Lake Magadi Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Lake Magadi is a salt lake on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. Magadi is the Swahili word for soda or salt. The Maasai call it Lake Makat, which means the same thing in their language.
Thousands of flamingos congregate here to feed on plankton. They usually fly into the crater before dawn every day.
There is quite a sizable number of resident Zebras in the crater, who don’t join the annual migration, although migrating zebras swell the numbers when they are in the area.

Alternative in the WS.

Information about the Ngorongoro Crater can be found here

ISO200, FL165mm,

besnard, snunney, Floydian, BlkDaffyDuck, ktanska, carper, cbrman, PaulVDV, Royaldevon, Dyerco, lilimih33, dareco, andante, jwmunro, Cricri, leo61, Photo65Net, Gerrit, sleon, stego, gneufeld, jusninasirun, danos, axiotea, fabio_ts, ruisc_pt, ricochet, cobbydale, josepmarin, UlfE, chrisnet, scobert, papagolf21, bertolucci, lasscor, JCG, Tue, smash2707, crckt has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

smarcell (14327) 2008-04-10 1:51

I like the layers of colors in this picture.
From geen to pink pink of the flamingos, to the green-blue of the far background.
The three zebras seem there for the photographer.
Regards Stefano

besnard (30716) 2008-04-10 1:52

Bonjour Kath
Joli cliché avec de douces couleurs avec ces milliers de flamans roses et les rayures des zébres, le tout est en harmonie.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

snunney (34942) 2008-04-10 1:54

Hello Kath,
A very nice capture of these lovely animals in a very well composed scene. I like the layered effect of the different elements and the soft natural colours as well as the effective positioning of the zebras in the frame.

vincz (19043) 2008-04-10 1:59

Wow,,, that's a nice one. There are so many details, such a high level of precision everywhere. This is truly amazing. I love the myriads of flamingos and their reflection.

Floydian (30970) 2008-04-10 2:02

Good morning Kath,
Much better than the ws. The green in the foreground adds great contrast in colour to the more hazy greens in the far background. Also how the Zebra's standing here in line doing nothing is very nice composed. Those flamingo's in the lake look great, give something extra in this photo which is very pleasant to look at...very good..!!!
Regards, Henk

Guy_Velazquez (0) 2008-04-10 2:11

Hola Kath, felicidades, preciosa foto un paraiso natural sin lugar a dudas. Bella imagen e increible paisaje de naturaleza en libertad. Muy bien. Un saludo.

BlkDaffyDuck (385) 2008-04-10 2:30

Hello Kath,

Very beautiful and surprisingly animals picture !
I prefer this version to your workshop because there is a really beautiful graphical structure in this image with these 3 Aligned zebras.
Congratulation and TFS,

Regards,
Damien.

Graal (58039) 2008-04-10 2:55

Hi Kath,
fantastic place and view. Good composition and pleasant delicacy colours. Beautiful serie. I like it a lot.
Gr., Aleksander

ktanska (16585) 2008-04-10 2:57

Hi Kath,
Hard to decide which one is better. WS is certainly more dynamic with more zebras. But grass gives colour on this. Maybe better angle would be just a little higher, showing same amount of grass as background hill.
Kari

carper (64936) 2008-04-10 3:07

fantastic shot here Kath,
a very good one of your Africa trip, god pov fantastic composition here, I like it a lot, have a nic3e day.
gr. jaap

cbrman (18851) 2008-04-10 3:33

Hello Kath,

Cette image est fascinante. J'aime beaucoup les flammands roses en arrière plan qui semble être une infinité. Les zèbres et leurs lignes noir et blanche contraste merveilleusement avec les volatils. L'image est très bien construite.
Bravo encore une réussite.

A+

Dominique

PaulVDV (5208) 2008-04-10 3:34

Hello Kath,
I like the different horizontal layers on your picture: the grass, the zebras, the flamingos, the lake, the forest and the mountain. This all together makes this picture very beautiful.
Regards, Paul

Royaldevon (5934) 2008-04-10 3:36

Hello Kath,

You have captured this in beautiful layers of colour!
I can almost here the noise of calling and flapping from those flamingoes! They make an intersting backdrop for those three f/g zebras. Three makes good composition and, they are waiting perfectly in line as if taking 'turns'!

