"Corelas" Sequence

This sequence is an example of the development of an idea to its lucky conclusion.

These birds had been flying regularly between a waterhole about a kilometre away, down a dry river gully (next to which we were camped - that's it in the bottom left frame) and along to a water tank and pump about 500 metres on the other side of us.

Mostly they flew directly above the gully (i.e. oblique to our camp), but every now and again they varied their course to go straight above us. I would have been happy to get anything, as long as it was in focus. I lined up many pictures but didn't expose the film as something (an inconvenient angle, a tree, the sun... whatever) got in the way.

On other shots, where I actually opened the shutter (most are reproduced at left) the results were decidedly underwhelming.

I had been using the 67II on a tripod and was getting nowhere, so I detatched it and waited for the birds to come along above the trees. I shot two or three unsuccessful shots in this manner and then the "magic moment" came. Pure luck, and some stubbornness.