African Safari

Wow what an amazing capture. It almost feels barbaric to say given the suffering of one of the subjects, but this is one of the sights that you pray for while clutching your camera and scanning the plains. To get action like this so brilliantly composed and sharp is the perfect demonstration of everything you need when taking wildlife photography - skill, knowledge, luck, timing and composure.

The choice to centre the subject is a really clever one, it reinforces that dramatic feeling of witnessing something like this; the power on display is both awe inspiring and scary, and the composition confronts you with that - leaving you nowhere else to look.

It was bang on the African Safari theme, showing perhaps the most iconic Africa Safari animal at its very best, and nature at it's most brutal. It leaves the viewer exactly the same as someone on a safari, an observer taking a fleeting view of what is a constant everyday struggle for the wildlife.

The leopard in a tree shot is a classic safari image, and there were some really great ones in this contest. This image stood out as the best one. Firstly, the composition is great with the leopard positioned just off centre, and the eyes perfectly placed to draw you in. And those eyes are the real star of the show here; they're sharp and colour toned just right - you can really feel the gaze of the animal through the image.

The dashes of blood across some of the branches and on the leopard itself, add some story and depth to the image, as well as really nice colour balance, complimenting the golden light spots with a sunset tone.

It was really difficult to separate some of the leopard shots, but this one just kept drawing me in.

Thanks for entering and great job.

I was really looking at which photos I felt instantly transported the observer to a safari, and despite not having any wildlife in it, this photo did just that.

The colours are so vivid and the expressions captured tell a great story. The way the whole frame is filled adds to the feeling of noise and commotion spilling out. It's a photo that's full of life, and it's fantastic.

Thanks for entering it into the contest.

I really love the composition and tone of this image. Shooting from a boat can present its own challenges but the reward of that low perspective is a big one.

The subject is tack sharp, with great management of the light to avoid any lost details. It's the colours of the sky that really elevate this image though, it gives it such a relaxing, calming feel. It's rare that an elephant image has a "cosy feel", but this manages it.

Great shot, and thanks for entering.

This photo really stood out for capturing the theme of 'African Safari'. It immediately transports you, and fills you with that sense of adventure and excitement.

The scale, the grandeur, the beauty of the environment is all there. It's beautifully composed; the silhouetted vehicles and tree intertwine under the amazing light, which I thought perfectly portrayed the mixture of human world and natural world coming together to create an unforgettable experience.

It's one of those images that really tells a story, and provokes emotion. Great job, and thanks for entering.

One of those images that immediately grabs your attention. It almost makes you feel uncomfortable looking at it, but the composition of the hole, and that hyena staring dead centre straight back at you; you can't look away.

The colour is perfect, with the dull grey and brown tones reinforcing that mucky feeling you can't quite get out of your mind while taking it in.

A fantastic image that shows great artistic talent and photography skill, thanks for entering it in the contest.

This is a great example where photographic skills and artistry can really elevate an image.

It's a fairly straightforward, common sight on safari but the photographer has used composition, perfect settings, and great processing skills to create a really pleasing, polished image.

the shape and form of the zebra is perfectly cropped as to be bold and interesting, but without taking over from the egret as the main subject. The use of monochrome was a great choice, as this also helps balance the image.

The technical skill to pull off the light balance when photographing black and white subjects in sunny conditions, must also be appreciated here. The details in both the whites and the blacks are perfectly preserved.

Most of all this image just really made me smile, it conjured up a real appreciation of wildlife. Thanks for entering it in the contest.

An excellent, atmospheric shot - brilliantly captured.

The choice of composition is perfect, centering the nose and eyes, and allowing those horns to flow and fill up the rest of the frame. The depth of field works really well, with enough context of the environment without pulling any focus away from the subject.

The eyes have wonderful colour and sharpness, while the rain drops add life and movement.

It's a great portrait shot, and thank you for entering it into the contest.

They may not feature that highly on every safari spotters list to see, but these Southern carmine bee-eaters came very close to stealing the number one spot in this contest.

The composition is great; typically you tend to have birds in flight flying into space, but what's effective here is keeping that sense of movement while balancing the three subjects - this composition allows us to take the image in as a whole.

The vivid colours, and the use of light help each subject to stand out in its own way. And what I really like is that we still get some detail in the background, while typically bird in flight photos tend to go for maximum bokeh, here we are given the context of the environment and it works well in giving life to the subjects.

Great work, and thanks for taking the time to enter.

A simply superb shot. The perspective is one rarely seen, such a low shot at the watering hole. But what helps this image stand apart from other similar images, is both the delightful foreground flowers and the perfectly balanced poses of the elephants.

