Elza Friedländer (Germany) shows a pair of white storks in shimmering heat against the burnt ground resulting from a controlled fire.
From a safe vantage point, Elza framed her shot to isolate the birds in shimmering heat against the black, burnt ground, capturing the drama as the patch of savannah went up in smoke.
As Elza had anticipated, shortly after the controlled fire was lit on an area of Kenya’s Maasai Mara, hundreds of birds arrived, particularly storks and kites.
Most kept a reasonable distance, but the storks pressed up to the front line in search of easy prey, jabbing their bills to grab anything from worms and insects to scorpions and spiders, and even a few small vertebrates.
Starting fires is a common, though controversial way, of managing grasslands to stimulate lush new growth and to control the spread of bushland. This can be a dangerous tactic, though, especially in times of drought when fire spreads easily.
Germany
Elza was born in Hungary and lived during her childhood in a forest. The closeness of nature was, for her, quite an ‘imprinting’ and she began watching birds and animals from a very early age. Though life took her in a different direction - training to become a physician - birding, conservation and nature photography are still an important part of her life.
Help us harness the power of photography to advance scientific knowledge, spread awareness of important issues and nurture a global love for nature.