CRAIG GISSING

Nikon D810 Nikon 200 – 500 mm lens

CRAIG WRITES: I took this photo in Etosha National Park in Namibia. The black rhino had been drinking at a waterhole and was heading back to the acacia thickets when I saw him. The angle and the lay of the land lent itself to a low-angle, almost eye-level approach. I decided to show more of the dry grass in the foreground, hoping to make the rhino stand out better.

TOAST SAYS: Craig was creative here, albeit in a subtle fashion. The surroundings in which you take photographs of wild animals aren’t always “perfect”. Sometimes there’s an annoying tree stump that distracts from the main subject or there are too many shrubs, termite mounds or rocks in the frame, making the composition seem messy. This is where your vision as a photographer comes into play. If the sky isn’t going to contribute anything worthwhile to your photo (if it’s dusty blue or uniformly overcast) then you might as well get rid of it. By including only grass in his frame, Craig has ensured that the grey rhino stands out prominently against a sea of khaki and brown. The outline of the animal is also enhanced by two things you might miss at first glance: The top half of the rhino looks wet (the darker skin stands out even better) and the lower half of the animal is softly shadowed (I’m guessing it was an overcast day), which similarly emboldens its profile. Everything in this frame conspires to draw your attention to this proud example of one of Etosha Park’s most magnificent, iconic animals.