Criss Cross

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 22, 2011151 views11 comments

Near the end of the day, we got caught in a small traffic jam in Kruger National Park, caused by a pair of dueling giraffes. They were hammering away at each other, swinging their necks back and forth in the middle of the road. It's actually a little nerve-wracking being mere feet away from these towering specimens in a tiny car, especially when they're going at each other violently.

Eventually they cleared off the road, paused in the late afternoon sun for a moment, and then ambled off. A fun encounter to witness.

Canon 7D
Canon 24-70mm
ISO 200
1/1000th
f/5

Max

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on September 22, 2011 at 10:53 AM

Great image. The light is sweet and the colors and comp are great. Sounds like a great experience. There is nothing like experiencing wildlife interacting in there own environment.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on September 22, 2011 at 11:49 AM

Good pose! A great idea to be careful in the situation. Those guys look like they could do some serious damage!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on September 22, 2011 at 12:31 PM

Great setting n poses here !
But somehow, it doesn't convey their fighting spirit.

Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on September 22, 2011 at 10:00 PM

Would have loved to have had a similar encounter while I was there. Did you manage to capture any shots that show something of the action Max? As Jagdeep suggests, for the accompanying storyline this image appears a little static.

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 23, 2011 at 1:15 AM

This image was shot post-fight... the "pause" I mentioned in the original description. Much of the action took place near some trees, so there wasn't a clear background (or foreground at times) to work with during the duel.

You can see one image here. Also, I did record some video of the action.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on September 23, 2011 at 6:22 AM

Gorgeous light on them Max...pity you couldn't get any 'crackers' of the duel

Looking at the one you linked to I would be tempted to try cropping some of them tight for an intense battle presentation?
DOF nicely handled too.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 23, 2011 at 8:09 AM

Hi Max,

Nice pattern and symmetry here, that's for sure. Nice lighting and colour here as well (tho' one could easily wish for slightly more colour in that sky, but nothing you could do about that). Techs look spot on as well. Nicely done!

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on September 23, 2011 at 1:25 PM

Love the light and poses. The sound of them bashing the necks against each other....is something that yo uhave to experience to truly believe!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on September 23, 2011 at 11:15 PM

Max, the comp is awesome in this shot! I also am wondering if you managed to get any action shots of this sequence? If so, sure hope to see some. Nice work!!