African Wildlife Photography Seminar

Calgary, Alberta Canada, November 18th 2014

Hey guys! I'm super excited about my photography seminar next week with +The Camera Store. I'll be talking about my most favourite stories of wildlife encounters and photography techniques while I was in east Africa. I really like energizing other photographers and had a pretty fantastic time last time I did this. If you know of anyone who lives in Calgary who would like to come to something like this, please share, there are a few spots left!

P.S. The photo below is real and elephants are the most incredible creatures to watch, I'll go into detail on this photo and more in my talk!

You can find out more here: http://www.thecamerastore.com/7554-African-Wildlife-Seminar.aspx

African Worlds Photo show

I know there are so many people watching my work from so far away but if you happen to be in Calgary I'll be putting on my latest photo show, African Worlds. A beautiful presentation of photos and fun stories from my adventures in Kenya and Tanzania. Please help get the word out and share as some of the proceeds for this show goes towards the Calgary Zoo conservation outreach program, benefiting the wildlife and the lives of people who come in contact with them!

When: Tuesday, June 19th 2012 7:00-8:30 PM

Where: Esso Theatre at the Calgary Zoo

Admission: $20   [button size="medium" full="false" link="http://africanworlds.qrickets.com/" bgColor="#ff9900"]Order tickets online[/button]

Portions of the proceeds goes towards the Calgary Zoo Conservation Outreach Program.

Ensure your entry and Order tickets online at africanworlds.qrickets.com now!

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Sunset in one shot

Ndutu, Tanzania, Africa The sun was shooting towards the horizon, here I desperately searched for a giraffe to put in my silhouette shot, alas I did not find one in time. I have tried stalking giraffe as the sun sets in hopes of getting them in one of these shots, but even then the giraffe would not cooperate, I think they know what I'm trying to do. The funny thing is that the other safari vehicle got a similar shot but with the giraffe! They were listening when I told them I wanted giraffes in a sunset.

Photographic Details: This was shot on the way home, I used a high shutter speed simply because we were driving and I didn't want any motion blur. I took just one shot and processed it in lightroom 4 to bring out the details. This is something that may look like HDR but is nothing like it. To the unprocessed before shot look below:

Before raw processing

After

Camera Settings:1/800s f/4.0 ISO100 73mm

Processed in lightroom 4 see the before and after at www.kylefoto.com

Egret on a wing

Serengeti Tanzania This was taken moments after some of the previous Egret shots I have shared with you. After getting used to the way these birds fly so I could anticipate their movements, I got into photographing them as they fly. I chose this image because the painterly like Serengeti background is still somewhat recognizable as the iconic Acacia trees stick out of the horizon and the horns of the wildebeest populate the bottom.

Photographic Details: The important part here was freezing the motion so I could have the wings and the birds still. For this reason I used a shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, which is usually fast enough to capture most birds.

Camera settings: 1/1000s f/7.1 ISO160 400mm

Framed Giraffe

Ndutu, Tanzania, Africa

When you are out on safari you would think that you’d be able to see a giraffe from miles away the same way you would see the Eiffel Tower in Paris long before you got to it. For some reason in Africa it seems the bigger the animal is, the stealthier they are. Driving through the trees of Ndutu we kept on getting surprised by these random giraffes popping out from every direction. We would sit there in silence and poof one would be 10 feet in front of us only to dash away after it got a quick glance at us. I felt like I was in some kind of arena as puppeteers in some safari control room was launching random giraffes in our direction, laughing at our surprise as they monitor us with secret tree cameras. Like an African hunger games except instead of fighting to the death I’m just trying to get a decent photo!

Anyways, these giraffes have a few things working for them that help keep them nice and quiet. Larger animals are simply a lot more graceful because they are so heavy, they tend to look like they are walking in slow motion because the shear mass of their limbs slows quick movements. Because they are so large they don’t have too many predators (mainly lions) this negates the need to run around in a constant panicked like state, and verbal communication is unnecessary .

Photographic Details: I often say, never centre your subject, but in this case I was able to frame this giraffe down with this tunnel of trees as she popped out. Framing is a great compositional tool, and if you can find something interesting to surround your subject in a centered subject isn’t so bad. She turned and stared at us for a few moments, then quickly made her way again. You can see how her front leg is poised to take off again, a really cool demonstration of body language is plainly depicted here.

