Wildlife Photography How To

Greg Du Toit is a South African nature photographer and winner of the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. He recently made these amazing images of elephants taking a bath while he was submerged in their watering hole at Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve.

Du Toit said he wanted to capture eye-level images of these gentle giants from as closely as possible and explains, “It took me three months of studying the watering hole and the elephants’ behavior until I finally took the plunge and climbed into the water.”

Du Toit photographed the approaching elephants from a distance of about 20 yards, but once they entered the water he says they were barely two heart-pumping yards away. He then kept shooting with a wide-angle lens while they calmly went about their business.

Du Toit says the elephants didn’t perceive him as a threat, explaining “By submerging myself in their watering hole I became a part of their world and this allowed me to document their lives in a special way.”

You can find more of Du Toit’s spectacular imagery on his website and Instagram page, and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram at @ShutterbugPix where we’re sharing our favorite photos from our followers. And be sure to check out our earlier story featuring the 2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.

Via Daily Mail