It is very difficult to capture this amazing spectacle in one frame but here is my attempt at one of the Mara river crossings. We were positioned parallel to the crossing so I used the wider angle to include both the banks and the Gnus and Zebras in a line.
1/320
f/7.1
ISO 100 (pardon my amateur techs) My settings would have been different had I shot today :-)
7D
70mm
Hi Sanjeev - Always interesting and fun to see a crossing image. This one is unusual as it seems somewhat orderly as opposed to the usual chaos we often see. I am sure you would have shot this completely differently today but it is still nice to see. The left side of the bg isn't as sharp. Is it dust or just the shallow dof for an image like this?
Rachel, thanks for your comments. We saw 3 crossings and all were fairly orderly. Guess the crocs had already filled their tummies and were least interested in the wildebeests. Many times they all gathered in large numbers, hesitated to cross and aborted it. Then one of them would lead the way and others followed. The left side had lot of dust which was raised due to the congestion and shoving by the wildes. They ultimately jumped and crossed. Lasted about an hour.
I really think you can get lots more from this image...needs a bit of pop, WDYT? Hope you don't mind my RP, did a levels adjustment (overall, but you could do it selectively), some burn and dodge, upped the greens in places and resharpened the WB and Zebra, including this poor upside-down fellow whose limb is sticking out of the water...looks like he never made it to the other side. Really dramatic and this makes me want to go and see the place with my own eyes. Crop is great Sanjeev, so is the landscape - I really did a rough job here, if only to give you a rough idea of what I think might improve this, should you decide to RP I suggest you look at all the elements that need some attention, like those rocks, the trees, those steep river banks, a bit more selective work here and there.
Let us see what the others say, I really like the content here and this is worth revisiting IMHO.
Hi Gabriela, I like your RP a lot. You certainly put 'life' into the image and made it POP! I can see the boost in clarity, the detail and sharpness. The greens have come to life and the animals have more detail. I will work on the elements you have pointed out. Thanks a ton. Cheers,
Sanjeev
Thank you Sanjeev, and so glad you approve of my RP - we are so used to our own images that sometimes we don't see certain things, often I am guilty of doing so myself:)
I know this exact crossing point in the Mara Triangle, Doc
Nice view of this orderly crossing. I like what Gabriela has done in her RP, and might shave even more off the sky?
Hi Sanjeev, Gabriela's RP takes it to where it needed to go, a bit more tonal depth and some 'oomph' in colour, as the OP looked a little thin. I agree with you, if you had taken and PP the image now, overall it would far better in all senses of the word, hope you get some opportunities this year with your travels, i might even buy you a beer.
Crossings are great, in the Mara a bit of a 'free for all' which is crazy, especially when vehicles block the WB's exit as people strive to get the tired animals exiting the river.