Camera Settings: 1/250s f/2.8 ISO100 160mm

Egret and Wildebeest

Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa Out in the Serengeti we were hunting with our lenses, hoping to snap a view of something unique and special. Of course we got the basics under our wing: many photos of the beautiful white Egrets flying, and a whole whack of the wildebeest. On their own they can be interesting shots, but it’s when I saw the white figure balancing on a wildebeest far ahead I knew I had to get an egret on top of a wildebeest. Once I knew what to look for I noticed it was happening everywhere, I just needed it to happen near me! Patience awards us with a few of the Egrets posing calmly on the back of the beasts. But as the photographic process always goes, you always try to outdo yourself. That’s when I realized I could do even better with a photo of the Egret just landing on a wildebeest with their beautiful outstretched wings. This is where I tell myself it’s time to sit back and observe the Egrets, watch from their body language so I can tell when one is about to take off, and one is about to land. I taught myself to pay attention to my peripheral vision so I could anticipate the landing vector of the Egret and have my camera ready on the right wildebeest for the landing shot. This is where you become a naturalist and not a photographer, you learn about the animal in a more intimate way and you can be where you need to be to get the better shot.

These heron and wildebeest have established a symbiotic relationship, the insects swarming around these odiferous beast are removed and the egrets get their fill of food!

Egrets aren’t exclusive to feeding in wildebeest herds, they like to feed on small insects, frogs, and earthworms in most environments in the Serengeti. But once a herd of wildebeest comes along, the commotion and dust disturbs grasshoppers and other insects which makes for a great selection of meals. When the herds show up it’s kind of like going to the grocery store when your favourite items are finally in season and everything is on sale and the store is ultra in stock! The Egrets can’t help themselves when the savings are so stellar and it’s so convenient, you just stand on the back of an animal and window shop with minimal effort!

Photographic Details: The Main setting I was worried about was the shutter speed, I wanted it fast enough to freeze the motion of the wings, if I wanted to be safer with the motion blur I would have used 1/1000th of a second for the shutter speed, but these Egrets were relatively slow and I got away with the slower shutter speed of 1/500th of a second.

I like how the wildebeest the egret is standing on is merely shown by the texture of his side, and the telltale horn on the bottom left corner. He’s too busy to do anything else but keep eating, as if he’s merely a structure for the Egret to stand on. The other wildebeest staring at the Egret helps complete this, photo, seemingly staring in disbelief and this sudden pairing of Egret and Ungulate. I wanted the background to fade out with the horizon still in the shot, expressing the impressive expanse of the Serengeti.

Canon EOS7D, 100-400mm L Lens, 1/500s f/7.1 ISO100 180mm

Giraffe and her daughter

On safari in the Serengeti, Tanzania This young giraffe will hang by her mother along with other females in a group. This is the identical pair that I photographed earlier. After this wild baby giraffe was finished ambling around the Serengeti she settled down under her mother for a moment. Already getting the zoomed out scenic shot under my belt ( http://wp.me/p1meFH-OA ) I had to photograph some detail shots now.

Photographic Details: My main focus was the baby giraffe, and given how good our minds are at putting things together I knew I didn’t have to have the whole mother and baby giraffe in the same shot. The point of the photo is to show the scale between the mother and the baby, in addition her position under her mother perfectly expresses how important of a shelter this mother is to her baby. The rest is up to the viewer, we’re good enough at guessing that the rest of the mother is beyond the frame to know she’s just not a headless four legged monster, keeping the focus squarely on the baby. I decided to crop this image square, it’s a nice shape and the extra background to the right I thought was unnecessary. With this image I used the exact same storytelling device I used with a baby elephant, clearly it’s a story that is seen in many animals all over africa http://wp.me/p1meFH-Ow

1/160s f/7.1 ISO100 400mm

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Sun Tree

Ndutu Area, Tanzania, Africa Driving through the sparingly forested area, the sun was setting in the trees, the arid soil kicking up dust with the every movement, footstep, and breath of wind. As annoying as dust is, it lights up beautifully as the last rays of sunlight caress the branches of the trees.

