1300 Pounds of Mountain Gorilla

Posted by Matt Cox on Tue Nov 04, 2003 3:15 pm

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Late on my second and final gorilla trek in Rwanda, we were trying to photograph these three silverbacks of the Shinda group as they rested and fed themselves in the jungle, staying well separated from each other and in pretty heavy cover. Just as our gorilla guide told us we had two more minutes before it was time to leave (you only get one hour with the animals), they all came into this little clear area and sat down facing us, just as seen here. They were only about 20 feet away, so I luckily had my 28-70 in the vest and quickly switched to it from the 100-400 which I had been using for head shots. In the 90 seconds I had before the guide made us leave, I got off about 25 frames (darn 1Ds buffer!), and this combination of poses and expressions was the best (and my personal favorite photo from the whole Africa trip). Canon 1Ds at ISO400, 28-70 at 50mm, 1/200 at f8. (Not to make excuses, but there's much more life in their eyes at higher resolution.)

Matt Cox

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by Alexandre Vaz on Tue Nov 04, 2003 3:42 pm

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I think the image is very good, but I think it would be even better if there was a little more room on the side of both gorillas. That would be easy since you weren't at the wider end of your lens. Maybe you have other images from the same series with more room around them?
I also think it would benefit from increasing saturation a little.
Just a question: Why were you using ISO 400 @ 1/200? Apparently, there wasn't much movement in this scene, so I believe that something like ISO 200 @ 1/100 could have been a wiser option, don't you think?

But I think it's a winner any way.

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by Lillian Roberts on Tue Nov 04, 2003 4:26 pm

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Matt, this is exceptionally cool! Steve and I were just looking into a trip to this site -- would you mind if I emailed you for some info?

They do feel a bit crowded, and I don't think the blue BG (water?) helps the image. If you have one that is slightly wider, try cropping off the top -- or you can do it with this one -- I think it gives a more intimate feel to the image.

Also remember you can selectively burn (or is it dodge?) the eye area to make it show up, if you feel it's a problem. I'm looking on my work monitor, which runs a bit dark, and while a bit more light would help it here I suspect it would look great at home. I'll look again later to make sure.

Hope this is helpful.

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by Carol Clarke on Tue Nov 04, 2003 6:33 pm

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Matt - this is a priceless image and a classic 'Gorillas in the Mist' - or in this case with the misty BG which really sets them off with the contrast against the lush green vegitation.

I love their expressions and the three different poses that you have captured together here. I can well see why this is your favourite and what an awesome moment it must have been in the presence of these amazing creatures.

Well done and what an experience!

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by RichardMittleman/Gon2Foto on Tue Nov 04, 2003 6:34 pm

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I think that the uniqueness of getting these three guys in this kind of composition in the wild, far outweighs any minor nits. In fact, I will make none.

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by Harvey Edelman on Tue Nov 04, 2003 6:40 pm

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Now if could have only gotten one to put his hands over his ears, another over his eyes and the third over his mouth, you'd have a masterpiece

. Very good shot.

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by AlexC on Tue Nov 04, 2003 7:44 pm

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Very nice image, great exposure to boot, Congrats!!!

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by mwagner1 on Tue Nov 04, 2003 7:47 pm

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I love this shot so much!!!! I really hope to get there someday to see them for myselves!!! Thanks so very much for sharing this image, and I will add that I have no issues with background or composition.

I will say that if I were a Canon DSLR shooter, I would always have a second body with some speed. I really wonder if any of us would have seen a difference in this image if it had been shot with an EOS-1D as opposed to a 1Ds??? Just curious...

Congrats on a great image!!

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by cjw on Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:04 pm

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I vote for the hear no/see no/speak no evil.

All kidding aside, this is an awesome image considering all of the circumstances. From what I hear about these gorilla treks you are lucky to have seen them in the light and oh my - you got three in one picture!

I would love to see more - especially if you have a full frame of one gorilla.

I'll leave the critiquing to people who know more than I (everyone) and congratulate you for getting this wonderful image.

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by Linda on Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:30 pm

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This is priceless! Wonder what their thinking!!! Great photo. Thanks for sharinng it here.

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by Wayne Nicholas on Tue Nov 04, 2003 10:52 pm

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I have no problem seeing the light in their eyes. I can only think of how nice a large print looks. Well done in all regards. Patience pays.

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by DC on Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:34 am

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Awesome shot Matt. What a fantastic experience it must have been. Congratulations on getting a superb shot with so little time left.

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by Mark Boranyak on Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:37 am

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Matt, very nice. Thanks for posting this.

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by E.J. Peiker on Wed Nov 05, 2003 10:04 am

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This is cool, looks like they are holding court.

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by geurt on Wed Nov 05, 2003 1:08 pm

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I have seen a lot of old farmers sitting together with the main "man" front and centre with his arm on the knee. Usually the sullen type on the right and funny one on the left. This image made me think of them immediately.

Technically, a little more room on the sides and when I scrolled down for the first comments, I noticed that a pano cutting out the distant hill, makes me make better eye contact with the objects.

Thanks for sharing.
Geurt

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by Matt Cox on Wed Nov 05, 2003 3:17 pm

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I appreciate all the kind responses here. To answer some of the questions, my initial shots after changing lenses were of the "I better get some shots of this before they move" variety, including this one. After getting those, I did take some shots a little wider, and reduce the ISO and use lower shutter speeds. But when I looked at the series later, this frame had by far the best combination of poses and facial expressions, especially the head tilt and inquisitive look on the center animal, and thus became my favorite. As for the light areas through the trees, they are actually farm fields down in the valley (where the hike starts) through the blue haze of Rwanda. These animals are really living that close to heavily populated areas. I appreciate the comments about potential crops -- I've found that the gorillas here fit well in a 6x17 panoramic crop of this frame, and are certainly more dominant in that version.

Matt Cox

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by Karen S on Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:28 pm

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Very cool Matt .... They look like they are checkin' you out

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by Rich S on Wed Nov 05, 2003 6:22 pm

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Holy cow! What an opportunity - and what a way to take advantage of that opportunity! OK, it might be a little tight on the edges, but the poses and the looks of the three are simple incredible. To get three silverbacks together posing in the clear, well just color me green with envy! I can see how a pano crop would work well, but personally I like it as is giving a perspective on just how close "civilization" has crept to their domain.

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by Bill Keown on Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:19 pm

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This is a really cool shot. Good exposure and in the given time a great capture. Not a nit but you might crop top & bottom to a pano to see how you like it.

Bill Keown

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by Peterh on Fri Nov 07, 2003 3:00 am