Name: Francesco Guffanti
Picture title: Angel or Demon
Category: Birds
Nationality: Italy
Occupation: Nature photography is my hobby, a passion that I live with great commitment and enthusiasm.
Technical information
Camera: Nikon Z6
Lens: Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S • 35mm
EXIF: 1/250 sec at f5 • ISO 4000
Accessories: Tripod, Camtraptions PIR Sensor, No flashes
HIGHLY COMMENDED CATEGORY BIRDS
Francesco Guffanti | Angel or Demon
Name: Francesco Guffanti
Picture title: Angel or Demon
Category: Birds
Nationality: Italy
Occupation: Nature photography is my hobby, a passion that I live with great commitment and enthusiasm.
Technical information
Camera: Nikon Z6
Lens:Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S • 35mm
EXIF: 1/250 sec at f5 • ISO 4000
Accessories: Tripod, Camtraptions PIR Sensor, No flashes
Francesco Guffanti says:
A young deer (Cervus elaphus) hit by a car and dead nearby gave me the fantastic opportunity to document the activity of carnivores and scavengers. With the help of my friend André we positioned and camouflaged a motion sensor and two mirrorless cameras. To avoid excessive disturbance I did not want to use flashes or any type of artificial light.
After foxes, crows and some small birds, the most unexpected animal appeared. Despite the thick blanket of branches, the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) decided to descend to feed on the deer. A tasty and irresistible call also for the queen of the Mont Blanc skies. Over two meters of wingspan, sharp claws and beak makes this bird of prey a perfect killing machine.
Wolves will also visit the carcass in the following days, consuming it entirely under the cover of darkness. No images of their passage but the awareness of not having interfered with the wonderful balance in the natural world. I took this photograph in a pine forest not far from the town where I live in the Aosta Valley, in the north-western Italian Alps.
Francesco Guffanti
Italy
Born in Milan (Italy) in 1989, I found in the Aosta Valley the place where I could spend my life, among woods, mountains and animals that I learned to know and love thanks to my dad. Since I was a child I have loved spending time immersed in nature, discovering its wonderful creatures and the habitats that host them.
A few years ago I started photographing what surrounds me, sharing my shots with the people around me. Always passionate about large carnivores, in 2023 I published, together with André Roveyaz, the photographic book ‘Nuovi Equilibri’, our vision of the return of the wolf to the mountains of the upper Aosta Valley. A project that has lasted over 5 years and is still ongoing, useful for making people understand the wolf for what it is, far from the extremism that often characterizes its perception.
https://fra8945.wixsite.com/francescoguffanti