OUR PRO’S verdict

Tracy was a great Apprentice. She was enthusiastic, and not scared to throw the kitchen sink at her photography, in a way that went far beyond her abilities when she started. In just three days on the Chobe river her wildlife photography went into orbit, as her stunning Shot of the Day shows. For me the most difficult wildlife images to nail are those where you’re working with a super-telephoto lens – in this case a 600mm f/4 VR with 1.4x converter – and photographing a small subject at close range fairly full in the frame. In the case of Tracy’s African jacana image, the depth of field was just centimetres, and the glossy white against the dark background had all the potential to blow out.

These energetic birds are not easy to keep in the viewfinder either, and getting a clean background requires a lot off discipline. Tracy’s image ticks all the boxes: it includes some action, the bird is pin-sharp from front to back and the background is nicely blurred. All in all, a stunning wildlife image!