Zebras Drinking © Brian Basson Photography
Shot taken in Makuze Game Reserve, South Africa June, 2016.
All of my images on this website and elsewhere are protected by International Copyright...
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Shot taken in Makuze Game Reserve, South Africa June, 2016.
All of my images on this website and elsewhere are protected by International Copyright Law, with all my rights reserved.
The images may not be copied, reproduced, manipulated or used in any way without the written permission of the author, Brian Basson Photography.
Read less
All of my images on this website and elsewhere are protected by International Copyright Law, with all my rights reserved.
The images may not be copied, reproduced, manipulated or used in any way without the written permission of the author, Brian Basson Photography.
Read less
Jan, 2016Views
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David_Blakley_Photography
May 30, 2016
Pure genius, Brian. The middle one looks like he's had a fight (scars). Someday I want to travel to South Africa and Namibia.
NatureLoverJJWal
June 02, 2017
Fabulous capture of the patterns and a little of reflection is a bonus!
PRO+
CobusOosthuizen
January 27, 2019
Amazing capture
Check out Challenge- Anything Zebra and consider entering
viewbug.com/challenge/anything-zebra-photo-challenge-by-cobusoosthuizen
Check out Challenge- Anything Zebra and consider entering
viewbug.com/challenge/anything-zebra-photo-challenge-by-cobusoosthuizen
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Photo taken in Mkuze Game Reserve, Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, South Africa. Wild life is always a difficult subject, and zebras are no exception.Time
In winter, in South Africa, the game reserve gates open at 6:00 AM, and I was at the gate ready to be the first allowed into the reserve. I was heading for a hide on the edge of a dam. I wanted to be ahead of anyone else so that I could get the prime seat in the hide. And, voila, I made it, and I was able to set myself up before other visitors arrived. There was a deathly silence in hide, full of anticipation. There is no guarantee as to which animals will be coming down to drink or any. I've wanted to take a photo like this for many years, and did not know if the opportunity would present itself on this day.Lighting
It was early morning and within the golden light timeframe. The sun in Africa is harsh, even in winter. My aim is always to take shots with the best possible light available. But, of course, wild animals are not aware of this, so there has to be some luck as well. I struck it rich with this shot. Everything was just prefect. My blood was pounding in my ears. There was not a murmur from me and my fellows travellers. It was as if time stood still. My eyes were riveted on the zebras, waiting for them to put their hands down and to drink. In the meantime I feverishly ensured that my camera was ready for this once in a lifetime shot. This is the reward for having patience.Equipment
I used a Canon 60D with a Sigma 120-300 mm f2.8lens. Within the confines of a hide it is not possible to use a tripod so I used a beanbag over the edge of the window. No other equipment used. My settings were: Aperture f2.8, shutter speed 1/160, focal length 120/1, ISO 125.Inspiration
I was very fortunate to have these zebras come down and drink. They assisted me in realising one of my lifetime ambitions to be able to take a photo like this. For me, the position of the zebras in front of me was just right.Editing
I first started to process the shot in its original RAW colour for sharpness and then converted it to black and white and cropped the image until I thought that I had it just right.In my camera bag
The very first thing that goes into my camera bag is spare batteries. Without extra batteries you are wasting your time in remote locations. My bag normally has a Canon camera with a Canon 70-200 mm f2.8 lens. I go nowhere without this combination. After that I make sure that I have my Canon 10-22 mm lens for landscape shots and then my Canon 100-400 mm lens. With these lenses I'm pretty much covered in the bush. Then depending on what I intend to do I have more lenses like the Sigma 100-300 mm f2.8 lens and a Tamron 150-600 mm Sports Lens. In addition there is more photography paraphernalia such as smaller lenses, a flash, extra memory cards and portable battery chargers. By now you will have worked out that I have two camera bags filled with equipment on most vacations.Feedback
Wild life photography requires a lot of patience to wait for that perfect shot. At times you can sit for hours with nothing happening and then all of a sudden there is an explosion of activity right in front of you. An example: my brother and I had been driving around looking and watching for just such a moment when he stopped the car so that we could decide if we wanted to go back to camp. All of a sudden there was a lion right next to our car. For a heart stopping moment we were undecided what the lion was doing and we realised it was hunting. There was a sudden burst of speed as the big cat catapulted forward and along with his hunting companion brought down a kudu right in front of our car. Timing, timing and patience is the secret.
