kenya Sand Storm

The Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx), also known as the SouthernEland or Eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found inEast and Southern Africa. It is the largest antelope in the Africancontinent.

The name "Eland" is derived from the Dutch word for moose. When Dutchsettlers came to the Cape Province they named the largest wildherbivore they met with the name of the huge northern herbivore. InDutch the animal is called "Eland antelope" to distinguish it from theMoose, which is found in the northern boreal forests. This is all veryconfusing for us Dutchies, but we only have ourselves to blame for it. :-)

The eland has a mass of about 650 kilograms, which is the double ofthe kudu. Elands are said to be one of the slowest antelopes, but theycan jump over a height of 2.5 meters or above. When walking, thejoints in the eland's foreleg produce a sharp clicking sound, thecause of which has not been widely investigated. The sound carriessome distance and is a good indication of an approaching herd.Scientists take it as a form of communication.

The elands are most active in the morning and late afternoon, lyingsheltered in the heat of the day. They're commonly found in mixedgroups, usually containing 25-70 individuals, though up to 400 havebeen observed.

They're not as common as most of the other African antelopes, and mostof the times I've tried to photograph them, they ran away the momentthey saw me. Buttshots galore. :-)

This shot was taken on my last trip to Kenya. I had spotted this smallherd of eland one late afternoon and decided to stick around and seehow they would react on my presence. I didn't want to spook them, so Istarted shooting with my 600. After a few moments I moved a littlecloser and stopped again to let them get used to me. This proved to bethe right strategy for this herd, because eventually I was able toswitch to my 200-400.

The whole scene wasn't particularly interesting though - the light wasgetting pretty, but nothing was happening that could really excite me.That was until the wind started to pick up and I saw a huge sand stormon the horizon, moving in my direction. My guide noticed this as welland wanted to seek shelter, but I decided to risk getting sand blastedand see how this would influence the scene.

A few minutes later the storm hit us hard - the Jeep shook heavily andthe sand almost peeled my skin. Most animals don't like sort ofweather, because it confuses their senses - it's almost impossible tohear, see or smell your enemies in these extreme circumstances. Theeland therefore huddled together, waiting for the storm to die down.

The tons of sand in the air did just what I was hoping for - itreduced the subjects to shapes, created a warm low contrast mood, andeliminated most unwanted detail. This is my favorite shot as it showsthe large bull separated from the rest of the herd, as a true leader.I also liked the elegant pose of the hind leg.

I cropped it to a pano format because the empty sky didn't work for me.

Nikon D3, AF-S VR 200-400/4.0, 1/200 @ f/11, ISO 800

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I was really enjoying reading this long story.

It was worth it to be in a storm. It's breathtaking and breath taking, like a pun. 

I like a lot this pastel colors and gentle shapes. The one that is separated, the leader, looks beautiful, stoic and dignified in all their drama of the sand storm. 

Thank you for sharing such a special experience that you beautifully depicted in a photograph.

Krisi

very  nice image.

VERY GOOS SHOT

SALUDOS DE MEXICO  JB

Hi Marsel,

Very atmospherically pleasing (in the image, I guess not on the scene ?) color gradients here. I also like the subtle lining of the silhouettes of the herd, and the fading contours of the trees in the background. There seems to be so much detail preserved, despite the sandstorm. Elands indeed are so hard to approach, and so easily startled, but such wonderful antelopes.

Best regards. Karin.

A real great shot!

Congrats!