Marabou stork sunset

My guests and I were out on an afternoon game drive and on our way to a lion sighting when I looked behind us and it was a breathtaking image as the sun was setting and the clouds were starting to build up.

I spotted a Marabou Stork in the distance, perched high up a dead Knobthorn tree, ready to roost for the night. I positioned my vehicle so it almost looked as if the stork was sitting on the cloud with the sun setting underneath it. This was one of those once in a lifetime moments.

Equipment Used

Camera – Canon 600D

Lens and focal length – Sigma 150 – 600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS

Settings used to capture this image

ISO – 200 as there was still a lot of light coming from behind the stork and the clouds.

Aperture of f-13 in order to get more depth of field and to try and get as much clarity as posible on the tree and the stork.

Shutter speed - 1/1250, which is a high shutter but it gives the image a more natural look and adds a lot of colour which the sunset provided from the back with all the dust in the air.

Editing used on this image

I wanted to darken the image even more so I pushed contrast up a bit and even pushed up clarity +10 and made the highlights –46 just to soften the bright light coming from the sun.