Cookson's Wildebeest

[Rachel Hollander]

Not the most interesting landscape for this animalscape but the Cookson's Wildebeest is a subspecies of the blue wildebeest only found in the Luangwa Valley. We came across a small group late on a morning drive in South Luangwa N.P. The light was already somewhat harsh but I thought it was interesting to show a different subspecies.

Canon 7D2
100-400 II @ 286mm
1/1600
f5.6
ISO 800
HH from safari vehicle, slight crop to straighten, levels, curves, sharpened in PSCC.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dearest Rachel,

Happy to see a subspecies of the Blue Wildebeest, thank you for sharing!

Super techs, this nice and sharp where it matters, subject well positioned within the frame and I like his trodden, burdened appearance.

Light might have been harsh but you handled the conditions very well. I quite like the landscape, it adds to the mood and feel of the scene.

I take it you have had some amazing sightings on this trip, looking forward to more:)

Warmest regards,

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- I agree with Gabriela , the scene has been nicely captured with the harsh light nicely handled and also depicting the harsh conditions for this lean looking Wildebeest ( a first time for me ) .

TFS !

[Marc Mol]

It's been a long while since anyone has posted a Cookson's Rachel, and I know my last time was long before most members currently here, back in '08 I think? So this is most welcome, love the typical dry season Sth Luangwa colours and the lowered head so typical of these guys as they amble along.

On the subject of harsh light, I'd consider SLNP in the long hot & dusty dry season to be one of the most challenging to photograph wildlife in Africa in terms of a sweet light window, whereby the light can often be considered "gone" by anytime after 7.30/8.00am on most days.

TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel well i agree the setting and time of shooting was not on your side to create a stunning animal scape .
But it is very nice to see this special subspecies of the wildebeest , i have never even heard of their existing .

So great that you posted it , well handled tonal range under the difficult lighting .The crop works for me as presented .

So overall i think you have done a decent job .

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Gabriela, Haseeb, Marc and Andreas. Marc - That's interesting because I actually felt the golden hour lasted a little longer in SLNP than in the Kruger area.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Marc - That's interesting because I actually felt the golden hour lasted a little longer in SLNP than in the Kruger area.

My reason for why it is so challenging Rachel partly is due to the amount of smoke haze that comes from the surrounding villagers and their clearing of grass/vegetation, especially close to the roads which as you would have seen the locals make their way to and from Mfuwe, either walking or on bycycle whereby there has been many deaths due to elephants, hence the need to burn that long dry grass they "disappear" into. The Kruger doesn't suffer this smoke haze nearly as much IMO Although there are similarities in Zim with clearing/fires also.
Having photographed here since 1993, the light IMO gets more and more challenging each season, with the encroaching population growth and increased burnoffs. The green season on the other hand is just beautiful to photgraph in such clear air and that golden hour on good days can last past 9.00am.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Marc, interesting to hear your observations. Yes, I definitely noticed the smoke haze when we were closer to the entrance to the park and the river crossings. At Lion Camp I didn't notice it as much. In addition to the smoke, a bit more heat haze at times too.