23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Drone/Aerial
Wings That Draw Light

Photographed from a helicopter above Lake Natron, this image captures the instant when hundreds of flamingos take flight at once. A high shutter speed froze both the birds and the radiant patterns they carved into the shallow water—long streaks of reflected light that fan outward like musical notes or energy lines.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2025
Date Uploaded: 12.2025
Photo Location: Lake Natron, Kenya
Camera: NIKON Z 9
Copyright: © Yoshiki Nakamura