WERNER REYNEKE

@w_reyneke Nikon D4 Nikon 600 mm lens

WERNER WRITES: I took this photo in Chobe National Park in Botswana. I was on a river cruise and I had my camera mounted on a tripod with a gimbal system to ensure stability on the rocking boat. We were watching a big herd of buffalo and I identified this troublemaker as my subject. I asked our guide to position the boat in a way that allowed me to take a photo of the buffalo against a clean background. It was very grumpy and took out its frustrations on everything around it. My settings: shutter speed 1/1 600 second, aperture f5, ISO 320. I decided to make the photo black-and-white to emphasize the texture of the mud on the buffalo. The scene is also simpler in monochrome – you’re not distracted by anything that’s not important.

TOAST SAYS: I think the decision to convert to black-and-white was a good one. The buffalo is already blackish-grey so you don’t lose anything in terms of colour. The light on the Chobe River can also be harsh at certain times of the day, turning the sky washed-out white. This is the ideal time to shoot in monochrome. Werner used a fast shutter speed and captured the mud perfectly. It feels like the buffalo is about to explode with pent-up energy. The background is out of focus (this will always be the case when shooting with a cannon of a lens like Werner’s 600 mm) and the horns of the buffalo stand proud of the horizon, silhouetted against the sky. This gives the animal more impact. Great action shot!