Elephants drinking from small pool are reflected in the water Caption: Elephants cast reflections as they drink from a shallow pool, the only water remaining in one of the rivers found in Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana.

Camera: Canon EOS 50D; Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM telephoto zoom; Focal length: 70mm; Shutter speed: 1/2500; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 400; Exposure compensation: -1/3

Elephants (Loxodonta africana) are relatively easy to photograph, yet difficult to make interesting. They’re often out and about in the mid-day sun when the light’s most harsh and contrasty. They don’t snarl, glare, bare their teeth, hang their tongues out or show facial expressions.

It helps if they’re near water, as they will often go into the water, splash around, spray themselves and glisten with moisture. Otherwise reflections are useful to add interest, as in the shot above. I took a series of pictures of this group at the water, and will post the others in the next couple of days, showing how I tried to find different ways of illustrating the same event.



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+Scotch Macaskill