Spotted Hyena Motion Blur, Linyanti Concession, Botswana
This is one of my favorite images from Botswana. It was pre-sunrise and there was very little light, so even at ISO 3200 I was getting extremely slow shutter speeds. It all added up to the perfect opportunity for some panning, motion blurred shots. It was so dark, in fact, that the guide was shining a spotlight on the hyena to help me focus, and in the process, adding that extra touch of light that you see on the fur. For their part, the hyenas were quite cooperative as they raced back and forth through the shallow water. Our guide mentioned that this was very odd behavior for hyenas. They seemed downright giddy as they chased each other through the water, playing like a bunch of retriever pups at a dog run.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/20th of a second