Snack Envy
A young mountain gorilla eyes another eating a warm... snack?
A young mountain gorilla eyes another eating a warm... snack?
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Dec, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Wildlife Babies Photo Contest
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
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Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, one of the last remaining refuges for these critically endangered mountain gorillas. I was fortunate to be working there for many years as a wildlife veterinarian assisting with their care.Time
It usually takes a few hours hike to find the gorilla groups but this day we were checking on a wound in a gorilla in this group so started early. This image was captured around 9:30 AM.Lighting
This was an overcast yet relatively bright morning and this gorilla group was in a fairly open area- a rare good lighting opportunity with gorillas. Catching some bright sky in both gorillas' eyes makes for an ideal capture like this.Equipment
This was shot handheld without flash (like all of my gorilla images) with a 1st gen Canon 5D and Sigma 70-300 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
This is a from a short series with a bunch of these young gorillas feasting a large, warm piece of poop left by the dominant male. While this behavior is really gross to us, it's actually quite normal in a lot of animals who often need to reestablish or boost their gut bacteria for proper digestion. It's really not that different from eating live yogurt cultures, taking probiotics or the increasingly popular (though actually quite ancient) practice of fecal transplantation/fecal microbiota transplant/bacteriotherapy, which is also a normal veterinary technique- especially for horses who have intestine similar to gorillas.Editing
I try to minimize post-processing and keep my images to what I actually saw. I cropped a bit off the top and bottom of this frame, adjusted the tones and bumped the clarity and saturation a tad.In my camera bag
When I took this it was only my 5D (with obligatory battery grip) and single zoom lens along with extra batteries, memory cards.... and a rain cover! I prefer to be that light but now sometimes carry that same 5D as back-up for the newer Mark III along with one of my much better zooms. 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 my Canon EF 24-70 L lens for landscapes and 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
For me, wildlife photography is the nexus of opportunity, patience, and timing. 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. Most importantly, the only way to have the opportunity is to go visit magnificent animals like these, which, when done right, also benefits their conservation- a proverbial win-win!