A big part of wildlife photography relies on luck of course, but you still need the skills, patience etc. to take advantage of that luck. If you swap the poses of any of these elephants with each other I feel it would throw the image out of balance, but the photgrapher has timed this moment perfectly. The trunk expelling water is pefectly placed in the gap between the central flowers, basically everything has come together here in the composition to build a really great shot. And the photographer has used all their skill to execute it brilliantly. The post processing has been handled perfectly, and not overdone.

The elephant is an icon of African Safaris, and this image in my opinion was the best at conveying how imposing, awe inspiring, and majestic they are to see.

I really liked this image, it immediately transports you to that location. You can almost feel it and hear it.

The shot is beautifully composed and the colour of that sun and sky is wonderfully captured, with that tone gently used to raise just the right level of detail on the landscape and elephants. This is the sort of photo that deserves to be printed and hung on a wall somewhere, it's great.

Thanks for entering it into the contest.

There was something about this photo that kept drawing my attention while judging. The composition is great, and that low perspective perfectly plays against the lowered head of the main subject buffalo. The buffalo in the background helps to add more depth to the image.

The shadows and highlights work in post processing has worked really well had leading your eye to the subject first but still being able to take in the picture as a whole.

Great job, and thanks for entering the image.

It was really difficult narrowing down the top ten images, but I couldn't not put this one in there.

I really like the story on show here; everyone is watching someone else. The prey is watching the predator, the predator is watching the prey, the scavenger is watching them both, and the photographer is watching them all. It's a great moment captured, that shows the ecosystems at play, and how intertwined the lives of animals are with each other.

To get everything so nicely composed, and the focus just right with each layer of the story visible - especially with the long grass shows really good skill and artistry.

Thanks for entering the contest.

The mara river crossing is a classic African safari scene, and this photo was my pick of the bunch from the entries in this contest.

The composition is fantasic, and the use of monochrome really adds to the feeling of the herds moving on mass, and prevents any one individual from pulling too much focus.

It's got a real sense of drama and while the shutter speed is high, it's low enough to keep a good sense of motion int he image, particular with the dust clouds which really add to the chaos captured, and mentioned in the description.

Thanks for entering, this is a stunning photo.

A great image of one of nature's iconic spectacles. I love the clouds of dust and water splashes which bring that sense of chaos, movement and panic to the image, The subjects positioned in a triangle mean the image feels balanced.

It's a beautiful shot that's filled with drama, and it really tells a story. Definitely worth the wait. Thanks for entering it in the contest.

This was probably the image I spent longest looking at, it was in and out of my top ten list so many times. So I wanted to take the time to comment on it.

It's a really unique image, to be looking directly up straight into the eyes of a leopard cub, and the outstretched paws add so much too.

The branches provide the perfect natural frame, while the green of the leaves really compliment the yellow tones of the subject.

It's one of the photos that I'm sure everyone else viewing it will be wishing it was one of theirs.

A fantastic image, and thank you for entering it.

Wow, looking at this photo filled me with jealousy. While I have seen cheetahs, I am yet to see one in full flow. To get a shot like this with a cheetah moving at speed, everything has to come together perfectly.

The two gazelles in the background provide the perfect staging to allow the cheetah to take the centre of the frame without it feeling off.

The pose captured of the cheetah is superb, with a high enough shutterspeed to make the subject sharp, and allow the kick of dust to add the movement.

The image hasn't been over processed, and the natural tones have really been left to create a really raw, authentic, and beautiful picture.

Thanks for entering the contest.

There were of course a fair few entries of the classic sights of Amboseli National Park with Mount Kilimanjaro used a dramatic back drop. They were all good, but this one was my pick of them. While it didn't quite make my top ten selection, it was very close.

The grass foreground and clean background give the perfect space for the elephants to to take enough focus as the subjects of the image, but the mountain is given plenty of room to play its part too. Great use of the light and lovely composition.

Great photo and thanks for entering.

An amazing shot to get, and one that shows the grim brutality of daily life in the wild. While this shot didn't make my top ten it was very close.

This image really stood out for it's story, the gruesome fate of the impala really confronts you, and the sheer power struggle between the hyena and cheetah is perfectly captured; with the hyena towering over the cowering cheetah.

What I really like about this image is that it's not been overly edited in post processing. There's a lot of creative edit directions that would be really effective, but I think leaving it so naturally toned and raw has worked really well. The contrast of the red blood with the yellow and orange tones of the subjects really works at drawing you in to the drama.

Great work and thanks for entering.