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Charles Davis's Image
Charles Davis (Australia) uses the day’s last light to record a male emu and its young strolling across sand dunes formed over 120,000 years.
Charles wanted to photograph emu chicks in the sand with just the adult’s legs included in the frame. He waited in the heat and sun for four days but never got the photo he planned to take.
This image was “a beautiful surprise”. It was a moment taken in the last 10 minutes of light that day.
The illusion of a hard, straight line separating the sand from the background scrub is a result of the dunes standing high above the flat terrain. The dunes contain numerous fossils including marsupials, emus and the remains of humans who lived 40,000 years ago.
Behind the lens
Charles Davis
Australia
Charles is a professional wildlife photographer from the Australian Snowy Mountains. His work primarily focuses on Australian wildlife in snow and sand, with a minimalist style.
Image details
- Nikon Z 9
- 400mm f2.8 lens
- 1/1000 at f8 • ISO 2500
- Mungo National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Copyright in WPY competition photographs remains the property of the respective photographers. You may not copy, share, reproduce or republish the photographs except as expressly permitted by copyright law. For media image usage enquiries, please contact us.
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