Photographic Details: As each of these trees drifted by in the view of our safari vehicle I was ever hoping I’d find a giraffe at sunset so I could get a silhouette of both the magnificent animal and the iconic shape of the acacia tree. Alas there was no giraffe, although the other safari vehicle in our group managed that exact shot, needless to say I was extremely jealous when we recounted our experiences that night at dinner. My best option was to find a particularly nice tree and position ourselves so the sun was where we wanted nestled in the tree like a godlen egg in a nest, this was the final shot out of that little tree sunset exploration moment.

I took the photo and looked at the scene again and noticed how dull it looked in camera. The colours were nothing the way I saw them, we had a deep blue sky and beautiful orange light pouring out of a hole in the clouds, but when I looked at the back of the camera the colours were not as bright. Thank goodness I shot in RAW. I was able to shift my colours back to what they needed to be in lightroom, increasing the contrast so I have more dramatic blacks in the tree and more texture in the background.

Want to learn more about my safaris? Always wanted to see Kenya and Tanzania and wanted to get the most out of your camera? Check out my Photographic safaris!

Sunrise Haiku

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, AfricaFrom the photo blog www.kylefoto.com

a slow shutter speed the sky is made of colours I love silhouette

1/30s f/4.0 ISO800 24mm

Baby Giraffe springs across the Serengeti

Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa Looking across the Serengeti we sat quietly looking at a group of a dozen giraffes, our guide indicated that these were females who usually group together for safety.

Suddenly a large giraffe bursts from the trees behind us and begins to make her way towards the herd. Another much smaller gangly figure awkwardly stumbles out into the open; for a moment my subconscious thought it made more sense to tell my brain that my tripod had sprung to life and jumped out of the back of the safari vehicle and ran across the Serengeti. Then I realized this energetic stick figure was a baby giraffe running around her mother and all over the grass like there was a party going on in her head that only she could hear. I’m used to seeing these large animals move like they are a slow motion movie, to see one of these things dart around, buck and jump so quickly was both startling and delightful.

Final Image, click to see larger:

Photographic Details: I wanted to capture a bit of motion with these animals moving faster than usual, I slowed my shutter speed down to 1/160th of a second in hopes of getting a little motion blur on their legs and tails without getting too much blur on the bodies. I actually have some much more artistic versions of these images that I will be sharing in the coming weeks but I liked the energy of this one as it really shows how much spunk the baby has, which made us all giggle in the safari vehicle as we watched this unfold in front of us.

This also happened so fast that I forgot to lower my aperture to let more light in, I ended up underexposing. However with the magic of shooting in RAW mode I have a little wiggle room, I was able to correct my mistake and get the detail back by changing the exposure after the fact in Lightroom, we all make mistakes but with the right settings we can compensate for them, See the original image to compare!

Canon EOS 7D: 1/160s f/9.0 ISO100 150mm (35mm eq:240mm)

Original Image before exposure adjustment

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A mother is a shelter

Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa After spending time at an elephant orphanage I’ve truly come to understand how important a mother and a family is for an elephants survival. This baby elephant who has not yet mastered the art of applying his own mud and dirt sunscreen is highly reliant on the shade of the mother in the harsh african sun. It never occurred that the mother provides so much protection just by standing there, just by existing. Of course this baby is also reliant on her wisdom, affection and milk. Should a young elephant become separated from it’s family, despite being taken in by people and being well fed, history has shown that pure grief over the loss can kill an elephant. Clearly this baby has her mother, she was so happy she could barely contain it as she ran around and swung her trunk all over the Serengeti.

Photographic Details: I wanted a photograph that visually expressed how large and important a mother can be to her calf. While the focus is on the baby elephant jovially swinging her trunk around, I wanted a background dominated by the body and textures of the mother towering over her, the same way a home would. Reminiscent of a classical portrait of a person with their home situated in the background if you will.

