Click by Marsel van Oosten

Click by Marsel van Oosten

Namibia Untamed The reason why you don’t see many photographs of wild animals shot with a wide angle, is not because wildlife photographers don’t like wide angles – it’s just very difficult to get close enough to a wild animal to make a wide angle work. This photograph of a drinking springbok was shot in Namibia with a 17mm wide angle, but I was not there to press the shutter. This being the only waterhole in this desert area, I figured that eventually animals would show up here, but just not as long as I was around. So I set up my camera on a tripod, low to the ground, made the composition, pre-focused, attached a remote control, and then moved away somewhere out of sight. Let the waiting begin. Most animals are very aware of their surroundings, especially near waterholes. When they are drinking, they are extra vulnerable for an attack by a predator from behind, so they are extremely cautious when they are approaching a waterhole. The camera was clearly something they hadn’t seen there before, so most of the animals took their time to get closer, constantly keeping an eye on that strange contraption. This springbok was amongst the bravest of the species that visited the waterhole on that afternoon. As it approached, I remotely triggered the shutter a few times to let it get used to the clicking sound, as to not scare it away once it was actually drinking. It slowly got closer, decided that the clicks were not life-threatening, and started to drink. As soon as it did, a small flock of birds arrived at the scene as well and started drinking on both sides of the springbok. They seemed oblivious to the camera, but that changed once I pressed the shutter – the clicking sound made them all fly up, and that’s when I took this second shot. The springbok couldn’t care less. – – – If you want to join us to Namibia, look no further. We were the world’s first company to offer photography tours to Namibia, and there is no better organized Namibia tour out there. Also, we are still the only company that offers microlight flights over the famous Namibian sand dunes, which happens to be the best way to do aerial photography, and by far the most fun. We end the tour with a few days of serious safari in one of the best and most productive wildlife areas in Namibia – better than Etosha! Please check out our website for more information, images, video clips, and a very detailed tour PDF: Namibia Untamed
Photography workshop with Ryan Dyar
17 June – 1 July 2017
www.squiver.com Hope to see you there! Marsel

Marsel van Oosten: Photos