You have heard me say that too often we shoot at eye level when shooting from a lower angle may be better. I have said that in the context of landscape images many times. Did you know that that is true not only for landscape images but also for wildlife shooting? There are many advantages of shooting at a low angle when taking images of animals.

• It makes the images more personal.

• When you are at the animal's eye level it just provides a different perspective because we are not always at eye level with them.

• Your background can be more uniform because part of your background is not dark and part of it light because of the sky. Shooting from a low angle when shooting animals or birds helps you to illuminate the sky from your background.

Because of my location relative to that of the elephant I am at eye level with the elephant. The foreground grasses show that I am quite low down. There is no bright sky in the background. We can see the water falling down from its trunk and mouth. It just would not have been the same had this image been taken from a higher elevation. Higher elevation works wonders for landscape images, not so much for most wildlife images.

Although I am not quite at water level, I am shooting from a reasonably low angle. It makes it look as though we are almost with the animals. A low angle provides a certain level of intimacy with the animals.

          As always, be safe. Animals can be very dangerous. I have almost lost my life on two different occasions due to interactions with hippos. I have been charged and almost trampled by an elephant while on foot. I have been attacked by two badgers. I have even had the displeasure of having an extremely dangerous encounter with a black mamba (snake). Please believe me, no image is worth your life. Always keep safety first. Respect the animals and keep your distance.