Fine art print
Black-naped Monarch
$270.0 – $550.0 (additional taxes may apply)
Portrait of a Black-naped Monarch, colorful dweller of the Sinharaja Forest, sitting on the nest
Sri Lanka, 2017
Description
Tropical forests are among the most biodiverse places, but photographing wildlife there brings many challenges. Above all, it is necessary to find animals in a large dense forest, which is much harder than it might seem. However, even the animal is in front of the camera, you haven’t won yet. You have to deal with the low light in the shade of massive treetops and with the lush undergrowth, that either blocks the view or disturbs in background. It was no different with this photo, which I made in the Sinharaja National Park.
The pair of black-naped monarchs built the nest relatively close to the trail and low enough for shooting from the eye level but finding the clean view through vegetation that would allow me to take a photo without disturbing elements was very difficult. I had to adjust the tripod inch by inch so many times to get the perfect result!
When I finally managed to fine-tune the composition, I made a series of images, but the vast majority of them were not sharp due to slow shutter speed and constant swaying of nest hanging in the branches. However, in the end, there was a good one — the photo you are looking at now.
This image was highly honored in prestigious “2018 Windland Smith Rice Awards” photography contest.
