Paradise

Photography is all about patience, and when its wildlife, you have a subject that never does what you want it to do. This patience can be tested and this often brings in a different element - ethics.

We can't claim to love wildlife photography when we have no respect and empathy for our subject. That is one of the reasons I chose this image as my pic of the week as it is a great platform to address a serious issue.

This image was taken in the grounds of the lush and beautiful Selati Camp where I had found this African Paradise Flycatcher’s nest. I watched from a distance for days the movement of this pair as they took turns to incubate the eggs. I had assessed various angles, but the best was from the roof some distance away. I lay on the roof for some time before the male returned to the nest and was fortunate on this occasion that he faced the right way. Even at a full 400mm, I had to use a lot of digital cropping to get the image to this, however, that’s what was needed to ensure the nest was not disturbed.

I really wanted to photograph the male as he has a long whispy tail and a blue bill and eye ring - very different from the female. Without any interference, he couldn't have positioned himself any better. I used an aperture of F8 to try and keep a little detail in the tail but still keep the bird and the nest sharp. The natural elements of the lichen on the nest, show the messy care that the bird has shown while the branches provide great angles and the leaves a saturated green hue.

Equipment Used

• Camera - Nikon D4S
• Lens and Focal length - Nikkor 200-400mm F4 VRII @400mm

Settings used to capture this image

• ISO – 640
• Aperture –f8
• Shutter – 1/60

Editing used on this image

I had quite a lot of time to get the composition and settings right so I really didn't need to do too much processing to show how the scene was. I had to decrease the intensity of the highlights behind the Flycatcher. Because of the shade of the tree, I increased the clarity and vibrance to bring out the vivid colours.

So, even if you are reading this at home, you have plenty of opportunities to capture some amazing wildlife images, be it in your garden or even in a local park. All you need is some patience and empathy, and never compromise on the latter.