Photograph of hungry pelican snapped within the act at 1/1,400 sec with a Nikon Z9 will get main awards recognition

Shutter velocity could make all of the distinction between getting the shot and getting a disappointingly blurry rendition of the identical scene.

And by choosing a 1/1,400 sec, Sydney-based photographer Emma Parker captured the exact second an opportunistic Australian pelican caught a fishy deal with in crisp readability.

“Whilst I was photographing this scene, out of nowhere a fisherman tossed a rejected fish and I captured the moment in an almost perfect freeze frame and a classic Australian coastal scene,” she advised the occasion organizers.

“Fishermen’s Friend” by Emma Parker (honorable point out on the APA 2026)

Parker used a Nikon Z9 paired with a Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens. Her settings were: 1/1,400 sec, f/2.8, and ISO 1,600.

Parker shot the freeze frame in 2025 and it became a standout wildlife image in her home country, going on to be commended at this year’s Australian Photography Awards (APA), the place she acquired an honorable point out within the “Open” class.

2026 marked the tenth version of the awards and the primary time an “Open” class was included, with a view of making a class which didn’t restrict entries to particular labels, broadening the vary of visible narratives.

Along with the efficient use of shutter velocity, I feel the judges would’ve been impressed with the angle of the body in addition to the usage of textures.

Parker captured the pelican “under a stormy sky on an almost moonscape rock face” and, the way in which she’s enhanced the crater-ridden floor and the moody clouds in post-production virtually helps you are feeling these textures. She additionally introduced out the element within the pelican’s feathers, little question helped by the Nikon Z9’s 45MP sensor.

The low-down angle of the picture additionally creates a dramatic impact, in my opinion. By placing the topic smack bang in the course of the body and angling the digital camera up towards it, to me, Parker creates a higher sense of motion.

While the quick shutter velocity was the important thing ingredient to this picture’s success, it’s a incredible body all spherical, and undoubtedly deserved an honorable point out at APA 2026.

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