyndham

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