DECEMBER 2011 – Close-up of an elephant in Botswana. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
There are very few places where you can get as close to a wild elephant as in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. During the daily excursions you will be guided safely to the surroundings of your lodge.
I captured this close-up portrait of an elephant during an evening excursion by motor boat. It was awesome to experience the elephant in his natural environment, undisturbed by anyone (well, except us). Our small group just watched the elephant from the distance and listened to his breathing and munching.
The 100-400 mm zoom lens did a terrific job on my Canon 1D Mark III, and for this photo I used its full length. The guide smiled and commented: “Oh, you brought the Bazooka!” And on my camera the Bazooka acted like a 520 mm now compared to being mounted on a full frame body. I like how the soft afternoon sunlight highlights the details of the elephant’s skin and casts shadows that underline its structure.
Simply awesome.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 02-DEC-2011, 16:38 |
| Location | Gunn’s Camp, Botsuana |
| Camera | Canon EOS-1D Mark III |
| Lens | Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM |
| ISO | 400 |
| Exposure | 1/800 sec at f/5.6 |
| Digital Image Source Format | Canon Camera RAW (CR2) |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 3815 x 2544 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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