Lovely work, as always!

Kind regards,
bev :-)

lopshang (628) 2008-04-10 3:48

Hi Kath

Amazing and stunning shot. Wow those flamingo in background looking damn good. Wow those stripes are looking stunning with orange and white background. Amazing and great shot. Thank you for sharing it.

Regards,

Lopshang.

Dyerco (9102) 2008-04-10 4:08

Wonderful shot Kath. The layers of colour with the infusion of B&W stripes works well here. Hey I thought you didn't care for B&W :D
I like the fact that you did not include any sky.
Great job.
Phil

lilimih33 (9874) 2008-04-10 4:43

Hello Kath!
Nice capture and wonderful place!
Great colours and good light!
Perfect point of view!
Best regards!
Lili

Tobias__Ortmann (2589) 2008-04-10 5:46

Hi kath another very good shot
great pov and I really like the background
very well done
good colours nice composition
best regards Toba

dareco (17104) 2008-04-10 6:34

Another very beautiful picture in your series. And SO MANY BIRDS!!!! WOW! TFS

andante (7092) 2008-04-10 6:37

One of the best shots of your Serengeti series. Thanks for sharing it with us. Envy!!!!
Cheers,
E

baclama (4621) 2008-04-10 7:21

bonjour,
merveilleux....de belles couleurs douces, où tout parait paisible et harmonieux...on a envie d'y etre...
TFS
vero

MarcT (21099) 2008-04-10 8:39

Hi Kathn
That's a beautifull place. So much life, superb soft colors.
Thousands of flamingos and these 3 zebras are just wonderful.
Cheers
Marc

BoisBarb (9357) 2008-04-10 8:58

Un cadrage de toute beauté entre zèbres et flamants roses par milliers. L'arrière plan donne beaucoup de profondeur à l'image
BoisBarb

gilou530 (35254) 2008-04-10 9:43

salut kath
impressionnant tous ces flamands roses en arrière plan, bien cadré les zébres, excellent travail
amitiés
gilbert

jwmunro (6585) 2008-04-10 9:47

Hello Kath -

This is an interesting image on several levels. First I like how the colors have separated the image into 4-5 parallel zones. Second the zebras walking into the scene - three seems to be a good number. An finally, the shear number of flamingos. Like I said before you are raising the bar so high. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

Waylim (10835) 2008-04-10 9:59

Kath,
An amazing place and sight to see. It was rainy when I was there, my photo there didn't turn out very good and animals are not out roaming around in the rain. This is an excellent image with layers of element, all is very well focus and sharp with great detail. Great DOF and POV. Composition is also goo. The workshop is such a bonus. I think I like it as much since there are more zebras in different positions. Great one Kath and thanks so much for Sharing.
Way

Cricri (43108) 2008-04-10 10:14

Hi Kath,
Magnifique aussi celle çi, on peut presque entendre l'ambiance que donne les flamands, meme les zébres ont l'air d'appréçier cet endroit merveilleux, les couleurs sont trés belles,
Good evening for you
cricri

leo61 (43406) 2008-04-10 10:16

Hi Kath!
A wonderful image from a fantastic place.I like your POV and composition with the zebras and the thousand flamingos in the distance.Well done with this quantity of nice green foreground.
Regards,Leo

Photo65Net (43096) 2008-04-10 10:41

Hello Kath,
Superb compo !
You really did great job placing the zebras into the frame and in their environment.
Nice one,
Regards,
JB.

mark_mk (246) 2008-04-10 10:46

Hi Kath,
amazing shot! What a wonderful image, unbelievable blaze of color, great composition. Tansania really must be an amazing place to visit, so many rare animals and so much nature. Nicely composed picture, good sharpness and as I already mentioned overwhelming colors. Very well done, TFS.

