Detailed view of Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga), Elephant Plains Game Lodge, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa. Picture taken with a Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL (Canon Rebel XSi) fitted with a Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM zoom lens. Exposure: 1/1600 at F6.3, ISO 400.

Burchell’s Zebra (Equus quagga) moving through wooded grassland, the winter colors of the grass and shrubs warmed by the late afternoon sun, Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana.

I took the picture using a Canon 450D) Canon Rebel XSi 12.2MP) with 70-300mm IS zoom lens at a shutter speed of 1/80th and aperture set on F8. Focal length was 300mm and the ISO was 400.

The relatively slow shutter speed combined with panning the camera to follow the zebra has blurred the background – but not enough to create a real sense of motion blur. So I’ve used some digital manipulation to further soften and simplify the background while keeping the zebra acceptably sharp.

This portrait of a Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga) was taken some years ago in the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, a small, semi-urban wildlife sanctuary within the greater Durban area on South Africa’s east coast.

It was the second-last shot I took, quite late in the afternoon, so the lighting was from the side and back, putting much of the background in shadow. The result is a pleasing rim-light along the zebra’s mane and around its ears.

Camera was a Canon Digital Rebel (EOS 300D) fitted with a Canon EOS 80-200mm F2.8 zoom lens at focal length of 110mm; shutter-speed was 1/1000 at aperture of F8.