
Animals of Africa’s Wilderness
Black and white photography
On my most recent game drive I went on I was lucky enough to see the national park all in green and see a lot of animals at the same time. This doesn’t happen very often.
First of all, it's very special the country received already so much rain after years of drought. So I’ve never seen Etosha National Park, the most famous park in the country, in such lush green colors.
Secondly, it’s easier to spot wildlife in the dry season since they gather around the few waterholes that are left. In the rainy season they can find water everywhere so it’s difficult to spot them.

Despite being excited about all the green on my photographs I also decided to capture some of them in B&W photography. Since I got lots of stunning close-ups, the power of the animals comes up even without colors.

Antelopes were everywhere. In all sizes, shapes, and colors. From the smallest antelopes like the Damara Dik-Dik to one of the biggest antelopes like the Kudu we did see them all.
Especially springboks were to be seen all around the park. Sometimes a lone one was crossing the plains and other times entire herds were blocking the road.

A lot of people don’t like wildebeests because they say it’s an ugly animal. But especially when looking at a B&W photograph of a wildebeest one can see some majesty in these animals.

Scavengers like hyenas aren’t very popular in the world of animals. But these creatures are actually highly intelligent animals. And in a pack of hyenas, a woman is leading the group in case you didn’t know.

My most favorite sighting of this trip was on two occasions the spotting of cheetahs. I haven’t seen these muscular cats in Namibia before and was thrilled about recognizing them in the high grass.

On the second sighting we were very lucky the cheetah was sitting up for the moment we were driving past otherwise we would not have had the chance to spot her.
Once she lied down in the high grass of the plains we could barely make her out. A search image got created out of one of those photographs taken.

Some people ignore these sightings because they are so common. I still love them. Every single time. Giraffes. They are such majestic animals in my eyes. Mostly slow and calm but they can pick up a lot of speed when starting to run.
Don’t get in her way or she will just walk over you.

The least expected was this animal. Coming back from a late morning game drive we were coming around the corner when this rhino was just standing there staring at us. An unusual sighting for the hottest time of the day. But an even more exciting one!

On our last day, we were driving 300 kilometers inside the park to reach the western gate of Etosha. Not expecting to see a lot on this game drive we got lucky with seeing the biggest herds of zebras, wildebeest, and antelopes on this trip.
Not only that but we also got to experience a young elephant bull while drinking in the bush and spraying his body with mud and water. The “gentle giant” they call him here and I get the atmosphere of it all.

These are my most favorite memories of this last safari I’ve done in Namibia including the best B&W photographs I could take. The ones in color will follow soon to show you the beauty of this place in lush green too.
But now I am curious. Do you have black and white photographs of animals too? It doesn’t have to be wild animals. Maybe your pets are a great objective too.
Create a post with some words and tag me in it. Let’s see how much variety we have in this group!
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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.