Greetings
Mark

rodgerg (24183) 2008-04-10 11:39

Hello Kath,

A marvelous image with these tree peaceful zebras and pink birds in the background.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Have a good evening,
Roger

Gerrit (35763) 2008-04-10 11:40

HI Kath,
excellent layering. The lake full of flamingoes is realy impressive and the zebras look so vulnerable.
Regards, Gerrit

sleon (9352) 2008-04-10 12:07

Hi Kath
I just love the stripes and the graphism of zebras, and here we have three of them! Plus thousands of flamingos. This must have been a real sight to behold. Good that the threesome are all looking the same way in a line - did you ask them to do this? Really wonderful shot, and nice WS too - though the main posting is definitely the more eyecatching.
Regards, Susanna

LUISCOSTA (142) 2008-04-10 13:50

Hy Kath!

hooo my good.... F A N T A S T I C....There are so many details, the green in the foreground adds great contrast in colour.

regards

gneufeld (15173) 2008-04-10 18:10

Hi Kath,
A stunning capture - where does one ever see so many flamingos? Great composition, Kath, with the zebra in the foreground entering the scene from the left. Great shot and TFS. Gerald

jusninasirun (10209) 2008-04-10 20:25

Hello Kath. You are so lucky to be seeing this image in real life. Nice zebras in the pose and my eyes can't get away from the backdrop. Stunning! Jusni

Paolo (40703) 2008-04-11 2:00

Hi Kath, amazing one with the 3 zebras and in the background that crowded pond full of flamingos!
fantasti cshot.
thanks, ciao

delkoo (34308) 2008-04-11 2:28

bonjour kath
you know, we have flamingos in camargue but not as numerous as in this area, The clarity of this image is excellent. Well composed with good saturation of colour and sharpness. The view is peaceful and beautiful .

best regards
didier

danos (32538) 2008-04-11 2:47

Hello Kath,
very nice composition with great perspective of the lake Magali.The zebras in the foreground and the thousands of flamingos in the salt lake create a fantastic and at the same time a dreamily environment.Interesting and the close of the lake in the WS. Informative your note too.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

pasternak (13388) 2008-04-11 3:25

Another fantastic shot from Africa, Kath, these three zebras make an excellent contrasting fg for this sea of flamingos, maybe a little more contrast/saturation wouldn't harm?

Cheers
A.

axiotea (16125) 2008-04-11 3:50

Hello Kath
I bet you had a wonderful time there! What a spectacle! Three zebras posing for you with thousands of flamingos and landscape providing a great BG. The color tones are very pleasant too!
Cheers
Marilyn

fabio_ts (13674) 2008-04-11 6:41

Ciao Kath, the WS is also beautful but I prefer this one, I like a lot the "multi-color stripes" effect; blu sky, pink famingos and green field ...and zebras are expert about stripes... :o))

have a good weekend,
Fabio.

stego (22360) 2008-04-11 7:01

Hi Kath,
Fabulous! I wonder how much you had to pay to the park guards so they align the zebras for you while not scaring the flamingos away. :-)
The WS lacks a bit of the punch and harmony of the main post, but it is equally a great photo and wild life capture. It deserved being sent as a main post before this one, so it wouldn't loose with the comparison. I guess you didn't need the guards to assist you in the compo on it. :D
Regards, José.

Wandering_Dan (3237) 2008-04-11 7:04

Hi, Kath -

I have to say I like the WS better. This shot seems to me to have all of its elements in parallel lines, which makes it less interesting. The WS may show less of the overall scene, but there is more action and the eye is kept busy.

Smileys for the WS, then.

Best,
Dan

ricochet (4706) 2008-04-11 9:15

Hi kath
What a fantatstic shot nice composed and it's very impressive all these flamingos! Thanks for sharing your trip and mille bravo, i love it!
Eic

cobbydale (1924) 2008-04-11 11:41

The workshop's great but I think this one pips it - in fact I think it's the best one yet from this latest series of yours. The scene with all those flamingo is amazing and everything is so sharp. Excellent stuff Kath.
cheers
Leon

UlfE (8992) 2008-04-11 13:35

Hi Kath,

Fantastic view with thousands of flamingos. Perhaps difficult to tell what is the main subjects of the photo the zebras or the flamingos. For me is definitively the flamingos and I fix my eyes on the flamingos rather than the zebras. TFS sharing this superb shot and have a nice weekend!

Cheers,

Ulf

josepmarin (33785) 2008-04-11 13:37

Hello Kath,
There is an excellent graphism in this composition, thanks to the lines of the zebras, and also to the different layers in the landscape that there form a few horizontal magnificent striping.
The contrast between three zebras in FG and the thousands of flemings in BG is very strong and adds a great beauty to your composition.
It is a great work, illuminated good and with many quality of image.
Best wishes,
Josep

coco (27866) 2008-04-11 14:01

Hi Kath.

