Wildebeest Encounter By Kevin Pepper

RESEARCH CONDUCTED BEFORE WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER

There is a lot more research to conduct when you are considering a trip of this magnitude. Your first step should be to ask questions of those that have already been there. These conversations will help you learn where and when you want to visit based on what you want to photograph.

Before I first visited Tanzania, I researched the wildebeest migration. I watched documentaries on streaming services and did online research to learn what the migration looks like and identify migration patterns. I also wanted to see photos of potential predation in the areas I wanted to visit.

By doing this, you are pre-visualizing real-world situations you might encounter. It helps you feel more confident as you settle into a safari in a strange environment. The photo I pre-visualized was a subtle sepia-toned image of wildebeest that filled the horizontal frame and disappeared into the distance.

WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER

One of the reasons that I lead photo workshops in the Serengeti in February and March is to let people experience one of the world’s most massive annual migrations during the calving season. It is always hard to put into words and sometimes harder to convey in an image. If you have never seen the great migration, imagine hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebras moving in a single direction as far as the eyes can see, ears can hear, and noses can smell!

In 2019, I was leading back-to-back trips. The first group was lucky enough to witness the great migration for a few days. As that trip drew to a close, I had a conversation with my guides that the herds may be long past our westernmost camp, making it difficult for the second group to see them. As that group arrived, I explained what was happening with the large herds and that we would still attempt to see some of the smaller herds straggling behind.

As the days went by, we got word that the herds had turned back towards us. Our guides and I decided where we wanted to see the herds that were returning. I chose an area near Zebra Kopjes, a vast plain of tall grass that I knew would be very photogenic.

As the herds started to descend on these plains, a spotter we had employed radioed our drivers to let them know that there were hundreds of thousands of wildebeest approaching our desired area. I will never forget the looks on everyone’s faces as we sat on that road and were quickly surrounded by wildebeest as far as the eye could see. The image I share in this book tries to show the chaos of dust, moving legs, grunting, and constant motion we experienced that day.

Were both my cameras set properly? – A safari often demands a lens with a longer focal length because you cannot get as close as you want to the wildlife. I always have a second camera body ready with a shorter focal length in case the wildlife gets closer than my 500mm prime lens requires. As the wildebeest got closer, I quickly grabbed my other camera with my zoom lens, allowing me to shoot as wide as 150mm and capture all of these animals in the image.

I looked for possible heat distortion – Heat distortion is caused when light is refracted through the air of differing densities. When you are on safari, the hot air near the ground is less dense than the cold air above it, and light waves are bent differently in hot versus cold air. The result is visible heat waves that will ruin your image. The only way to correct it is to reduce the distance between you and your subject or photograph early or late when this temperature difference is not so large.

I made sure I was photographing the action wider than I needed – Pay attention to the edges of your photos to make sure you do not unintentionally cut off body parts. A lion’s tail can be anywhere from 2 to 3 feet (60-90 cm) long. It can be easily overlooked and cropped out of the image if you do not shoot wide enough to keep it in the frame.

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