From delicate insects to screaming goats: The pictures of the week

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Animal portraits are the overarching theme of this week, and our gallery photographers have tracked down and skillfully staged a wide variety of animals. Whether macro photography or abstract silhouettes, the pictures show creatures in their natural environment.

Bearded Tit

"The bearded tit, especially the colorful male with its long black beard stripe, had been on my wish list for a long time. But as very agile and shy reed dwellers, they are difficult to find and photograph in an appealing position in their traditional habitat, large water-bearing reed beds," says Rolf Fries about the bird with its very distinctive plumage. Thanks to the focal length of 400 millimetres, the animal is very well exposed and thus attracts everyone's attention.

what are you looking at

By chance, photographer uschi1956 discovered the small jumping spider with the large eyes in her garden on a leaf and took her photo with the title was guckst du. "Normally they are very fast and hide or flee when approached. This one was probably a particularly curious specimen, it was watching exactly what I was doing just a few centimetres from its eyes," she says about the situation. The prominent eyes, which stand out in particular, make the look seem curious and almost cute.

The mountain goat

"I was driving along the 'Road of the Goats' to Bocca di Verghiu and just wanted to take a photo. I saw a rock on a bend, which looked like gnomes, lizards or lions. And then I heard the goat roar. I got out quickly because I was afraid it would run away from me, but it was still roaring at the top of its lungs like I'd never heard a goat before. She had probably lost her family, down in the valley the others were answering," says fotofreund55 about how his photo The Mountain Goat was taken on the island of Corsica. Its elevated position and long fur give it an almost majestic and sublime appearance.

Silhouette of ducks in flight

Gallery photographer khan concentrates on the outlines of the animals in his picture Silhouette ducks in flight. The lack of detail in the birds' plumage and the black and white depiction of the scene create an abstract image that is well worth seeing. The low perspective and the blurred plants in the foreground convey a hidden position to the viewer, as if one were secretly observing the birds. "The picture was taken in a nearby pond area that is looked after by the Landesbund für Vogelschutz. The best time to take pictures there is early in the morning. The exposure time is kept correspondingly short in order to freeze the movement," the gallery photographer wrote to us.

Border square

With its bright colors and fine details, bild0815 's photo Randplatz immediately catches the eye. For the photographer, the dragonfly is one of those creatures that seem to have fallen out of time. Nevertheless, he stages the insect beautifully by placing it in front of the colorful background, which complements the picture and makes it a real eye-catcher.

Tawny owl

Gallery photographer Daniel Stellwagen (etherman) has discovered a tawny owl in a tree hollow. We don't know whether it has its nest there or is just hiding for a short time. In any case, it seems to be observing its surroundings attentively. In addition to the owl's plumage, the black and white image also emphasizes the structure of the tree. The slightly darker background and the light falling on the tree from the side also create a calm lighting mood. "As I often photograph tawny owls, I always try to set the scene differently. In this case, I finally decided on a monochrome version as it seemed more interesting to me," explains the photographer.

A brief moment

BerndBA took another small spider with large eyes for his picture, A small moment. The focus and the green leaves, between which the animal appears tiny, are particularly impressive. It seems to be a little frightened and is keeping still so as not to attract attention.

(tlz)