Close-up images of the endangered mountain gorilla
Erez Marom Is A Photographer Who Managed To Go To The Mountain Gorillas And Capture Images Of This Endangered Species From A Close Distance.
The Mountain gorilla is a unique species found in some areas of Africa. On his trip to Africa to photograph these impressive gorillas’ nature, the photographer recorded amazing photos of these creatures that resemble humans. Of course, photographing these animals is not easy and brings faculties.
This article is written in the language of photography called Erez Marom. The currency was born in 1980. Since his family was very interested in art, they wanted Erez to follow the art field as much as possible, so Erez started learning to play drums at 9.
Later, in 2008, when he was 28 years old, he saw landscapes suitable for photography and gradually became interested in photography. The same year, he bought his first DSLR camera and lens and started photography.
Erez spends a lot of time photographing nature, but recently, during his trip to Africa, he photographed the endangered mountain gorillas of this region. He was very successful in this field and received about 11 different medals from photography competitions around the world in the past years. In the following, we will accompany him:
I have just returned from a trip to Africa, Where I spent three days photographing mountain gorillas in Uganda.
It’s been a while since I last photographed animals.
I started my journey in the world of photography in wildlife photography. Still, for many reasons, I soon became interested in landscape photography and devoted most of my time, attention, and resources to this field.
I’ve wanted to get back into wildlife photography for years, and when two of my friends said they wanted to photograph mountain gorillas, it seemed like the perfect sign to get back into wildlife photography.
Mountain gorillas are endangered in central Africa (Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo). After returning from the brink of extinction with fewer than 254, extensive conservation efforts have led to a gradual increase in their numbers, and the gorilla population has recently reached more than 1,000. However, these numbers are very, very low and depend on conservation efforts for survival.
A silverback mountain gorilla with a striking pose. The similarity to humans is striking in many ways.
To avoid too much contact with humans, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) does not allow people to interact with the gorillas for more than an hour daily. You have to spend hundreds of dollars for that one hour. Multiply the cost by the number of times you want to visit the gorillas to calculate the total cost of the permit. It’s not cheap at all, and keep in mind that hotel, food, and a car with a driver should be added to the costs, not including tips for the gorilla tracking crew.
A baby mountain gorilla tries his hand at eating the big bamboo shoots he loves so much.
Every morning after driving to the park, we met our porters; We gave them the photo bags and walked for a few minutes to reach the forester’s hut. After passing a safety briefing, we started walking. The tracking team used to find the gorillas and contact the ranger to let him know where to go.
The hike is not particularly difficult, but the climbs and climbs are challenging. We usually reached them after 1.5 or 2 hours, depending on the gorillas’ location and the march’s speed. As we got closer to the gorillas, we could hear their chests pounding and smell their strong body odor.
Two baby mountain gorillas are playing with a branch. They develop skills for later years when they mature behind the silverbacks and use those skills to fight for their lives and birthright.
After years without severe wildlife photography experience, I worried my learning curve would be too steep. On the one hand, my compositional skills are well-honed in landscape photography; on the other hand, the landscape and landscape don’t move enough, While wildlife photos are much more dynamic. I knew I had to learn as much jumping as possible and, most importantly, focus on my mission and have the best time possible among the gorillas. I have no problem with the possibility that some of the precious time spent with the gorillas will be partially wasted on getting wildlife photography.
This teenage mountain gorilla was trying for a hard stance and some chest kicks. However, other members of the group were not affected.
Gorillas are incredible in real life compared to their image. The exact size of silverback males is stunning. They weigh more than 200 kg, without a single gram of fat. Their heads are more significant than a watermelon, and have huge hands.
To maintain this size, they must eat about 35 kg of plants daily.
Toddlers and teenagers run around, hanging from branches and making funny faces. You’re not allowed to get too close to the gorillas, but that doesn’t mean a curious youngster can’t show interest and inspect the strange creature with shiny things!
This baby gorilla got very close to my lens as his mother watched quietly, and I lay on the ground. I tried to find a suitable angle, resulting in a beautiful broad-angle view.
The highly dynamic and lively nature of baby gorillas often causes chaos. It was hard to follow them hanging from the branches, get a focused shot, and keep a good composition. This was the biggest challenge, and I did poorly in this area. However, I lucked into a few pictures.
A desperate-looking mother mountain gorilla frowns at her very playful baby hanging from a nearby branch.
The situation was not easy. The thick cloud cover provided beautiful soft lighting but made the environment completely dark, and the dense vegetation didn’t help. Additionally, gorillas often stay under trees. High ISO is essential for shooting in such conditions – I often found myself shooting at 3200, 6400, and even 12800. Even this was not enough.
I brought most of my stock of lenses to this hunt, but mostly the 70-300mm Canon 4F-5.6L IS (for distant animals and close-up portraits) and the 35-16mm L III 2.8 (for closer encounters and gorillas). I almost always used a wide aperture for apparent reasons. I used to take multiple photos in one photo.
I took this picture at ISO 12800. The shutter speed from 1.25 seconds to 70 mm, F4, was needed to achieve proper exposure.
Suitable compositions are essential for taking interesting photos. In landscape photography, it’s relatively easy to pre-visualize, while wildlife doesn’t always cooperate. It is up to the photographer to find opportunities to place their animals in an exciting position in the surrounding environment.
This male silverback sits framed by leaves.
It is essential to use adjacent elements to relate the subject to its surroundings.
The most exciting thing gorillas offer is a glimpse of themselves as a species. Their look, moodiness after the rain, fingerprints, everything about them is very human-like. In my opinion, there’s no way you could see them in reality and still think we’re unrelated.
The excitement and many challenges focused on me and helped me to do my best. , photographing the gorillas was a wonderful experience for me, a complete return to the world of wildlife photography and a photo that inspired me to do more wildlife photography in the future. I hope you enjoyed these pictures and maybe you will consider making this effort and visiting our special and unique relatives.
