49.6

This was shot just before sunset in South Africa. I was waiting next to a water hole to see what animals would come to visit, when I suddenly saw a small herd of giraffes walking in my direction. They were on a slightly elevated plateau which resulted in nice and clean silhouettes.

The sky was awesome, so I decided to use a wide angle and show as much sky as possible and very little foreground. I made my composition, checked my exposure, and then waited for the first giraffe to enter the frame. When it did, it briefly stopped, and that's when I took this shot. There is a little bit of unintentional motion blur in the moving tail, but I'm happy that happened.

This photograph won First Prize in the Wildlife category of the Nature's Best International Photography Awards.

©2009 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.