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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
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BPN Member
What a stunning shot. Bird's colors are spectacular against the very nice but neutral BG. Love the comp, and detail, and low POV (whoever heard of an air-conditioned underground hide?). That water drop is just the icing on the cake. Congratulations.
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Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
Thank you Bill, so kind of you to comment, I must say this was the first time I experienced this kind of setting, normally my partner and I use a gazebo and some camouflage net to make ourselves invisible to our subjects. This was quite an experience and for that reason I decided to share some of the images we have taken. There is a glass panel in the hide (one-way glass) and the animals/birds cannot see through, the hide is sound-proof (with carpeting) and the shutter does not disturb them, one has such an intimate view of the interaction between various species (e.g. baboons and warthogs drinking water at the same spot, antelopes, birds, etc) and there's no stress on wildlife whatsoever-this is the aspect I like the most
Have a wonderful evening, kind regards
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BPN Member
I just checked the link. What luxury; so much better than lying on your belly in the mud. Thanks for the post, and for the info.
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
Thank you Bill, and should you ever decide to visit our side of the woods, let us know. We'll be very happy to help with your bookings
Kind regards,
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Really super colors and details in the feathers, you are right to be pleased with this new addition to your collection. The stillness of the water makes for a perfect reflection. Too bad it didn't turn more perpendicular to the camera. A tighter crop might reduce the size of the stone. Agree with Bill that the water drop is a great plus.
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Gabriela
Spectacular image /tecks /IQ etc. I do worry a little that as with his European setup stuff they tend to become very similar and instantly site recognisable.
Are you able to alter the setups ? Three or four people taking virtually the same shot bothers me a little. The water pools just don't look real in my honest opinion although I do accept the reasoning behind it all.
Still an eye catching shot
Cheers
JohnR
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Sorry
I forgot to mention.
Refections are great but I hate them and have spent 40 years learning how to avoid them. An example is this pic . Blurred /rippled reflections OK - but when they are so replicate- i DONT KNOW WHICH ONE TO LOOK AT !!
jr
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Excellent image of beautiful and colorful bird. Lovely reflection,great compo.
Regards,
Satish.
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Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
Dear Friends,
I can never tell for sure whether I have in me that ability to create images that would resonate in your mind, but I do try my best to achieve that. At times it feels as if I have an overdose of passion, but that’s just me. I have spent hours of processing and countless efforts towards understanding how some photographers manage to create these passionately argued and so engaging images the world is talking about. I love to subject my work to your critical reviews and feel that no one can help me as much as you, my fellow photographers. So I would like to thank you for your encouragement and support, as well as your comments
I have deliberately planned - or rather, anticipated - this image while sitting in the hide and waiting for my avian friends to pitch up. I loved the reflection and the symmetry, found this almost mirror effect quite fascinating and even wanted to turn the image upside down before posting
. I believe there is beauty in symmetry as well as in the lack of it, some of you may dislike my approach here but nevertheless I am grateful you could not resist looking.
Don’t know whether I have already mentioned this, but the best thing about this photographic hide is that the birds/animals are not aware of your presence and therefore no stress whatsoever on the subjects.
Kind regards,
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Hi Gabriela, this one really does it for me ,I love the reflection and the little water droplet ,stunning colour and all at iso 5000 
very well done, please show us some more if you have any.
Cheers Keith
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Lifetime Member
This is killer Gabriella!! What a great reflection and the detail and exposure look great. The beautiful subject, the rock, the BG and that frozen water drop make for an exceptional image. Very nice.
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Super reflection shot, some people like them some don't- I do. Perfect exposure,and stunning detain through glass. head angle out a little but the water drop in mid air is super. I would clone out the little one.
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
Thank you David and Ivan,
I am very grateful for your feedback, I know I do not participate enough in Avian but for some time now I did not have anything to surprise you with, mostly wildlife shots. Thanks to Zimanga invite I am able to join you here and I am really enjoying this! I am very kin to make changes when it comes to your suggestions/crits, don't hold back please - I love to learn from you
Kind regards, have a great Sunday!
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Wildlife Moderator
Hi Gabriela, like the symmetrical approach on this and the vibrant colours against the muted backdrop, being darker it really gives the image 'pop'.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
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Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
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Excellent shot! Awesome setting, pose, reflection and colors! Love the details captured @ ISO 5000!!
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BPN Viewer
Wow, and I say it again - wow! Great details and colors and a very nice setup.
I also checked out the hide photos and it really would be nice sometimes to sit on a chair to make great photos. Usually it's lying in ditches or mud. :)
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Forum Participant
Excellent shot. What happened to you have to work to get these results? Just a joke-jealousy is a nasty thing.
Ben
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
Thank you friends,
Kaido, I would love to do the "ditches and mud" thing more often, a little difficult here in our area because the bush is crawling with ticks and all sorts of bugs, also snakes. Where there's water there are also crocs and hippos too, so wading is out of question...One is not allowed to leave the car in the Game Reserves, except for designated places. That leaves us with our garden (now a haven for all sorts of avian species and we counted over 80 so far), and of course -places like Zimanga, and I really want to go back there because on the morning we arrived at the hide we found the freshest spoor (tracks) of leopard, we were at the scene just seconds too late, ouch, he/she must have been drinking!
Ben, err...sometimes it's so nice not to have to work so hard, to get some good results Let me think...Alberton...Zimanga...err...six hours' drive, perhaps? Try it Ben, just once! You'll see more than birds, we took images of cheetah on the way out (saw two) and bumped into the Wildlife Act guys, they were busy tracking the wild dogs...Thank you for your comments Ben, very grateful.
Have a great day everyone!
Gabriela
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BPN Viewer
Gabriela, I know the situation in your game reserves. I was fortunate enough to visit South Africa in last September/October and this was quite a memorable trip. I visited only the public parks (both in SA and Swaziland) but saw and photographed everything I was hoping for and then some. It was just incredible. But yes there are boundaries as you cannot crawl around the bushes so I actually get the fascination of Zimanga hide. I was just thinking on my usual photographic expeditions here at home where the "ditches and mud" are the usual way of seeing wildlife and it's a bit (and "a bit" means "a lot") colder here in Estonia :) So the comfortable hide seemed very appealing.
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
Hello Kaido - thank you so much for your reply, do not want to detract too much from the topic but just wanted to say Estonia is such a beautiful place and I am so sorry I did not have the chance to visit - you surely have some great photographic opportunities there as well. Do let us know when you return to South Africa, we might know of some places you would like to visit
Kind regards,
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BPN Member
Gabriela, I absolutely love this. Reflections work for me crystal clear or rippled in any event.
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Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator
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