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Simon Stafford's Image
‘I wanted to depict the darker reality of the well-known wildebeest migration,’ says Simon. Returning after a stampede at first light he saw this pack of spotted hyenas gorging on the lifeless trampled bodies of those that didn’t survive. As one hyena momentarily broke from the feast, it gazed across in Simon’s direction.
In the surge to cross the Mara River the blue wildebeest struggle to climb the deep gullies they carve – many slip and perish under the hooves of those behind them. Spotted hyenas, with jaws powerful enough to crunch bones, will devour everything except the horns of their prey.
Behind the lens
Simon Stafford
UK
Simon has 35 years of experience in both film and digital photography, and his pictures have been published in Practical Photography, Digital SLR Photography, Professional Photographer and Nikon Pro. Simon also presents a wide range of photography seminars and workshops, regularly leading landscape, travel and wildlife photography tours in the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Image details
- Nikon D810
- 800mm f5.6 lens
- 1/500 sec at f5.6 • ISO 400
- Mara River, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Copyright in WPY competition photographs remains the property of the respective photographers. You may not copy, share, reproduce or republish the photographs except as expressly permitted by copyright law. For media image usage enquiries, please contact us.
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