1st Place winner
Dawn's Whispers: Graceful Hoopoe Silhouette at Sunrise
DESCRIPTION
A Hoopoe took flight with its wings spread in a smooth motion across the canvas of the early-morning sky that was illuminated up by the sunrise's bright hues. I saw that this bird would occasionally grab its prey in the air and other times on the ground. Additionally, I observed that each time it caught a prey, it flew in the same direction to a nearby tree. That's when I had the idea to photograph the bird against a background with light and dark sides to represent the dark and light sides of existence. AUTHOR
Hermis Haridas is an internationally acclaimed autodidact nature photographer, who shoots with his heart to capture nature moments hitherto uncaptured. He has led multiple photo trips to many exotic wildlife locations and has extensive experience in organizing wildlife photography travel and teaching photography. For the last seven years, he has been mentoring students, wildlife enthusiasts and amateur photographers on photography and nature conservation. He has got vast experience in leading various awareness building and conservation projects in Dubai and East Africa. Hermis believes in the adage that "practice makes perfect" and there isn’t a day in his life without peeping at the world through his “third eye”. 