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Death all around

One of the most remarkable events my wife and I witnessed was this predation by a pack of Hyenas on this poor and unfortunate Zebra mare who was heavily pregnant and simply couldn't keep up with the herd, it was the first time myself and my guide of 15 years had ever observed. Subsequently the unborn foal was savagely ripped out and carried off by one Hyena, it was heart breaking to watch and photograph, simply too much for one person in another vehicle next to us and asked to leave after this happened.
The stoic/defaint look as she stared down the lens was quite confronting. All the time this mare never uttered a sound as the savagery of the pack set in, no doubt in severe shock. Hyenas are never clinical killers.

D700 70-200 f/2.8VRII 1/800s f/4 ISO1600@200mm Masai Mara, Kenya.





Serengeti walk

Captured this cheetah in late afternoon golden light.

D3s 500VR+1.4tc 1/320s ISO800@f/6.3 Northern Serengeti, Tanzania.





Serval kitten pair tucked away in their den

Taken from the vehicle open roof and leaning in to get this angle at a reasonable distance so as not to disturb this cute pair.

D3s 500VR 1/160s ISO400@f/6.3 Masai Mara, Kenya.





Buffalo sunrise

Notice the large tumor on this bull.

D3s 500VR 1/5000s ISO3200@f/4 (a little high, got caught with this setting after photographing birds in flight) Masai Mara




C & C most welcome

Cheers
Marc

Those are some incredible images, the first one is truly confronting.....but I guess it is part of the circle of life out there.

I love the Cheetah image

Thank you for sharing

Fantastic shots Marc.

That first shot is really moving. It's not too graphic, but very clearly shows what is happening, and will happen.

The second and third are great.

I think the Buffalo is the least of these. I keep getting drawn to the balloon.

What sort of post processing have you done on these? I'd be tempted to bump the saturation a bit more.

Daniel

Absolute crackers.

I think I can see your brush strokes with the saturation on #3.

Wow. #1 might win a competition (if the judges were game enough) but it's not one to hang on your wall.

I think #3 is my favourite.

I'm going to be more morbid here and ask if you managed to get more graphical photos in that zebra/hyena series. I love seeing photos that have a back story to it, and that first one is tops!

DanielA wrote:Fantastic shots Marc.

I keep getting drawn to the balloon.

l

Me too, I would be inclined to clone it out.

Excellent pictures! Whoever called it mother nature?
It's anything but motherly!

Marc,

as usual, these are absolutely awesome. The event for the first one would have been extremely confronting. As you say, hyenas are not known for their clinical skills.

Beautiful light on the cheetah, wouldn't change a thing here.

The serval kittens are gorgeous and they are not an easy cat to actually find and photograph, so to have the two kittens at the den is fantastic. Only thing I might do is crop a bit off the left hand side, I find that there is a bit too much blur there. Still keep a few of the twigs, that way you still keep the kittens framed but without the distracting leftmost vegetation.

I don't mind having the balloon in the last one, gives it a sense of place, would look great in a brochure. I would probably just boost up the exposure by maybe half a stop, makes the buffalo stand out more, gives it more definition. Alternatively, mask out the buffalo and only boost the exposure on it so as to not affect the nice colours of the grasses.

thanks for sharing,

André
(note that I still feel the four images are great as is, just wanted to share a few ideas)

Bloody great shots, loved the first shot, even though it was disturbing to watch i would gather but well i guess that's the food chain and nature.

Well done.

Cheers
BBJ

Marc, did you go on a photo safari (everything included) for this trip or did you just book it like a regular holiday and go on a wildlife safari?

Wink wrote:Marc, did you go on a photo safari (everything included) for this trip or did you just book it like a regular holiday and go on a wildlife safari?

Thanks Adam

I always book & plan my Africa trips myself, and then use my TA in the USA to get the discounts off the rack rate as I supply him images for his blog & business. Usually hiring a private vehicle for just my wife and I, never gone on a specialist photo safari as I don't believe IMO giving the photographer/organiser free airfare/accommodation.
Off to Zambia (Sth Luangwa) in Oct.

Cheers
Marc

Thanks for the quick reply!

Can't wait to see the next round of shots.