Crossing the Zambezi

Another shot from the Beyond the Great Rivers tour. Probablyone of the biggest differences between Zambia and most other Africansafari destinations, is the Zambezi river - the fourth-longest riverin Africa. The 3,540-kilometre-long river (2,200 mi) has its source inZambia and flows through Angola, along the borders of Namibia,Botswana, Zambia again, and Zimbabwe, to Mozambique, where it emptiesinto the Indian Ocean.

The river supports large populations of many animals. Hippopotamusesare abundant along most of the calm stretches of the river, and manycrocodiles are also present. The riverine woodland also supports manylarge animals, such as buffalo, zebras, giraffes, elephants. Insteadof using a 4x4 to search for animals, you can also use a small boat tofloat along the shore - after all, eventually all animals will comedown to the river to drink. Elephants are one of the few animals thatalso cross the river on a regular basis. Sometimes to just get to theother side, but often to get to one of the many small islands wherethe grass always seems to be greener. These river crossings are a joyto watch and make for great photo ops.

This was shot late afternoon from a small boat close to our camp. Wesaw this herd of elephants approaching the river from the other side,and decided to quickly jump into the boat to check it out. When theelephants reached the middle of the river where the water was veryshallow, they briefly stopped to see what we were up to. The darkpatches in the water behind them are hippos.

I suspect that not many people appreciate this large amount of emptysky, but I know from experience that art directors - I used to be onemyself - and designers do. Within weeks after I shot this, the imagewas used on the back cover of a brochure. The empty sky was used fortype, the main reason that art directors and designers look for thissort of shot in the first place. Apart from commercial reasons toshoot this, I just like the spaciousness it gives.

I'm curious what your thoughts are.

Nikon D3, AF-S VR 70-200/2.8, 1/400, f/11, ISO 400, handheld from aboat

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> If you would like to join me on one of my nature photographyworkshops, please check out my website.

what an amazing nature..

love the low angle and the composition.

i also like your insight, and the fact that you share the story behind the scene.

 

 

aaaahhhh africa

I agree with your comments actually. From a photographic point of view, I find the sky boring honestly. But it is a great photo for covers.