Scenic Animal Laden Sunsets: Beautiful Silhouettes Displaying Wildlife in The African Bush

By Dan Coles

 

DUSK TILL DAWN images show Africa’s rich wildlife silhouetted during the beginning and the end of the day when the light reaches its perfect state of illumination.

 

A hippopotamus is shown lurking in the water, whilst other stunning photographs give an intimate glimpse of lions, giraffes, kudu’s, flamingo’s, elephants, leopards, rhino’s and zebras in this beautiful silhouetted technique.

 

Evan a swarm of bats can be seen flying across the African sunset.

 

Other dramatic photos from across southern and eastern Africa show an injured wildebeest evading a fire that has swept across the plains of Serengeti.

 

The images were taken by South African native Greg Du Toit, who in 2013 won one of the most prestigious awards available in his field, the ‘Wildlife photographer of the year’ prize. The photographs were shot in a mixture of countries across southern and eastern Africa including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia.

 

“As a professional wildlife photographer, I am always up long before the sun and stay out until it is dark,” Greg said.

 

“These images speak of the mystery and intrigue of Africa.”

 

Whilst shooting, many difficulties stood in the way of getting the correct shots.

 

“A fire swept across the grass plains of the Serengeti and we noticed one wildebeest not running away, on closer inspection we discovered that it had a broken front left leg. I watched in horror as the flames almost engulfed the animal before it finally ran away.”

 

Greg started photographing these images as part of a body of work called ‘Dusk to Dawn’. His aim was to illuminate the animals with the simplicity of framing their outline and shape.

 

There was no scripted method in getting these images, he put thousands of hours into getting the shots by getting up earlier and staying out later.

 

Greg’s speciality is lowlight imagery and although new cameras are constantly changing the requirements for framing this style of photography, these were done by putting in the hours and perfecting timings.

 

“I simply want to convey the incredible diversity, mystery and wonder that I feel for my wild subjects,” said Greg.

 

“What the camera has the power to do, through silhouette photography, is to simply de-clutter our world.”

 

Greg has spent his life exploring the wildlife of Africa, starting in the South African based Timbavati Game Reserve.

 

For more incredible wildlife photography, you can follow Greg on Instagram here: @gregdutoit