Linda Waters, Another day in Paradise (ANIMAL & NATURE 2025)

Before the break of dawn (at Raja Ampat, Waigeo, West Papua), Red Birds-of-Paradise gather in the trees surrounding the leafless lifeless remains of an old tree. This is the display perch. Curious males and females fly in and out to check opportunities. The pre-dawn light was made poorer due to overcast skies. Unsure of getting any useful photographs, I was resigned to just savour this magical experience. Once home, I found that the low light condition together with the birds' fine flowing feathers produced a dreamy effect that would be difficult to replicate. I have selected images of these birds against a plain background, eg. the sky, as I feel details of the Red BoP's fine elegant feathers and tapes are lost in a busy leafy background. Composition is also a challenge when the males have such long tapes. And finally, I would like to note that during this 'lek' I have not observed any aggressive behaviour from one male to one another.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.