NOVEMBER 2006 – A group of five giraffes at the Chudop Waterhole of the Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
The waterholes in Africa’s National Parks are the sources of life – both for the animals living in the park, and the photographers and visitors intending to experience the thirsty animals.
We had heard stories about waterholes before, how many cars there would be, but when we approached Chudop, our very first waterhole – we were alone! Etosha National Park is by far not as busy as Kruger National Park in South Africa, and visitors get the chance to fully dive in and enjoy the scene without being disturbed by cars for long periods.
So we were alone with a group of giraffes that was cautiously taking a drink. We had seen giraffes before but not in such a wide open area, and not while drinking. We were excited. Etosha turned out to be awesome.
Shooting animals at noon is not the smartest decision as the strong sunlight creates harsh shadows and flawed colors, but in this case I was so happy to see the animals that I just had to do it. It’s certainly not my best photo of a group of giraffes, but I remember the situation very well, because it had been a “first” for me.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 29-NOV-2006, 12:09 |
| Location | Etosha National Park, Namibia |
| Camera | Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II |
| Lens | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM |
| ISO | 200 |
| Exposure | 1/1600 sec at f/5.6 |
| Digital Image Source Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, AdobeRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 4121 x 3091 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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