'A Long Drink of Water' (Giraffe) - UNMANIPULATED | © David Lake Clayton | www.wildfaces.com

When the gates open in Etosha (which is not necessarily at sunrise - very annoying), there's a limited amount of time before the sun gets too high in the sky, and the lighting gets very flat. Everybody drives like maniacs on the dry dirt roads, which is relatively safe because you can be pretty sure that nobody's coming the other way (at least for the first hour or so). Many if not most people are looking for lions and whatever they may have killed overnight; if you're lucky, you'll guess right and find lions right on the road. But guess wrong, and have the 'lions lions lions' mindset, and you're likely to miss opportunities that are more readily available.

This giraffe was by itself near a waterhole not far from the Namutoni camp. It was a large waterhole and not a single other animal was there. Both the air and the water were perfectly still, so I knew I had an opportunity for a nice reflection. I knew the giraffe would eventually come to the water to drink, and I visualized an image of the giraffe just starting to drink, with a perfect reflection in the water. Several other vehicles drove up to the waterhole and quickly left, seeing only a giraffe, and not the more exotic game they were seeking.

When the giraffe finally, slowly, gingerly approached the waterhole, always careful of the vulnerable position it must assume to get a drink, the reflection came into view. It could not have been better, as the slope of the far side almost exactly matched the angle of reflection I had from my vehicle. The scene became a very close match to the 'ideal' image I held in my mind. I was the only photographer there.

If you're interested in wildlife photography, please take a look at the rest of this folder.

WOW what a reflection!! Its fantastic. Colour is rich and focusing spot on.

Technically very nice. The only thing that makes it not perfect is the dirt and stones behind the giraffe.

You might think about cropping out the top brush and even down somewhere into the giraffe's body to create a stronger central focus. Nice shot!

Cool shot! I love the reflection!

The reflection makes this shot. Very nice pic.