Photos by #CanonExplorerOfLight @bobanddawndavis: “The chase! There is nothing more exhilarating than witnessing an adult cheetah in pursuit of its prey, a Steenbok. This female cheetah caught the sight of the Steenbok grazing on shrubs, it made its way within striking distance to the Steenbok and sprinted towards its quarry. The chase was on! Our guide had to keep the vehicle moving at a safe distance as to not interfere with the hunt. This photograph was captured from a moving land cruiser handholding the EOS 1DXMII, EF600mm f4 vII lens, ISO: 3200, Aperture: 5, Shutter: 1/3200. Anticipating the possible sprint, I knew I would need a fast shutter speed to catch the action, that coupled with the amazing Image Stabilization built into the 600mm Lens contributed to the success of this photograph. Always being prepared, I change my camera settings according to the conditions, we were driving from the savannah into the thick of these bushy trees, I suggested to the group to be prepared for what we may encounter, raising the ISO to 640 and setting the aperture to 5 and shutter speed to 1/80 of a second on my EOS 5DMIV with the 100-400 vII IS lens at 124mm, I was prepared, I know I can hold steady at that shutter speed, I always suggest using a shutter speed equal to the focal length of the lens, in this case I would suggest 1/400th of a second, even though the Canon Images Stabilization is excellent, sometimes people get excited at what appears through the brush. The sun was setting, there were golden rays of sunlight backlighting through the trees, then camera young male elephant rushing towards our vehicle. Being with experienced guides who know when to back off is imperative. The animal’s safety is always paramount over getting the shot! This young male thrashed the trees, stomped the earth and trumpeted. I love the challenge birds in flight present. This Saddle-billed stork had been flirting with us for days, I never was in the right position to take a photograph of him in flight. This photograph was created with the EOS 1DXMII and the EF600mm f4 vIII IS lens handheld! The vIII 600 is the most amazing super-telephoto lens I’ve ever used.”
Ciao, Nihon.