Hamerkop (South Africa)

[Dorian Anderson]

OK, I'm done with my personal/summer trip to South Africa and Namibia in July and August. The Hamerkop
is an odd bird and the only member in its family, Scopidae. They live throughout sub-saharan Africa.

This frame comes from a second trip to South Africa, while leading a birding/photo tour for Tropical Birding.
While I skipped Zimanga on my personal trip because I can't afford it, it was great to visit with the tour. This
frame comes from one of the famed overnight hides on the property. We had very little mammal action during
our session on account of recent rain, but I was able to grab this as a salvage. The blind was dug into the ground,
and we shot through one-way mirrored glass. It's exceptionally contrived as no knowledge of behavior or stalking
is required, but it was amazing to have birds and animals feeding feet from our faces. I learned a lot and hope to
have another crack at Zimanga in the future.

***Flash photography is not permitted, so the lighting is provided by a pair of dim floods on either side of the blind.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II @160mm on EOS R5
1/160 at f/2.8, ISO 6400
Processed in LR CC and Topaz

[Colin Driscoll]

Odd indeed! I've read about those dug in blinds, such a great setup. You captured a great pose, detail and enough of the feet. Well exposed.

[James Babbitt]

Nice image of a truly odd bird. I personally like the blind type shooting. While maybe not as challenging as field photography of birds, you certainly can get some "Wow" images.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Dorian ... i would prefer a daytime shot , always .... unless the subject is completly nocturnal .
The time i spent at waterholes illuminated by artificial light ... i just watch and enjoy the atmosphere , rather than taking images . But i have done that as well in the past .
Nice pose of this awesome looking bird and you did technically well !!!
Got nothing to do with your image , but not a fan of night shots .

TFS Andreas

[dankearl]

What a great bird.. all I can say...

[Steve Kaluski]

Dorian, glad you managed to do Zimanga even for a night as it does offer some great vantage POV, but now you can instantly tell the image is from Zimanga. Plenty of other opportunities elsewhere now, you just need a fast 2.8 lens and be prepared to shoot through glass, although for Wildlife many of the bunkers don’t have the glass. Nice image and nice to see something shot in the dark.

TFS
Steve