Giraffe in the African sunset
Aug, 2014Views
795
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Awards
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Great Shot
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Exceptional Contrast
All Star
Superior Skill
Peer Award
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this in a small lion park near Johannesburg in South Africa. I was on holiday visiting my parents, and though the lions were the main attraction they couldn't strike such an impressive silhouette as this guy.Time
With golden hour already gone, there was only the African dusk left to snatch a few final photos. I jumped out of the car (well away from the lion area thankfully!) and stalked towards the giraffe, snapping as I went.Lighting
There's nothing quite like shooting against the red African sun to get a beautiful silhouette, the moment was gone in seconds as the giraffe walked away.Equipment
I shot this with my mum's bridge camera, the make of which I forget, before I got my trusty Nikon D810 which I shoot with today. Just shows to go, if the moment strikes it doesn't matter what kit you have, it's what you do with it that counts.Inspiration
The moment took me, it was too good to miss and I'm so glad that everything came together.Editing
This camera recorded straight to JPEG so I didn't do much post processing. If I remember correctly I might have slightly increased the contrast and saturation to maximise the effect, but that's it I think.In my camera bag
These days I go with my Nikon D810 with nifty fifty 1.4 attached. I'm saving to get a few more primes but I make do with what I've got for the timebeing, and with the camera's 36 megapixel resolution I can always zoom in a fair bit in post!Feedback
My main piece of advice is, when you see something that is going to make a really great photo, don't let anything stop you from getting it, be it tiredness, weather, or thinking that the opportunity will come again, because the chances are it won't. Seize the moment, go with your gut and snap snap snap!