Canon EOS 7D 1/200s f/7.1 ISO400 400mm For #feelgoodfriday curated by +Rebecca Borg

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The snappings of Bee-eaters

Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, AfricaOn Safari

Out in the rolling hills of Samburu the hum of crickets fill the air like a morning chorus punctuated by a sharp snapping sound. Scanning the scene before me some flits of bright green and blue make their way to a tree near me. No time to register what I’m shooting the bee eater stops and poses on the tree, looks in the perfect direction to allow a spark of sunlight to bring life to it’s eye then flits off to another tree. “Bee eater!” my local guide says “And do you hear that snapping sound? It’s the bee eaters knocking the stingers off the insects until all the venom is released”

A pretty remarkable experience to not only see these birds snatch bees right out of the air, but also hear them preparing their breakfast.

Photographic details: I had not choice but to just fire at the thing that was moving in front of me, no time for a change of settings, I just had to hope what I was using to photograph the Guineafowl previously was good enough to shoot the bee eater. The time it took to realize the birds were there, aim my camera and squeeze out a shot must have been 1 second, my next shot was a blur of yellow and green, I’ll upload that for a laugh, it goes to show how quickly an opportunity can turn into an empty branch.

1/400s f/7.1 ISO320 400mm

The flurry of feathers just 1 second later:

P.S. Bonus points if you can tell me exactly which Bee-eater this is!

An elephantine case for HDR

Family of ElephantsSerengeti, Tanzania, Africa

As this family of elephants walked past us we were ever aware of the impending sunset. I took many photos of the elephants but what stood out were the ones with the leading elephant giving himself a dust bath as the sunset backlit the puff of serengeti ash. It’s these moments that I get very excited, the low golden light is paramount in photographing anything from wildlife and landscapes to portraits. This is where I knew I could get a stunning environmental portrait of this family, scenery and a sunset scene all in one. The major technical problem is the wide tonal range I was trying to capture: the bright highlights of the sun, clouds and landscape to the dark shadows of the elephants and foreground. This would be too much for my camera to take in all at once. I turned on the auto bracketing and multi burst shooting mode on my camera, holding down my shutter I rapidly fired off three exposures, one over exposed by two stops, one with normal exposure and he last under exposed. The three images combined provided me with an extra wide tonal range that captured everything I was looking at, this is what’s known as HDR, or High Dynamic Range. After firing off a few shots I thought, “I just +Trey Ratcliff ed it”.

Manual HDR version, click to enlarge:

Even before this I have already accepted HDR images as a legitimate photographic technique. A lot of people currently consider it “cheating” or “fake” the irony is that the images come out with a tonal range that more accurately reflects what a person would see in real life. To me, the fact that I use this technique is personal validation that HDR is here to stay and that this technique is just as good as any other a photographer keeps in their arsenal. This scene begged to be captured in a full range and this was the only way to do it with the available light. My first impression of HDR years ago appalled me, but no more than bad photography might appall me. These days there are plenty of great examples of masterfully processed HDR photos, and these photographers and the community in general is getting better every day. People tend to dislike images that are highly processed on a computer but then don’t complain about techniques that can be employed in camera. New cameras coming out will focus more on performance and image quality including doing HDR in camera, some with specialized sensors do it all the time. What will HDR dissenters think about that? When it becomes more about how the photo is taken it becomes a game, for me photography is about capturing truth and beauty, truly expressing the emotional power of being there, I couldn’t care less if the photography did headstands while doing it, it’s the photo that matters.

HDR Technique: I initially processed this in Photomatix, the de facto HDR processing software as far as I can tell. I like what it does but I don’t love the way it treats all the textures, coming out with too much contrast in unusual places, the software not being aware of the elephants natural smoothness it treats their skin like a texture that needs to be brought out, and it was too much. Other unusual artifacts produced by photomatix cause flaring on highlight edges and the images come out a little softer than I like, losing a bit of resolution. For this reason my final image was an HDR photo that I manually combined in photoshop. I layered each exposure on top of each other and kept each portion that was properly exposed for the final result. It ended up looking just the way I saw it without unusual artifacts and a more subdued contrast change. It will be interesting to see which image appeals most to people, so comment and let me know.

Photomatix HDR version:

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After a day in the Serengeti

Moru Kopjes, Tanzania, Africa The word “safari” literally means “long journey” in swahili and “to travel” in arabic. I could spend forever trying to describe the day to you with all sorts of other colourful words but I don’t think I could find anything as poignant as that.

