Floodplains of Fantasy


Posted by Morkel Erasmus on Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:31 pm

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There is a place that will connect you to Africa in a way that few other places can...
A place where you walk with wild elephants, lions, buffalo and painted dogs...
A place where trees dwarf the elephants and the elephants dwarf the man...
This place is called Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe, and it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

We mainly visit it for the fantastic wildlife experience, but the beauty of the place has really gripped me since my first visit. On previous trips I found it difficult to portray the endless winterthorn forests and floodplains using a wide-angle lens, instead resorting to a 70-200mm lens for compression and panoramic framing of the trees themselves. 
 
The last sunset of the recent wildlife photography safari I led there provided some nice high clouds, and I found a spot along the banks of the Zambezi river where a composition does somewhat justice to the place.

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 @ 14mm
f8.0  |  ISO-200
Blend of 3 exposures for the dynamic range
PLEASE do click on the photo to display properly
Morkel Erasmus
www.morkelerasmus.com

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by Chris Kayler on Sat Sep 06, 2014 9:09 pm
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Hi Morkel! A wonderful image here, for sure. I really like how the tree is such a part of the image, instead of the more typically definitive foreground and background. The blend is perfectly done.I think what I like most is that I can completely imagine myself sitting here under the tree. I can even pretend to hear the sounds of Africa! The composition is great with the tree branches filling the empty space, and the colors look natural. Nice one.
 

by Luzestelar on Sun Sep 07, 2014 3:39 am
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Beautiful light and composition Morkel. As say Chris the blend is perfect
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by E.J. Peiker on Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:07 am
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A fantastic shot. The light and the composition are very stark and appealing.
 

by Jens Peermann on Sun Sep 07, 2014 1:26 pm
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Outstanding composition and I couldn't think of a better background than the alternating red and blue here.
A great photograph is absorbed by the eyes and stored in the heart.
 

by Morkel Erasmus on Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:22 am
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thank you all for the kind comments!!
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by david fletcher on Tue Sep 09, 2014 10:20 am
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ditto all the above. glorious shot. fab blending!
Make your life spectacular!

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by Peter Ireland on Tue Sep 09, 2014 1:10 pm
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Amazing capture.
 

by John Labrenz on Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:33 pm
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A beauty!
Must view against a dark b/g.
 

by João Quintela on Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:25 am
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This is just beautiful
 

by Magnus Persson on Wed Sep 10, 2014 2:21 pm
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Nice! good tight composition and nicely framed
Best Regards
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by Svein-Frode on Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:30 pm
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Very nice. Congrats!
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by jerryb on Thu Sep 11, 2014 7:35 am
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Wow!, Love the details and light on the trees.
Larger sized samples of my work can be seen on Google Plus at https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JerryBarnettPhoto
 

by Morkel Erasmus on Mon Sep 15, 2014 3:37 pm
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Thanks so much, folks... :D
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