Jumpers

I suppose at some point it had to come...the obligatory photo of a wildebeest crossing, stock standard from every person who makes the pilgrimage to see this spectacle. I thought a lot about how to approach these scenes (from the comfort of my office chair) before the trip, but let me tell you - when the moment arrives, you just bore down to base photographic instinct and shoot. There's very little time to really think your composition through, very little time to compensate via settings for a specific mood and feel, and very little time for much more than just looking for an opportunity in this chaos to make an interesting image.

I hope this image is one you find interesting. This particular crossing had some precarious ledges and drops that the wildebeest had to negotiate. My guests and I played around with various shutter speed settings throughout the sighting to ensure good variety and a difference in how the chaos was portrayed. In this one I was using a faster shutter speed. Overcast conditions helped to tame the strong contrast and harsh shadows you normally see in these scenes.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f11  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-2000

click on the photo to display properly

If you would like to join us in the Mara Triangle with Wild Eye next year, you can add your name to the waiting list for the dates that go live on 1 November 2013.


Cheers!


Morkel Erasmus