Week 3 of Africa Geographic cover shot competition

A new round of Africa Geographic’s Cover Competition is now entered.

I have sent 3 pictures this week and they are all in the exact format to fit the cover of Africa Geographic. 2 of the pictures are more traditional safari pictures and the last is maybe more odd but one that I like.

The first picture is of a Zebra, there are actually more Zebras, that was walking straight towards us during the early afternoon on one of the first drives we did in the Xakanaxa area of Moremi Game Reserve. It is a nice picture and what I like the most is the haircut of the Zebra. From what I know you can actually see if a Zebra is sick by looking at the mane and it it isn´t raise in some parts then the Zebra is sick.

I like the feeling of the picture and the closeness you get. The light is coming from the left and that gives an aura to parts of the Zebra. I would have liked to have had the sun in the back but that wasn´t possible with the moment of the animal. Still this is one of the better Zebra pictures I have taken so far.

The second picture is of the first male Lion that we bumped into. The Lion wasn´t recognized by our guide so we think it might have been one searching for a pride. It is a Lion in its prime and it is much more attentive than any other male lion that I have seen and that is one of the reason why I think it’s an outsider.

It has found some shade by the side of the road and keeps a good surveillance of the surrounding area. I had trouble with the hard light particularly in the background and this is one of the biggest issues when you are in Africa taking photos.

I get the same feeling looking at the picture now that I had when I was there.
Respect. This was truly a magnificent Lion.

The last picture is of a Dragonfly and this I took while still being in the area with the Lion. It sat just by the Landrover and I thought that I should try to get a good photo of it.

I just took one picture and it turned out this good. I like how the Dragonfly clings to the twig and how the wings are all plastic in a way. The background, which is the ground, is soft and smooth and makes the Dragonfly pop out. I think highly of this photo and consider it to be one of the better I took in Botswana. I suspect that many wouldn´t even bother to waste a couple of Mb on their memory card to take this photo and that is really sad.

I hope you all enjoy these 3 pictures and keep your fingers crossed that at least one of them is liked by the Judges.