Thank you for your patience while we retrieve your images.
Taken 20-Jun-23
Visitors 0


« Previous Next »
8 of 110 photos

2026, Exposure 1 One Shot, Wildlife Category Finalist

I was in the middle of a large herd of wildebeest when two males moved to an open area to challenge each other. When the duel became serious my goal was to capture the behavior and tell the story of the dance of the flying tails and spiraling postures. Because the action was so fast, my best opportunities were at very specific angles when the two were parallel my vehicle. I waited for good angles to photograph while they circled each other, and my vehicle, fighting. My biggest technical issue for the image was the low light and the need for a fast shutter speed. As a result I pushed my ISO. Luckily, the Canon R5 can handled the 8000 ISO that was needed for a shutter speed of 1/2500. I also processed the image for noise reduction in post processing. I decided to render the image in BW in post to draw the viewers eye to the textures and lines in the image. I particularly want to emphasize the flow of the tails. I hope the viewer takes away respect for the strength and agility of male wildebeest sparring as well as the artistry in nature.
Canon EOS R5, f/7.1 @ 500 mm, 1/2500, ISO 8000, No Flash

Categories & Keywords
Category:
Subcategory:
Subcategory Detail:
Keywords:2025 Exposure One, 2025 Greatest Kenya, 2025 Refocus World, 2025 WPOTY, 2026 African Geographic, 2026 Big Picture, 2026 NANPA, 2026 NWF, 2026 Refocus BW, Contests

2026, Exposure 1 One Shot, Wildlife Category Finalist