2 Andy Wain UK 19pts

Nikon D7100, 150-600mm at 150mm, 1/640sec at f/6.3, ISO 200

A wonderful image that has a huge amount to commend it. Of course, there’s the timing, capturing the pronking impala mid-air, so it clears the ground and can be clearly recognised. But the judges also liked the distance from the scene, which places the herd in the context of its Maasai Mara home and against a glorious backdrop of the setting sun. Dropping to ground level once he witnessed the scene unfolding was an instinctive reaction on Andy’s part, and was de nitely the right thing to do. Any higher and the silhouettes would have been lost against the darkertoned foreground. There was no need to be any closer – the whole story is told beautifully from this distance.