Flight #5, a photo from Victoria, East

Photographer's Note

It is summer in Melbourne. Yesterday was particularly hot and so the bats at Yarra bend park were skimming the water to cool off (If I don't manage to get a holiday out of Australia soon I'll have to start posting to TrekNature!)

giuseppe24, bibiweb has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

giuseppe24 (251) 2008-01-05 18:10

LOL...I love your note. If I don't get out of the US sometime soon I may have to switch to TN as well!

I am a bit stunned by this photo. The bats we have in my part of the world fly so eratically that it would really take a bit of skill and good luck to capture such a candid shot.

Good on ya...

Matthew-Watt (5934) 2008-01-05 18:18

Hello Stephen,

A very pleasant photo of this remarkable creature. As you know, I am not a fan of these loud and messy buggers, but what would the Australian nightlife be like without them? As a little kid these flying foxes would terrify me with their manic screeching in the mango tree next to my window. This week I was able to collect about 50 mangoes from the tree and I did leave a few of the higher ones for the bats and possums to get to. There is a colony of these, probably a few thousand nearby at Sparkes Hill reserve. The stink is unbelievable. Anyway, this shot is a really interesting capture; I have seen them swooping water but never during the day. Very unusual! The very rapid shutter captured the position of flight exceptionally well. Congratulations.

Matt

chanjits (4460) 2008-01-05 18:21

well chaptured,well composed,your subject in action against dull green background is looking marvelous

jorgi (3810) 2008-01-06 1:28

Hi Stephen,

excellent shot. Bat during the day in extremelly directional flight. Well, we just do not see sth like that in our country. This shot is marvelous: bat actually looks quite magnificent. I always thought they look cute eventhough they do scare me a little bit, but here looks awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Best regards,
Jeri

Propofol (1790) 2008-01-10 17:36

I read about this in the paper, and I think your photo is a little better than theirs...
well caught!

bibiweb (8) 2008-01-11 22:42

Hi Stephen,
I'm impressed by the quality of this shot and I read your message to giuseppe mentionning the fact these creatures have a wingspan of about 1 meter... that's BIG! Your panning technique is very good here and the light on the bat's face makes the details stand out. Your note is interesting and definitely makes this a "Learn About the World" shot that deserves its place on TE.
Regards,
Brigitte

Eamonn_Shute (381) 2008-02-06 2:44