DECEMBER 2011 – A crocodile lies in the sun at the shore of the Cuando river in the Chobe National Park in Botsuana. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
After a healthy breakfast at the Chobe Safari Lodge in Botsuana we hopped on the 4×4 of the guided excursion to the Chobe National Park. By now, we had seen four of the ‘Big Five’ of Africa on this trip: Lion, Buffalo, Elephant, and Rhino, and we were not expecting another extraordinary experience.
Then the guide stopped the jeep at the shore of the Cuando river. Only a few meters away, a crocodile was lying in the sun, probably waiting for some prey to come along. We had seen crocodiles before, but every encounter scares me deeply. That’s because I sense that humans do not have the slighest chance of winning a fight with a crocodile (unless, maybe, they can quickly climb on a tree.) Needless to say, I was very happy for the solid protection by the steel jeep.
I like this image because of the perfect adjustment of the crocodile within the frame, the almost graphical structure of the water, and the perfect focus on the mouth of the animal. No, you don’t want to get up-close and personal with these guys.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 09-DEC-2011, 08:51 |
| Location | Chobe National Park, Botsuana |
| Camera | Canon EOS-1D Mark III |
| Lens | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM |
| ISO | 640 |
| Exposure | 1/2000 sec at f/5.6 |
| Digital Image Source Format | Canon Camera RAW (CR2) |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 3888 x 2592 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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