This photo is actually a composite image – two shots from the same position but with different focal points merged together. It’s not something I do often but I thought it worked well in this instance. There’s a hollowed out old tree here at Manu Biological Station which contains a nesting pair of Chestnut-Fronted Macaws who constantly poke their heads out of different spots. In the late afternoon, the moon lines up perfectly with the top of the trunk, and occasionally the macaws appear at just the right moment.

I’ll be honest, this shot gets me a little existential. To me, it highlights the precariousness of our living planet, contrasted with the barren rock that orbits our abundant Earth.

As far as we know, our home is the only place in the universe that has macaws, or trees, or, well, life of any kind. We should probably take better care of it.

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Chestnut-Fronted Macaw (Ara severus), Manu Biological Station, Peru