After being out all day seeing many thousands of wildebeest, buffalo and zebra, obsessing over lions lounging on kopjes (unique granite outcroppings shown in the photo) we finally got to a point where we could slow down. The previous hours we were desperately trying to absorb and photograph every new little thing we saw, exclaiming “wildebeest! Oooh no baby wildebeest! ooh no baby wildebeest with an egret standing on it!... No I have a better one with egrets AND oxpeckers on it and it’s in better light!”. We were so tuned into looking for wildlife that every rock and stump in the distance had to be an elephant, rhino, or a baboon standing on a hyena on an elephant. Somehow the shame of the misidentification didn’t stop us from pointing these imaginary animals out.

The golden grass of the Serengeti rolled in the breeze personifying our collective deep breath of relaxation as this sight rolled into view. We took a photograph, then dropped our cameras in awe as we simply watched, taking it in without pointing out every little thing we saw and just being present.

Photographic Details: This was a very cut and dry easy decision to make for me. I don’t like having horizons in the middle unless I’m somehow forced to by my subject or some other circumstance. Instead I like to choose an emphasis and ask myself what’s more important or more beautiful, the sky or the foreground? Here the dramatic clouds above had so much texture with a touch of blue sky, but below the wildebeest there was nothing but bare grass. With this in mind I let the Serengeti foreground anchor the photo on the bottom third, and the sky above take up the two thirds, following the aesthetic rule of thirds and making it easier for the viewer to understand what they should be looking at. The rocky outcroppings of the Moru Kopjes were then kept on the left so the eye could follow the formations into the image. All of this is designed to keep the viewers eyes inside the photo, so they don’t stray off and lose interest.

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Want to take great photos in the greatest places? Check out my next photo safari!

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Wave of vultures

On Safari in Tanzania, Africa Serengeti Spending the previous weeks watching vultures circling lazily on the thermals above us, I would casually photograph their figures against the sky knowing some day I will see these creatures up close and personal. Sure enough, as we drove across the Serengeti we spotted a writhing ball of feathers and dust, the vultures were on a carcass. Upon arrival we were greeted with the sight of 20 or so vultures and Marabou Storks frenetically feeding on what was left of a zebra, it was not a civil affair. The air was full of the sounds of squabbling. Nearby vultures were standing still on the ground with their wings out, a behavior that is good for either drying off the wings or thermoregulation in the hot african sun.

Photographic Details: I’m always looking for something unique and stunning, and when I saw the repetition of shape with these vultures lined up I could not keep my camera off this sudden order that developed spontaneously in the chaos. This order and simplicity is extremely attractive to me. I would wait for the birds to line up and turn their heads to face the right direction and squeezed the trigger at the right moment. In addition to the shapes in this image I was enthralled with the texture and detail in the wings, choosing to focus on the wings of the closer bird in order to also keep the focus of the bird and it’s eye. 1/400s f/7.1 ISO100 400mm (35mm eq:640mm)

#birdpoker #birding #africa #tanzania #serengeti #wildlife

Through the eyes of a chimp

Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Kenya The chimpanzee is the closest living relative to humans, capable of using tools, deception, planning ahead and hunting with sophisticated tactics. These chimps however are not native to Kenya, as they have been brought to the sanctuary for refuge as orphans from abusive situations and war torn area from west and central africa. The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee sanctuary allied with the Jane Goodall Institute was thus created as a permanent residence to our expressive and vibrant cousins.

Photographic Details: Humans and chimps are both able to establish a connection visually. I wanted to express this with a detail shot of the chimpanzee’s eyes, since they are such a telling and powerful part of this apes expressions. In addition the chimps were behind a fence, as these are wild chimps who's own private space needs to be respected. The best way to get a shot without having wires in the way was zooming in for detail between gaps in the fence. In addition I only wanted the eyes to be in focus, using an aperture of f2.8 there is no denying the eyes are the focal point of this image. I also waited for this chimp to pose with her arm on her shoulder, as I watched her do this before. This just barely showing her fingers in the background provides a little more visual evidence that these apes are so much like us.

