By Jill Pease
Fevi Paro held her breath and clicked.
Fortunately, the bird with the striking aqua wings and scarlet beak didn’t fly away and, in fact, stayed still for several more photos.
Paro, a candidate in the Ph.D. program in public health, environmental health concentration, at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, spent five weeks in Rwanda earlier this year conducting fieldwork for a maternal and child health study. On her way to work in Nyagatare, she captured a photo of a woodland kingfisher. The image earned her the July People’s Choice award in the UF at Play photo contest, which invites employees to submit personal photos taken during travel.
Paro’s fieldwork was supported by a $5,000 Research Abroad grant from UF’s International Center. Her mentor Sarah McKune, Ph.D., a professor and interim chair of the Department of Environmental and Global Health, leads the ongoing study that explores the environmental and sociocultural drivers of antenatal care utilization in underserved areas with a goal of gaining a better understanding of maternal health care access and utilization in low- and middle-income countries.
Paro shares the story behind the image.
Q: How did you capture this photo?
A: I was on our field vehicle and I told the driver to slow down because I could see a very bright blue color from a distance and thought that it would be something interesting. And voila! It’s a beautiful bird! It was my first time seeing this bird in the wild, so my heart was pounding as I tried to capture the moment. I was scared that it would fly away but luckily it didn’t. It even gave me several poses and this is one of my favorites.
Q: Have you had a long-held interest in wildlife photography?
A: Yes, I have always been passionate about wildlife and nature photography, especially with flowers, birds and butterflies! Recently, I’ve been fascinated by larger animals in the wild after getting an incredible chance to see them in Africa.
Q: What does spending time in nature mean to you?
A: Spending time outdoors, observing and photographing nature, brings me an indescribable sense of peace and genuine happiness. It also serves as a reminder that we share this planet with countless other forms of life, making environmental conservation more important than ever. Human health does not exist in isolation, it is closely connected to the health of animals, plants and the ecosystems we all depend on.
Wildlife photography by Fevi Paro
