This Week At Angama #36

12 October 2018 | This Week at Angama |

Reading Time: 3 MINUTES

In honour of the Greatest Migration on Earth, I set out this week with an objective: could I include a wildebeest or zebra in the frame of every single photograph this week? Breathing or not…

Unseasonably high April and May rains caused havoc in the traditional migration pattern this year. An abundance of grass, both across the Serengeti and in the Maasai Mara, meant that the wildebeest and zebra didn’t appear to need to move en masse.  This week, that all changed as the mega herds arrived into the Mara Triangle, almost three months late. I am not exaggerating when I say that at one stage there must have been roughly one million animals in the Mara Triangle.

It is almost impossible to capture scenes of this magnitude, and even more difficult to try to put it into words. Sitting amongst so many animals is truly one of the most spectacular experiences in life. Watching the herds streaming over the horizon I made the decision to approach this week’s portfolio with a slightly different approach.

I love a photographic challenge, and even more so when trying to use imagery to tell a story. I decided that every single photograph I took this week needed to include a zebra or a wildebeest in the frame. And double points if they appeared together. Of course I knew I would miss out on many scenes, but I also knew this ‘restriction’ would force me to be creative in composition and approach. It also meant that I would maximize my time around the Migration, a bucket-list event if ever there was one.

Unlike most blogs in this series I am going to lay off the words, instead allowing the photographs to tell a story on their own. Enjoy a glimpse of the Great Migration and enjoy This Week at Angama.

Migration group
[f 8.0, 1/400, ISO 160]

Big herd of wildebeest
[f 7.1, 1/800, ISO 100 -0.67]

Zebra in wilde herd
[f 4.0, 1/4000, ISO 400]

Zebra close
[f 4.0, 1/640, ISO 400 +0.67]

Balloon over migration
[f 5.6, 1/1000, ISO 400 +0.67]

Marabou and wilde
[f 5.6, 1/100, ISO 400 -0.67]

Lion on wildebest
[f 5.0, 1/1600, ISO 400 -0.33]

Lion paw
[f 4.5, 1/320, ISO 400]

Hyena blood face
[f 6.3, 1/2000, ISO 800 +0.33]

Hyena leap
[f 6.3, 1/2500, ISO 800 +0.33]

Motion blur
[f 29.0, 1/15, ISO 100]

Zebra ghost
[f 5.6 1/1250, ISO 160, -1, Double Exposure]

Zebra odd marks
[f 5.0, 1/1000, ISO 160 +0.33]

Lilac Breasted Roller and wildebeest
[f 5.6, 1/1250, ISO 320 +0.33]

Wildebeest and green
[f 4.0, 1/2000, ISO 320]

Zebra corner drink
[f 5.0, 1/1600, ISO 160 -0.67]

Wildebeest drink and crocodile
[f 5.0, 1/1250, ISO 400 -0.33]

Wildebeest migration drinking and mass
[f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 320 -0.33]

Zebra and crocs surround
[f 5.6, 1/1000, ISO 160 +0.67]

Crocodile and zebra calf
[f 5.6, 1/1250, ISO 160 +0.33]

Zebra leap
[f 5.6, 1/1000, ISO 160 +0.33]

Croc launch
[f 5.6, 1/640, ISO 200 +0.67]

Wildebeest flee
[f 5.0, 1/640, ISO 100]

All photographs taken by Adam Bannister.

AUTHOR: Adam Bannister

A South African-trained biologist, safari guide, author, filmmaker and photographer, Adam is, above all else, a gifted storyteller. After spending the past 10 years working in some of the world’s most beautiful wild places – the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa, Rajasthan in India, Brazil’s Pantanal, and the rainforests of Manu National Park in Peru – he is delighted to share his stories of one of the loveliest game reserves of them all, the Maasai Mara.

COMMENTS (8)
Diricilla Naidoo
October 12, 2018

Absolutely amazing Adam! One day 🙂
I love the zebra bottom among the wildebeest and the roller on the wildebeest.

REPLY
Garth Johnson
October 12, 2018

Wow thank you once again Adam for sharing this whole experience and getting it across so wonderfully. Just makes my Friday each week.

REPLY
Gillian Evans
October 12, 2018

Fantastic! Privileged to have shared a day with you out in the beautiful Mara Triangle this week. Incredible selection of photos!

REPLY
Francis Bagbey
October 12, 2018

One of my faves….a zebra mooning you! And why don’t zebras learn not to wade into a “pod,” “herd”, or whatever a group of visible crocs is called? And that picture of a snarling hyena reminds me why I think of them as totally evil!
Thank you for these fantastic pictures!

REPLY
Craig warwick
October 13, 2018

Wow what amazing photos, I’m very jealous. The great migration is definitely on my list and your story over the last week has made me really want to go and see it. If you do it again let me know and I will jump on a plane ?

REPLY
    Nicky Fitzgerald
    October 13, 2018

    Hi Craig
    Thanks so much for your lovely feedback. ù
    Happily the Great Migration comes into Kenya’s Maasai Mara every year mid June and departs late October – well, that’s the rule but give or take a few weeks on either side.

    REPLY
Raj Garigipati
October 15, 2018

Wow Adam, this is an amazing way to communicate the current migration situation through photos. I am going to be at Angama in a week from now, hoping to catch some of the final days of the Great Migration… thanks for sharing this beautiful experience!

REPLY
    Nicky Fitzgerald
    October 17, 2018

    Dear Raj
    Jumping in here for Adam who is currently on leave.
    Thank you so much for this wonderful comment and we are looking forward to welcoming you soon
    We have nailed the Migration to the ground 🙂
    Warm regards
    Nicky

    REPLY
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