1/160s f/2.8 ISO160 200mm

More on the sanctuary here: http://olpejetaconservancy.org/why/chimpanzees

Lion Stalks the Wildebeest

On safari in Tanzania, Africa Anyone who has ever owned or spent time with a cat would feel right at home in the Serengeti of Tanzania while watching the behaviour of this male lion slinking up to it's prey. After hanging around with his brothers he decided to head off towards the herd of wildebeest that had wandered into their midst. Us watching in our vehicle with baited breath, our camera trigger fingers were itching with anticipation as this male expertly crept towards the wildebeest and vultures, keeping his body low to the ground with every deliberate and careful motion. At last the moment we thought had arrived: the big cat revealed his presence to the wildebeest as they scattered away from him, the vultures filling the sky with in an explosion of feathers.

This powerful and successful hunter bolted towards the wildebeest, took one look at them, and proceeded to lap up water in the nearby watering hole hidden by the tall grass. All this work, and all this teasing was just practice and fun on the lions behalf. We looked at each other and laughed as the now quenched lion returned to his resting spot among his brothers.

Photographic Details: Sitting as low to the ground as I could get I was able to make the lion in the foreground visually closer to the wildebeest in the background. More interested in showing what the lion was looking at I decided to focus on the wildebeest to put the viewer more in the lions perspective. I also set the white balance to "cloudy" mode, to add an extra warmth to the image to help convey the extreme heat of this environment. Canon EOS 7D 1/200s f/8.0 ISO100 400mm (35mm eq:640mm)

Superb Starling catch

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa The aptly named superb starling impresses his mate with an offering of a juicy insect while the iridescent colours shine off his back in a beautiful flash of blue and green. The tree branch he is standing on is of the iconic acacia tree, the thorns meant to protect the tree make these trees a safe haven; a suitable place for the many thousands of species of birds that call africa home.

photographic details:This bird was standing here for quite a while, normally I would prefer sunset or sunrise conditions but the overhead light by the mid day sun was perfect to light up the back of this bird, who would look mostly black in the wrong light. I could not ignore this opportunity despite it not being the golden hour. I don’t like to place my subjects in the centre, nor do I want to loose myself too much in the details of the animal. With this in mind I left the bird on the right side of the image, looking into the frame, I made sure I could include the acacia tree to create a sense of context also illustrating the incredible thorns on this famous tree. One picture, two subjects, my kind of photo.

Samburu Dance

Samburu Village, Kenya I’m currently on Safari in Africa, here is my latest story:

The Samburu people of Northern Kenya are the traditionalists of Kenya, one of 42 different tribes or cultures that make up the origins of many people here. This is one of the few tribes that hasn’t adopted a more western lifestyle.

The man depicted here is doing a traditional dance, jumping straight up and down high in the air. One after the other the men display their prowess, impressing the ladies by the heights they can reach.

Photographic Details:Laying on the ground I was able to get low enough to properly show the space between the dancers feet, given that the men do the same thing over and over again, it’s somewhat easy to predict where they are going to be. Instead of using a sepia filter, I simply increased the white balance on my camera to give my photo a warm tone, combining this with decreased colour (saturation) I get a warm old fashioned look the image without losing the colour completely. This look gives an impression the heat and dryness of Samburu and the rich and ancient history of the Samburu people.

Reticulated Giraffe reach

Sweetwaters game reserve, KenyaTaken on safari mere hours ago.

This subspecies of giraffe is known for it’s dark spots separated by cream coloured lines. As we drove up in our safari vehicle this giraffe stared at us blinking with her huge eyelashes then continued browsing on the acacia tree after determining we were of little importance.

Photographic Details: I wanted to get a more unique photo of this giraffe while still expressing the daily life of this graceful animal. I liked the curve of the neck while she reached out parallel to her body on the top of the small tree, the open mouth and purple tongue clearly illustrating she was munching away.

I cropped the bottom of the image and kept the sky in the top third of the image, the giraffe in the middle and the green foliage in the bottom, conforming with the rule of thirds for this composition.

Canon EOS 7D 1/320s f/7.1 ISO100 400mm (35mm eq:640mm)