Camera: Canon R5

Lens: EF 400 F/2.8 IS III

Aperture: f/8.0

Shutter speed: 1/1250

ISO: 640

Description: A large herd of wildebeest struggle to exit the Mara River at the Peninsula crossing point

Story from behind the lens: A large herd of wildebeest filtered down to the bottleneck of the Peninsula Crossing point before pressure from the mass pushed the herd across the Mara River. We could see the gnus struggling to exit due to the deep water and wet rocks creating a chaotic scene as more of the herd swam across, bunching up against the steep bank. Amidst the chaos, I spotted several wildebeest being forced on top of each other through the force of those coming behind and took several photos on high-speed burst to capture the hectic scene. This particular image was my favorite with one gnu looking straight towards us embodying the effort of the struggle to escape the danger of the river. Coupled with the beautiful dusk light, the scene reminds me of a painting from the Dutch Golden Age with one character standing out from the crowd.