NATURESCAPES.NET 2008 WILDLIFE GALLERY
HONORABLE MENTION

"Gotcha"
Image copyright Marsel van Oosten

The Namib desert is one of the driest places on earth, yet there is plenty of life - you just have to know where to look. When I spotted this chameleon, I decided to watch it for a while to see where it was going. When it got close to a small bush, it stopped and stared. When I saw the beetle it was staring at, I lay down on the sand with a macro lens and chose a fast shutter speed, because I knew the action was going to be lightning fast. I made a relatively tight composition and waited for the chameleon to strike. When it did, I shot a burst of images and hoped for that one shot that would show the beetle just before being swallowed. I'm really pleased it came out exactly the way I wanted it. Nikon D2X, Tamron 90/2.8 macro, 1/1600 @ f/8.0, ISO 320.

About the Photographer

Marsel van Oosten is an award-winning professional nature photographer from The Netherlands. After graduating from the Academy of Arts, he worked as an art director in advertising for 15 years before switching to photography. In his work he tries to simplify, to get rid of the extraneous: simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. His images are noted for his creative use of composition and are used in advertising, design and magazines such as National Geographic and Science Illustrated. He also runs specialized photography tours to destinations all over the globe. For more information visit www.squiver.com