Buffalos in the Crater Photo

Photographer’s Note

The African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a bovid from the family of the Bovidae. It is up to 1.7 meters high, 3 meters long, and can reach a weight of 1000 kilograms. On average, an adult male stands about 1.5 m high at the shoulder and weighs 680 kg, while a female is 10 - 15 cm shorter and weighs between 500 - 600 kg.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area or NCA is a conservation area situated 180 km west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The conservation area is administered by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, an arm of the Tanzanian government, and its boundaries follow the boundary of the Ngorongoro Division of Ngorongoro District. It is 8,288 km - about the size of Crete.

In the background is Lake Magadi, a salt lake on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater.

There is an elephant in the middle of the image, very small but visible.

avene, npecanhuk, patdeph, Jeppo, tomescuc, zmey, lilimih33, sonkai, danos, romanaa, leo61, NellyD, tho_ebert, Philippe, siolaw has marked this note useful

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avene (9936) 2008-05-06 10:05

superb shot! I like a lot how the white cloud stands out agains the dark slope of the cater, it does create a feeling of enclosed and protected area. excellent composition with layers and layers of different colours and textures that add nice depth to the scene. the dense heard of buffalos with the birds is a great way to illustrate the abundance of the wildlife, but I have to say that the tiny figure of the elephant is my favourite element in this shot :) very well seen and presented, my compliments.

with best regards,
Kristine

smarcell (12407) 2008-05-06 10:14

A lot of Africa in this picture. The light and the clouds are perfect.
I like this large views. Usually pictures from these places tend to be close up views of the wildlife, and they forget about the beauty of this place.
Regards Stefano

npecanhuk (8482) 2008-05-06 10:22

Hello Way!
It's a fantastic picture!
I really like the landscape, filled with the animals and vegetation! The colors are great and the clouds in the background are an excellent contrast with the dark background and the colors of the vegetation.
TFS - Congratulations,
Greetings from Brazil,
Neyvan Peçanhuk

patdeph (15236) 2008-05-06 10:49

hello Way
on this photo I am really impressed by the beauty of the landscape!The ground is very green,was it during or just after the mounsoon?I like very much the large space of bright green cut with the darker green of the trees,and the blue bachground with its white cloud creates a very nice harmony of colours!The buffalos are here to give life to this fantastic place!
Have a nice evening.
Pascale

Greg1949 (7685) 2008-05-06 10:55

Way, this is an awesome shot of an awesome sight. You have done a fine job I think, it shows a large group of animals in an even larger land. The color and detail are good and the land looks beautiful. Great capture.

Greg

Jeppo (9984) 2008-05-06 11:46

HI Way Le,

nice postcard from Ngorongoro.
I like the colours, the wild nature and the infinite landscape!

TFS
Silvio

tomescuc (2623) 2008-05-06 12:03

Awesome view and colors.
tfs,
CT

MarianneS (13052) 2008-05-06 13:01

Hi Way,
I am glad to discover you new post. The landscape is impressive, with sweet and natural tones.
But of course, the animals, and above all the elephant (good idea to call our attention by mentioning it) are the attractive element in this scene.
Well done! I hope your trip to Europe was a very good one :)
Regards,
Marianne

skydive (109) 2008-05-06 13:49

Hi Way,

this picture brings back memories from my safari. You have captured the atmosphere very good in this picture.

Thanks for sharing,
patric

lilimih33 (9870) 2008-05-06 16:24

Hello Way!
Lovely green and blue!
Nice landscape with buffalos!
Beautiful point of view!
Best regards!
Lili

MarcT (20231) 2008-05-07 0:48

Hi Way,
Beautiful African light on these peaceful but, dangerous, buffalos. It must be magical to see such a place.
Cheers
Marc

jonathan_hart (21637) 2008-05-07 2:04

beautiful view, great depth, full of good looking details, a pleasure for the eyes, a great compo
regards
jo

sonkai (806) 2008-05-07 3:52

Hi Way,and nice to see you around again.
It's a wonderful landscape,full of lines which give the picture a lot of depth.The soft colour are perfectely fitted with eich other in the picture,as in all your similar shots.I feel like if I was sitting on the top of the hill watching as far as my sight can reach,and I almost can feel the storm and the damp ground.Full of feeling for me who love this wild landscapes.
Best wishes,
Sonsoles.

zmey (7257) 2008-05-07 5:22

hello way,

welcome back, friend. another window to biodiversity of savannah for us, m? :) quite crunchy and well presented in my opinion. i see, other people have mostly said everything thing that has to be said here, so i'll just add my green token of appreciation.

warm regards,
kristaps

mark_mk (44) 2008-05-07 9:45

Hi Way,
wow what a nice one! All the buffalo, simply great! How lucky were you? 11 lions on one place and this one, great!
Colors and sharpness are nice and the POV is excellent, pretty good shot, nicely composed!

