To date this is still one of my favourite shots I have taken. For three reasons - at the time I took this the bird had only recently become available to the general public at bowers, allowing rare close up, photo opportunities of a bird that had until then graced many people's lists as merely a shocking flyover. Secondly, when we visited a blind in order to get this extremely shy bird coming into its bower, we had such a restricted view that only one person could get their scope lined up on the bird at a time. This led to the extremely uncomfortable, and gut-wrenchingly frustrating experience of having to watch my friend Keith Barnes racking up shots of the flamed one, while I was dying inside next to him, seeing magic photo opps drifting agonizingly away from me. Keith in an act of extreme kindness and generosity though handed over the use of his 'scope to me. I think this was above and beyond the call of duty, as then I too could live the 'digital dream' of getting this magic bird on disc. Thirdly, and not the least important of course, is the ridiculously stunning bird itself. Quite simply it is one of the most dazzling birds on Earth, and one of my all time top birds. Nothing prepares you for the color of this beast, and to get a photo as well was way more than I expected on my first trip to the fabled island of New Guinea.