Abdim's stork foraging

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Abdim's stork (ciconia abdimii) foraging in high yellow grass in kalahari landscape.

Khutse Game Reserve, Moreswa Pan, central kalahari, Botswana.

This image is not about the stork, but about the stork in its habitat. I liked the way it was foraging for scorpions and other insects in the high grass with so now and then its head coming up to check for danger.

Camera Model Canon EOS 40D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/640
Av( Aperture Value ) 10.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +1/3
ISO Speed 200
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM
Focal Length 500.0 mm
Image Size 3888x2592
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Color Temperature(5200K)
AF Mode One-Shot AF
Handheld

Vincent Grafhorst
www.khwaiphotography.com (http://www.khwaiphotography.com)
vincent@khwaiphotography.com (vincent@khwaiphotography.com)

[peter delaney]

interesting image Vincent..... i like it.......think it would work better as a pano crop ....find the green BG distracting.....

[Alfred Forns]

Interesting idea on the pano Originally I was thinking on cutting off the tops of the trees and leaving a green strip but do like the pano idea a lot !!!! I like your visions for composition !!!!!

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Unique composition Vincent and I too vote for the pano crop as an alternative but like it as is also.

[John Robuck]

I like the concept of this image. I'm impressed that it is an interesting image of a bird mostly hidden by grass -- I spent three hours yesterday photographing bitterns that were mostly hidden in grass, and IMO it isn't very easy to get an interesting image in that situation. I suppose in a perfect world I'd like to have the shot without the one bright grass stalk that bisects the bird's bill; that is the only thing I find a little distracting.

I like the image as presented because it does give the bird's environment its due; I like the tree-line and the skyline and for my taste I do not find them distracting. I agree that this would also be interesting in a panoramic crop (6x17, for example) but I would like to keep at least the tree-line.

For something different look at it as a vertical pano retaining the trees and sky.