2010: Nature in Black & White - Runner-up
Nilanjan Das (India)
Emerging blackbuck
It was almost dusk when the wind started. Gujarat is one of India's driest states, and clouds of dust, whipped up from the loose topsoil, engulfed the grassland in Velavadar National Park. At one point, the wind was so strong that Nilanjan could barely stand up, and his billowing shirt made photography impossible. So he knelt down. By now, there was almost no visibility, but then out of the swirling dust emerged a group of blackbucks, oblivious of his presence. 'The younger ones were pawing the ground and running around in bursts, but one older buck, seemingly used to such storms, calmly started to graze,' says Nilanjan. 'I risked using a slow shutter-speed to capture the movement of the grass and antelopes and the mood of the wild moment.'
Nikon D300 + Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/10 sec at f7.1; ISO 800.
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