I had always wanted a shot of a mother giraffe with her young calf. And I have always loved the graceful acacia trees of east Africa. While driving through the Masai Mara this day, we were immensely privileged to come upon a giraffe giving birth. Within minutes of the baby being born, Mum had it up on its feet and walking - albeit very wobbly - then she reached down to tenderly clean her newborn. I used a long lens to avoid getting too close and perhaps startling the mother in her intimate moment, and I shot a 3-image stitch to achieve the panoramic format. Because of the shallow depth of field, I also shot another image of the tree, so it was in focus, as I could see two love birds high up in the branches, looking down on this touching picture of new life.
I had always wanted a shot of a mother giraffe with her young calf. And I have always loved the graceful acacia trees of east Africa. While driving through the Masai Mara this day, we were immensely privileged to come upon a giraffe giving birth. Within minutes of the baby being born, Mum had it up on its feet and walking - albeit very wobbly - then she reached down to tenderly clean her newborn. I used a long lens to avoid getting too close and perhaps startling the mother in her intimate moment, and I shot a 3-image stitch to achieve the panoramic format. Because of the shallow depth of field, I also shot another image of the tree, so it was in focus, as I could see two love birds high up in the branches, looking down on this touching picture of new life.