A colossal bull elephant erupts in a cloud of mud, frozen in good readability on the precise second the whole lot aligns – and this highly effective monochrome picture by Dana Allen has now been topped Travel Image of the Year on the prestigious Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards.
Shot utilizing a Sony Alpha mirrorless digital camera paired with a 200-600mm telephoto lens, the {photograph} stands out for its extraordinary timing and element: each grain of mud, each crease within the elephant’s pores and skin, and – crucially – the animal’s sharply seen eye come superbly collectively.
It’s this split-second readability that in the end earned Allen the Travel Image of the Year title, in addition to the Winner – One Shot: Travel in Monochrome class.
Chosen from greater than 20,000 entries throughout 160 nations, his {photograph} topped probably the most aggressive journey pictures contests on the planet.
Allen, a seasoned wildlife photographer and founding father of PhotoSafari, has spent greater than three many years residing and dealing throughout Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa. His work has beforehand been acknowledged by awards just like the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, making this newest win a continuation of an already exceptional profession.
About the successful shot
The picture was captured within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famend for its dense wildlife populations and dramatic landscapes.
Allen’s {photograph} reveals a large bull elephant bathing himself in mud – a pure conduct used to guard his pores and skin from bugs and the solar – captured in a fraction of a second, when the whole lot aligned.
That seen eye – clear, sharp, and expressive amid the chaos – transforms the body right into a portrait.
The TPOTY praised the picture for its razor-sharp timing, saying: “Sometimes photography is about the defining moment, and you don’t get much more defining than this.
“A fraction of a second earlier or later and the elephant’s eye is obscured, and it turns into merely an image of mud.”
A successful gear mixture
Capturing moments this precise demands equipment that can keep up – and Allen relied on a proven photography setup.
The image was captured using a Sony A1 II, alongside the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS.
With its full-frame sensor performance, dependable AF tracking (autofocus) and stabilization, Sony’s Alpha system proved perfectly suited to capturing a moment like this.
Paired with Sony’s super-telephoto zoom – a lens prized by wildlife photographers – Allen gained exceptional reach, sharpness, and optical stabilization.
Shooting at 1/750 sec, f/6.7, ISO 1000, the shutter speed ensured crisp detail, while the telephoto compression added drama and scale to the scene.
If you want to explore more winning images, please visit the Travel Photographer of the Year website.
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