Best regards
Mark

Tobias__Ortmann (2487) 2008-05-07 10:02

Hi way great shot I really can recognize this amazing plave like I would be there again
great with the buffalos
well done my friend
Toba

romanaa (2502) 2008-05-07 14:03

Hello Way,
I adore your wildlife shots. The quality is exceptional. The cloud here adds much to the composition.
Best regards
Romana

leo61 (40904) 2008-05-07 22:36

Hello Way!
An impressive landscape with this and soft,natural tones.Great composition with all these animals in the foreground and the row of trees in the center.A great shot!
Regards,leo

danos (27886) 2008-05-08 0:42

Hello Way,
very nice this panoramic shot from this region of Tanzania.A multi level shot with the herd of the African buffalo the line of the trees and the Lake Megadi in the middle,that in combination with the superb sky make tour photo memorable.Informative your note too.

Regards,Danos

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2008-05-08 7:21

Hello Way!
Very nice picture of such a brilliant scene in a wonderful nature.
I like the way you composed the image a lot, on bottom the buffalo, in the middle the trees and on top the sky....excellent! Also very nice colors, good contrast and great depth.
Jonas

NellyD (1872) 2008-05-08 9:11

Hi Way,

This is a great picture, I like it!
Beautiful landscape and I like to see the buffalo's in these natural surroundings. Great colours, impressive sky, good sharpness, light and composition.
TFS

Greetings, Nel

tho_ebert (872) 2008-05-09 0:14

Hi Way,
Great compo, realistics colors, and a very sharp shot !
Good work !
TFS

Philippe (11215) 2008-05-09 9:26

Hi, Way. You've created a very good depth in the image by putting interesting elements at different levels of your picture: the buffaloes in the foreground, the trees a little further, the lake and then the rising hills. The elephant gives us a good idea of the scale. The different shades of green also give a good depth to the image while the hills and the cloud create contrast with the overall colours.

cepekdong (3668) 2008-05-09 12:27

wow what an amazing picture ! i really intend to go to africa some day ! the depth is great and the animals add the life ! sky and clouds are fantastic ! btw. jonas is my brother not my mum :)

bye

siolaw (24920) 2008-05-09 22:36

Hi Way,
A very good landscape and wildlife picture, very pleasant to look at, i like the POV and framing, showing a big piece of this place with the hills going back up after the salt lake. Flawless colors and sharpness.
Greetings from Bangkok
Laurent

emka (17061) 2008-05-10 10:10

Hi Waylim,

fantastic shot from Africa. I like the plain of the crater Ngorongoro with the lake and this group of trees. But of course the buffalos are the most important here. They are very dangerous animals. Where you were making the photo? I can see also the white birds (ibises ?) that usually live near bovines. Wonderful African picture. Warm regards

Malgorzata

JPlumb (3131) 2008-05-13 23:49

Hi Way, Comparing this shot with the similar one you did on TN, I like this one better. I like the Buffalo in both, but this one gives me a much better view of the landscape around them, with the grasslands, forest and hills behind. What I also found interesting here is that these Buffalo aren't alone. There's the birds off course, but there is also that lone elephant seen in the centre of the shot, and a herd of something seen back by the water. Your shot is sharp so we can make out a lot of this great detail, and the colours are very natural looking.

Thanks, John

Stepan (27163) 2008-05-22 9:39

Wonderful soft colors and light (especially the green tones). And the buffalos seem so quiet and peaceful. A cool atmosphere then. Well captured, well shared.
Stéphane

jmdias (15499) 2008-05-23 17:15

way

the dark sky crossed by a white cloud is fantastic, the variety of the greens and the animals in the foreground are perfect. This is to travel inside a image. congratulations by this work. nice light, pov, colors, everything

hugs

jorge

nicoz (1963) 2008-05-26 9:56

Hello Way,
Awesome colors and tones here! I like all the horizontal layers. I don't have much to say, except that it's a beautifull landscapes!
Nicolas

drweizy (319) 2008-06-04 6:08

very nice land, very good shot, thank you

didemay (2243) 2008-06-05 0:26

Hello Way,
loved the lines in this photo...the buffalos, the trees, the lake and finishing the recipe with some clouds...delicious:)

Deepforest (8759) 2008-06-11 14:29

Hi Way,
nice shot of the wildlife in Ngorongoro crater... The crater was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen... Good composition with the trees and the clouds on the background; nice natural colurs. I like it. Well done.
Best regards,
Andrzej