Pelicans in the Mist

I awoke early in the morning to find Lake Nakuru in Kenya, covered in a thick mist. I have been to the lake many times before, but I had never before seen such a beautiful and blue mist. Bouncing along in my decidedly uncomfortable 1976 Nissan Patrol, I desperately wanted to get to the shoreline before the sun rose in order to capture the cold blue mist, which I knew would soon dissipate in the presence of the equatorial rays. The angst and excitement that I was feeling on this particular morning, made the journey to the lakeshore feel extra long! When I however, did finally arrive, I was met with a beautiful and surreal scene. There were Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) preening in the foreground, while the mist and the rift valley wall had blended into a deep blue and white background. Without giving it a second thought, I waded into the flesh-numbing water and crouched on my haunches. I was quite simply mesmerized by the beautiful scene before me and I desperately wanted to translate what I was seeing into my camera. Trying to choose when to trip my shutter proved especially challenging as the grooming pelicans made for a difficult composition? Finally, I spotted a pelican flying towards the flock but from the back. As a wildlife photographer, I knew that this would be the moment I needed to capture! Tracking the bird flying straight towards my camera and through the mist was not an easy task but I was delighted with the final result.

Equipment: Nikon D3s, Nikkor 80-400mm