zebras and giraffes

Krugger NP, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Nikon D300 + Nikon 300mm f4

iso 400, 1/200, f/8

Plains Zebra (Equus quagga)

Kruger NP, Limpopo, South Africa

I like to try black-and-white for Nature photography, and if there is an animal for which such an option is particularly adequate, it is the Zebra, with its striped pattern of strongly contrasting black and white. This photo was taken on a sunny morning, in a path in Kruger’s National Park. Among the 15 to 20 Plains Zebras in this group, these three remained calm in the middle of the path I was following.

Nikon D80 + Nikon 300mm f4
iso 100, 1/400, f4

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Kruger NP, Limpopo, South Africa

I found these two large African Elephant males in the evening, as I was hurrying towards my bungalow. In Kruger Park there are about 12,000 Elephants, but these large males with long heavy tusks are not so readily seen. The photo was made using a 60 mm lens, which shows how close to me the animals actually were. Except for the large groups of females and their young, human presence is tolerated without apparent signs of stress.

Nikon D80 + Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFS

iso 200, 1/60, f4.5

Nikon D80 + Nikon 300mm f4

iso 200, 1/500, f4