Greg du Toit
Shadows and Stripes
A photograph often begins with a dream and for many years now I have dreamt of photographing zebras from the air.
There is after all no African animal more iconic than the proverbial horse in pajamas. As so often happens in Africa, my expectations were completely exceeded and not so much by the zebras themselves, but rather by their shadows. Having photographed zebra from terra firma my entire career, I had absolutely no idea what crazy cool shadows they throw. Their long faces and erect manes were present in every frame.
These images were captured on my Bespoke Best of Botswana safari.
A Dazzling of Zebra - From above, the dark shadows of this dazzle of zebra, take this photograph from the real to the mystical (Salt Pans, Botswana).
Zebra Shadow - Hovering high above a zebra as it crosses Botswana's Makgadkgadi Salt Pans in search of water; the shadow of my subject becomes the subject.
A Journey of Thirst - A mother and her foal take their daily journey across the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to water (Botswana).
A Zebra Crossing - A mother zebra leads her foal off the salt pans in search of pasture. The tracks they leave in the mud, just like their lives, are intricately intertwined (Botswana's Salt Pans).
Journeying On - A couple of zebra journey to find water, walking through thick mud which, until recently, was underwater but is now covered in green algae (Makgadikgadi, Botswana).
Six of One - A trio of zebra journey to find water; their shadows are metaphors of thirst (Salt Pans, Botswana).
Zebra Shadows - As the dry season gets underway on Botswana's Salt Pans, the water vanishes and shadows appear.
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