The Saddle-billed Stork was near the top of my list for birds on the Maasai Mara I wanted to see. Others had seen this four foot beauty, we had not. Near the end of our trip, they were on the edge of the marsh so off we headed to the locale. The skies were getting darker and darker as we drove in their direction. We had had a number of afternoon thunderstorms, this was sizing up to be a doozie! We were just pulling around to where they were and it started to sprinkle. I had the MP-1 V2 in my lap cause the rain started to get harder and the tarp roof of the Landi was starting to leak all over. We got up to the Saddle-billed Storks within shooting range just as the sky let loose. I’m talking a Noah event here! It was time to shoot!!!
The rain is running down between my back and the seat. My left leg and arse are soaked but my lap and gear is dry. I have the Df / 300 PF cranking away as the Stork closest to us was fishing in the rain, very successfully I might add. It was popping them down like M&Ms. It was pouring like a firehouse gone wild and the action was still happening. I would put on and off the TC-17II as the Stork would move away and come closer, rain didn’t matter. All I can say is, some of the best photography comes in the worst weather. The Stork, he just looked down my lens barrel like he was saying … “Seriously?”
The tremendous down pour lasted perhaps twenty minutes and something told me to hold tight so we did. With all that moisture, the dry Mara started to come to life, the colors especially the greens glowed. The Storks moved out into the taller marsh habitat and took advantage of what the down pour had brought out to munch. This is one of my favorite shots from the shoot. The colors, the lines, the colors, the hint of water and the Stork, they all came together (just Df / 300 PF). Then the Stork not forgetting where he started, strolled back over to the hole where it was porking down on fish and went back to it. We backed up the Landie to get this last shot (TC-17II attached) and now that we were “stuck” in the newly formed mud, our attention went to getting free and out. The Maasai Mara brought many, many great adventures and this is just one of them. And it just goes to show, the worst weather …
