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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Two: On Safari -- expressing the essence of nature > Sacred Ibis at dusk, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, 2006
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05-JAN-2006

Sacred Ibis at dusk, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, 2006

Sacred Ibis stand ready for nightfall near Mfuwe Lodge in South Luangwa National Park. This white wading bird with its distinctive curved beak was venerated in ancient Egypt and often mummified. It is often seen in Zambia's Baobab trees. I silhouette the birds through backlighting, matching the dramatic curve of the central bird’s beak to the curve of the branch beneath its narrow legs. The heavy foliage and brooding clouds intensify the mysterious mood of this image. And what better symbol of mystery than a bird that holds spiritual status?

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/100s f/4.0 at 88.8mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time05-Jan-2006 10:20:03
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ30
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length88.8 mm
Exposure Time1/100 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias-1.00
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis26-May-2008 23:14
Thanks, Karen, for noting the relationship of the beak and the branch here. I don't think I was particularly lucky to find such subject matter -- I like to think that, as someone once said, "luck is the residue of design." I try to go to places (such as Africa) where ample possibilities for such relationships as this exist. And then I work long and hard at getting what I want. I must have photographed dozens of similar birds on similar trees during this trip, and this one happened to work out the best. (It's no wonder that I will shoot 6,000 images to get 300 that I really like.) Am I lucky? I like to think that we, as nature photographers, can largely make our own luck through good planning, developing our powers of observation, and then putting it all to work for us as best we can.
Karen Moen26-May-2008 22:49
A beautiful composition. You were lucky to find such artistic birds as they posed on that gracefully curving branch. Lol! Voted.
Phil Douglis16-Jun-2007 05:44
These birds are wading birds, Sun Han. The sickle shaped beaks are for scooping up fish.
Guest 16-Jun-2007 04:51
birds with beaks like sickles, very interesting crowd, i wonder what do they eat
Phil Douglis09-Mar-2006 21:01
Good question, Shirley. I did almost nothing to this image in Photoshop. I use the "cloudy" white balance setting for most of my images, including this one. It warms the image a bit, but did not really affect this shot that much.
It is an evening sky, and that's pretty much what it looked like to the eye. I always use a spot meter, which I used in this case to expose for the sky. The birds became silhouettes and the sky became a bit darker. Thanks for your kind words. I am glad you like this image.
Shirley Wang09-Mar-2006 18:42
I love the color and mysterious mood of this image. Is this achieved on spot through whitebalance and so on or through ajustment in photoshop?

Thank.

Shirley
Phil Douglis18-Feb-2006 00:00
Thanks, Anna. I did not find the birds and then try to make a composition out of them. I found the composition, and made a picture of that.
Anna Yu09-Feb-2006 05:19
An interesting study in composition (OK, even though that's next to impossible with wildlife, heh). I like the leaves on the top left and the careful positioning of the 3 birds. Did you start off on the left and move right to get them in place?
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2006 18:04
Thanks, Ramma -- the blue/black combination of colors creates both mood and meaning by indicating the time of day. It could not do this as well in black and white.
Ramma 26-Jan-2006 09:04
a lovely blue black image. Very beautiful
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2006 01:19
Glad you picked up on that broken stick, which repeats the thrust of the birds above it. It also serves as a pointer -- a visual clue -- for the ibis.
Carol E Sandgren25-Jan-2006 23:53
Very effective with the silhouette of the birds, and I notice too that the broken log mimics the shape of the birds, as if wanting to be one of them. Great shot!
Phil Douglis25-Jan-2006 21:57
The light and color is critical here, LaRee. As you note, the sky is also important, because the flow of that long cloud in that sky echoes the flow of the long branch upon which the birds sit. As you can see, my friend Alister loved the image as well, but he suggests below that I crop out the preening bird on the left to simplify it and make it more serene and pure. An interesting suggestion. I tried it, but felt the long horizontal flow of branch and cloud is really central to the thrust and meaning of this image, and that preening bird makes good context for the ibis that dominates the scene. What do you think? Am always open for suggestions.
LaRee 25-Jan-2006 05:44
This image holds a lot of power. I think the light and sky make it strong. It would be a completely different image in different light.
Phil Douglis25-Jan-2006 05:33
Thanks for the cropping suggestion, Alister. You know the ins and outs of pure bird photography a lot better than and I do, and I value your opinion. However I don't see this a classic bird shot. To me, it's about mystery and the coming night, and the ibis is the central figure, dominating a scene featuring sweeping branches, a long dark cloud, and oh, yes, a couple of other birds. I don't want to purify the image by removing the preening bird. I tried the crop, and the entire mood and meaning of the image changed for me. I would rather keep it as it is, a story of nightfall in the African bush, with all of its rough edges intact.
alibenn25-Jan-2006 01:46
My kind of bird image...But again, I'm going to suggest a crop!!!

The left-hand bird, which looks like a Little Egret and therefore not a Sacred Ibis!!! The preening behaviour distracts from the serenity of the other two birds (the right hand one would have been better with more head-turn, but that's just me.) I would crop this from the bottom to where the curved branch dips into the left-hand bird. Then crop from the left to meet that point.

You will still have the strong curve of the branch below, niceley framed with empty space below, (no vertical branch from below)..then trees will frame on the left, top and right....I fon't have PS on my laptop, so I can't send you a demo, but I think you get the idea.

I think you'll find that will strengthen and purify the metaphor and drop the birds into rule of thirds power points...
Phil Douglis24-Jan-2006 21:56
Thanks, Kal and Mo -- I looked at this image in black and white first, but much preferred the role that color plays here in suggesting just that touch moonlight you mention, Kal. As you say, Mo, the color helps this image speak of the coming of night.
monique jansen24-Jan-2006 14:47
The colors really make this photo speak, and of course the backlit birds
Kal Khogali24-Jan-2006 11:35
wonderful silhouettes...unmistakable and very dramatic with their mood...almost a feeling of moonlight.
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