Again you give us a wonderul gift from Africa.

This photo is very nice and the composition with its DOF and composition is wondeful.
Somehow I think it must be wonderful. At least, this is a great country.

WEll done.

chrisnet (20376) 2008-04-11 14:17

Hello Kath,
I like much these thousands of pink flamingos in the background, very nice view.
Regards

scobert (5333) 2008-04-11 18:52

Hi Kath,
I believe that your extensive landscape background served you very well with your Africa series. Your less tightly cropped and compressed photos (the standard super telephoto fare) gives me much more of an appreciation for the terrain that the animals inhabit. This is a great shot and would make a wonderful double page illustration in a photo essay book of your African safari. Outstanding!
Stan

ruisc_pt (6206) 2008-04-12 2:22

Excellent Africa shot.
My preference goes to the WS image...yet this is for me a superb one.
TFS Kath
All the best
Rui

papagolf21 (56435) 2008-04-12 3:02

Bonjour, chère Kath,
Un homme sans culture ressemble à un zèbre sans rayures.
[Proverbe africain]
L'oeil du photographe a encore frappé avec intelligence. La réalisation est très réussie avec cet arrière-plan magique.
Bravo !
Amitiés.
Philippe

bertolucci (11976) 2008-04-12 3:47

Hi Kath, this is a fascinating take on the famous Ngorongoro Crater and you do just to the beauty of it. The clarity, the contrast between the zebras and the flamingos, the mesmirizing rhythm - delightful work! Thanx for the alternative view too.
Have a fine weekend,
Bert

lasscor (7637) 2008-04-12 4:49

Hi Kath,
Wonderful peaceful african landscape.
Lovely colours and light.
I like very much the three zebras in foreground and the big number of flamingos on the lake in background.
TFS,
Corinne

JCG (25377) 2008-04-12 5:11

Hi Kath,

There is no deer at the horizon, all seems calm here. I like much this gathering of pink flamingos in background. The image is once more of beautiful quality and benefitting from a good luminosity. The various plans are appreciable and give a depth to the image. A very pretty moment of your trip. Thank you for the photo bonus.

With all my friendships and a very good WE,

Jean-Charles

Tue (25608) 2008-04-12 13:56

Hi Kath,
Wow, what an impressive number of flamingos in the lake in the background, interesting to see that the large groups are closest to the shores and that they are more scattered in the middle of the lake. The three zebras are very well included in the left foreground. It's all surrounded by fine, natural green(ish) hues. Well seen and captured, thanks a lot for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

pboehringer (770) 2008-04-12 15:00

Kath,
what a magical composition of horizontals being broken by the three zebras at the left. I'm not sure if I wold have raised the camera more to get less foreground grass and more of the pale green of the background, but I like the tight frame without sky and that could have been the limiting factor.
Peter

smash2707 (2516) 2008-04-12 17:10

I'm always amazed with these flamingo pictures from Tanzania and Kenia. Yours is spectacular with the zebras in the front. Beautiful layered composition with contrasting colors. It goes directly to my other favorites. Regards, Yvonne

Angshu (33697) 2008-04-15 0:42

Simply excellent! The three zebras standing almost at equal distances from each other, almost waiting for you to press the shutter & the fantastic BG of the thousands of flamingos. This version is definitely better than the WS, more dramatic I guess.
Regards
Angshu

fayeulle (26543) 2008-04-16 1:17

Hi Kath
This place seem to be fabulous !
Thanks to show us such pictures because I can't visit Tanzania (Yellow fever vaccination allergic). The quantity of flamingoes is simply amazing.
Cheers
JP

crckt (7076) 2008-04-17 8:31

Hi Kath,
Those flamengos look amazing! I mean there are so many! Very very pretty shot Kath, I like this composition a lot.
TFS,
Shaeri

marietom (31974) 2008-04-19 2:04

Hello Kath,

Elle est géniale, cette image avec ces zèbres à la queue leu leu pour aller boire ?
Magnifiques couleurs et paysage.
Bonne journée
Marie