Daily Photo: Ellie in Mud

Ellie in Mud

Madikwe Game Reserve

(Nikon D300, Nikon 50mm, 1/160, f/1.8, ISO 400)

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Yesterday we sat watching more than 80 elephants as they drank and played in the mud.  An absolutely amazing sighting.  The kind you would expect to walk away with a huge number of images but unfortunately wildlife photography does not always work  like this.  Even the weather played along and the slightly overcast conditions was ideal for photographing Africa’s grey giants.  The diffused light is great to capture the textures of the skin.

After sitting with the large herd for more than an hour I ended up only shooting about 20 images.  There was always something I did not quite like.  The background.  The shadows.  The scene being too busy.  It is all too common, when you start thinking like this to just keep on shooting.  Keep trying harder.  And sometimes you can try too hard.  This is one of those times when you should lower the camera and just enjoy the beauty of nature and luckily, with elephants there is always a lot to look at.  They are always busy.

As the sun dropped, the still overcast conditions made for a very soft light.  One young ellie was just finishing a mud bath and started moving towards us.  Luckily by this time I had my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens on the camera and was able to capture the youngster as he did his version of a mock-charge through the mud.  The lens, which literally sucks in light, is an absolute must for those dusk and dawn times out in the bush as this is when you normally find those magical moments that are worth photographing.  You might not be able to zoom in, but this teaches you to compose and think about your shots before you take them and this can only make you a better photographer!

More soon.

Gerry