Sometimes an image is more about a feeling, than being technically perfect or a good, clean portrait of a nicely placed subject. It’s about how it makes you feel- an emotional response.
I was lucky enough to spend another week in the Masai Mara this week. It was a great safari- Great client, the migration was still there (very late this year), the wildebeest were crossing daily and there was hardly anyone else around. We had the vast plains literally to ourselves; our daily agenda played out by natures hand leading us to leopard kills, 3 week old lion cubs and hundreds of thousands of animals right on the plain at our camp. Of course having a wildebeest crossing right at camp also helps- especially waking up to the honking of wildebeest preparing to cross. What a way to start a day! Get out of bed, have some good Kenyan coffee and walk down to the Mara River with cameras to photograph in the golden morning sunrise light. It was literally picture perfect.
It was on the last afternoon drive that we saw dust rising along the Mara River. We drove closer, and there before us were about 5000 wildebeests anxiously preparing to cross in the last rays of the day. The frantic back and forth of the beasts caused dust so thick that at times we couldn’t even see them. The crossing started and we drove into position. It was just us, alone we sat in silent awe at this spectacle playing out in front of us. The noise, golden light, dust, hooves and water combined to create one of the most atmospheric scenes I have seen in a long time.
We were caked in the dust, it gritting our teeth and cloaking our eyes. We revelled in it, shooting the scene with feverish intent. The tension was intense and we felt it in the scene. It was all I was aiming for in my images. I hope this does it some justice.
Exposure information
Nikon D700 - 70-200mm lens
Exposure – f 5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/500sec
Exp. Comp. - 0. EV
ISO - 400
Flash sync– not attached, Exposure mode– Aperture priority, Metering Mode– centre
File type– NEF (RAW)
Focal length: 155mm
This article first appeared on shemimages.com
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