ANDRÉ DU PLESSIS
@andredup_photographer Canon EOS 7D Canon 70 – 200 mm lens
ANDRÉ WRITES: I took this photo on the Chobe River in Botswana. My wife and I were the only passengers on a boat cruise. I’ve always dreamt about taking a close-up photo of a fish-eagle. This one flew off when we approached, but I still managed to get an action shot.
TOAST SAYS: Fish-eagles are as common on the Chobe as lapwings at your local rugby field – that’s why it’s such a good place for an action shot of this iconic bird. André used a fast shutter speed of 1/3200 second, which froze the fish-eagle in flight and ensured that the bird was in sharp focus. His aperture was a wide f2.8. This, coupled with his telephoto zoom lens, made for a shallow depth of field: The background is out of focus, which makes the bird stand out even more. Had the fish-eagle remained perched, the shot wouldn’t have had as much impact. André did two things right: He pressed the shutter button a fraction of a second after the bird decided to take flight, and he included the tree trunk in the frame, which provides habitat context. A photo of a fish-eagle against a blue sky could have been taken anywhere; this one you know lives in the Chobe area. There’s great momentum in the upward-pointing wings, the clearly visible head and the stretched-out legs. Nice one, André!