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chriswhittier

Above the Crater Lake

A silverback (adult male) mountain gorilla pauses on the rim of Mt. Visoke above its crater lake. Visoke (aka Bisoke) is one of the extinct Virunga volcanoes d...
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A silverback (adult male) mountain gorilla pauses on the rim of Mt. Visoke above its crater lake. Visoke (aka Bisoke) is one of the extinct Virunga volcanoes defining the border between Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda, the area of the last refuges for this critically endangered species, who rarely visit these heights (>12,000 feet or 3700 m).
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Canon EOS 5D

settings

Aperture 8/1 ISO 400 Shutter 1/100 Focal Length 24/1

upload_date

Nov, 2016

Views

2171

Likes

+285

Awards

Sigma 70-300mm Lens

Contest Finalist in Explore Africa Photo Contest

Peer Award

+82

Absolute Masterpiece

+19

Top Choice

+14

Magnificent Capture

+10

Superb Composition

Virtuoso

All Star

Superior Skill

Outstanding Creativity

Genius

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Categories

Platinum

That is spectacular and so unusual. Very lucky. Well done.

Grade A shot that not many people can get the chance to get. Excellent shot ????????????????????????????????

Platinum

Oh....my...word....! Stunning image that makes me feel I'm standing right there beside you (and how I wish I was!)

Platinum

Thanks. This was a pretty special moment and I was especially fortunate to see him coming and reposition myself a bit to get this composition.

Fantastic take on the gorilla and his environment here, congrats on winning the Africa Contest!! :)

Absolutely beaitiful.

What an amazing capture, I'm sure it was a thrilling experience to see this silverback in the wild!! How lucky!

PRO+

Congratulations!

Beautiful picture, very nice capture. We climbed Mt. Gahinga to about 2700 and it not as stunning as this by the time we got to the gorillas. It was moving to among the gorillas, but the background did not lend it self to this type of photo Thanks for sharing and congratulations.

Platinum

Thanks for kind words everyone. This was indeed a special moment and highlight of many years working with these and other beautiful creatures.

Congratulations, well done! Must have taken some effort to get up there!

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Behind The Lens

Location

This image was captured on the rim of Mt. Visoke in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. The dormant volcano's crater is now filled with a spectacular lake, the only one of its kind in the Virunga Range.

Time

After many hours of tracking and hiking we found this gorilla group in this very special and unique location just before noon and I shot this image early during our visit.

Lighting

Midday sun is usually terrible for most outdoor photography but the clouds at this high elevation (>12,000 ft) diffused the light nicely on this day and made for some decent photos.

Equipment

This was shot handheld with a Canon 5D and Canon EF24-70 f/2.8L lens. Tripods and flashes are both generally prohibited when shooting wildlife such as gorillas because both can be perceived as threats to animals that are at risk of being shot and killed by armed poachers.

Inspiration

I've shot tens of thousands of gorilla images (and spent a couple thousand hours with them) and a lot more of other wildlife but these precious minutes with this group at this location on this day remain the photographic highlight of my life. It was only last week (more than a decade after I shot these) that any gorilla group returned to this location- as far as I know. I was fortunate to be there working but totally dropped my work duties for the few moments I stood at the rim with these magnificent creatures taking in this incredible sight and trying to snap a few images.

Editing

I try to minimize post-processing and keep my images to what I actually saw. Here I slightly cropped and straightened the frame, adjusted the tones and bumped the clarity, sharpness and saturation a tad.

In my camera bag

When I took this it was only my 5D (with obligatory battery grip) and a long and short zoom lens along with extra batteries, memory cards, etc. I prefer to be that light but now sometimes carry that same 5D as back-up for the newer Mark IV I shoot with. When I'm out shooting wildlife I don't even bother to carry a wide angle lens as my pocket Canon Powershot and even my Lumia phone can both shoot raw files. I do sometimes use a macro lens for close-ups and love my Slik tripod, but rarely have the opportunity to use it. I also toy with a circular polarizer sometimes but otherwise avoid filters.

Feedback

Seeing the gorillas at this location is exceptionally rare and the two groups that I'm aware of going there in the last 12 years were both groups that tourists do not visit. Being in the right place at the right time with the right kit is half the battle, the rest is about waiting for, or better- anticipating, the right moment. I've never been one to rattle off a 100 frames hoping for one that is ideal, especially around animals that appreciate calmness and quiet. Instead I usually trust my knowledge of animals' behavior to sense how they might move, what they might do next, etc., which is exactly how I managed to position myself for this shot. Most importantly, the only way to have an opportunity similar to this is to go visit magnificent animals like these, which, when done right, also benefits their conservation- a proverbial win-win!

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chriswhittier

chriswhittier

Above the Crater Lake

A silverback (adult male) mountain gorilla pauses on the rim of Mt. Visoke above its crater lake. Visoke (aka Bisoke) is one of the extinct Virunga volcanoes d... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow chriswhittier

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A silverback (adult male) mountain gorilla pauses on the rim of Mt. Visoke above its crater lake. Visoke (aka Bisoke) is one of the extinct Virunga volcanoes d...
Read more

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