Stripes in Dust

[Morkel Erasmus]

A moment frozen in time on the banks of the Mara river, as a dazzle of zebra contemplate crossing the daunting waters.
The key lighting through the dust assisted with the mood and emphasis here.

I am already looking forward to returning to the Mara Triangle in August next year!

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 200mm
f22 | 1/40 SS | ISO-200
(settings chosen as I was actually busy shooting some slow shutter stuff when this scene unfolded in front of me)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Morkel when I saw this I took a deep breath - it is wonderful, I hope you put this in a competition I think it is fantastic. The more I look the more I like it, in fact I am just going to pour myself a glass of whisky - cheers!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel this is a image one might take his /her time to look at ..... as there is so much to see and the eye can wonder from left to right or up and down to find new stuff :5.
Love the beaming light , the play of light and shadow , the colors , detail and so on and so on ......
Well timed and nicely seen .
To sum this up .. a very fine image , Morkel .

Being really picky :bg3: i might temper the blues creeping into the whites of the Zebras .

TFS Andreas

[keith mitchell]

Morkel all I can say is the dramatic atmosphere of the scene with the flying dust and the look of confusion of the Zebras make it a wonderful image for me.

Keith.

[Marc Mol]

Great tension and drama depicted here Morkel, enhanced by the wonderful combination of dust and lighting :cheers:

Granted the situation of f/22 and such a slow S/S, but impressed at just how sharp the image is overall, especially the zebra walking down on the RHS. :w3

TFS

[Kalin Botev]

Great picture Morkel! I love the dark and light contrasts in the subjects and the environment! I always try to shoot as wide open as possible, but I see now that closed aperture can work great in many situations.

[Paul Gobert]

Fantastic picture Morkel.
As others have said so much detail there and very thought provoking.
Whats going through their heads? Did they Cross? How much longer will that "island" with the vegetation between the tracks last? More Zebra coming? And on and on.
Thats one photo that would stay on a wall forever.
The patterns of the Zebra's stripes in their different poses keeps the eye moving throughout the image.
The only thing that I would change (if it could be changed) is the dust obscuring of the head of the sixth Zebra in from the RHS.
Great work.
Paul.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Morkel -- Another lovely image with a certain feel to it ! The Stripes are looking so good against that glow of light and dust . Nothing to comment on the settings as you have already explained in your intro .

TFS !

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Morkel, tremendous lighting effect here with superb framing and PP work. I like the look of hesitation and confusion among the zebras here at the Mara river. You were lucky not to have any Gnus to spoil the zebra party!

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

There's a lot of things to like about this shot Morkel! The light, the shades, the stripes, the story hiding behind the shot. I sense just a touch of over saturation & contrast which works very well in this particular case. Nice shot!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - A lot to like and absorb here. The sense of action from the movement of the zebras and the kicked up dust and a sense of trepidation from them holding at the water's edge. Love the light. Only thing I might do is tame the brightest HL on the branch sticking up at the bottom middle of the frame. I find my eye stopping on it each time I pass over the image. Congrats on this one. :cheers:

TFS,
Rachel

[Mike Poole]

There are lots of 'wow' shots presented in these forums, but this really has to be up there with the best of them - I knew it was one of yours as soon as I saw the thumbnail.

The entire scene demands a detailed look, the light is fantastic, as is the action. Without a doubt one of my favourite images of the year.

Mike

[Stuart Philpott]

It is simply a stunning image Morkel,the light playing off the dust makes this for me,coupled with almost a sense of foreboding from the Zeebra nearest the water(all heads seem to be shying away from the water.It's complex and stunning Morkel utterly breathtaking thanks for the inspirational picture
take care
Stu

[Mark Needham]

Awesome image, Morkel. It really captures the "essence" of the Mara. Love the light, dust, and patterns captured here. Nothing to add from what everyone else has said. Great job that you were able to get such a sharp image despite the slow SS. Awesome work! :5

[Arthur Morris]

Love the image and the mood but some of the really bright areas and a few black branches bugged me and I was hoping to see some more detail in the shaded zebras. So I went to work for about 15 minutes while trying my best to preserve the wonderful light and mood. Comments and questions welcome. a

[Gabriela Plesea]

This is beautiful, Morkel.

Ethereal and exquisite is the light! Well captured and I like the presentation. Fine tuned by Sir Arthur's RP. A very dramatic frame, colours are superb - congratulations!

Wishing you happy travels to the KTP and lots of opportunities, would really appreciate some feedback when you return as we are off to the magic place in the beginning of February.

Warmest regards,

[Morkel Erasmus]

I see I never responded here (though I did per email), Artie.
Thanks for your effort in the RP - I like!!

[Arthur Morris]

You are most welcome Mork-man. a

ps; heading to Namibia in APR :) First time.