Africa in Focus Photo Competition – Week Two Entries

Our annual Wilderness Safaris Photographic Competition has opened for entries. This year’s competition, Africa in Focus, invites entries taken anywhere on the African continent – photographs that celebrate the beauty and splendour of Africa.

This week we would like to focus on the breathtaking silhouette and sunset images that have been sent our way by entrants in the Africa in Focus Photo Competition.

Silhouette photography is an excellent way to add drama, mood and mystery to a photo. The intriguing dark shape or outline of a subject in front of a lighter background conveys a sense of the unknown that can easily draw a viewer in, and give them a deeper connection to your image.

There is no better background to do this with than an African sunset, the golden hour, best spent in the bush with a gin and tonic in hand and watching as the sky transforms through all its spectacular hues. For something different, try photographing the sunset with a telephoto lens. The sun will be much larger in your image, and other parts of the scene will be compressed, making them appear closer to the camera and each other than they really are.

“Lion King” by Marion Vollborn

“Golden light” by Simon Beevers’ the setting sun pierces the tree canopy to light up this elephant

“Ballet” by Lucien Beaumont; the bird with the longest legs in proportion to body size, a black-winged stilt in silhouette

“Another day” Claire du Preez; sometimes the African landscape presents such surreal scenes, you can't help but think it must be a dream. We sat for over an hour watching two male cheetahs enjoy sundowners with us.

“Fynbos” by Brent Daniel; South Africa's fynbos biome is populated by some 9 000 species of plants, nearly 80% of which are endemic. They're also wonderfully inviting to hike in.

“Sundowner in Nairobi” by Edouard Wenseleers; beautiful sunset in Nairobi National Park. This photograph was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw Kenya imposing a daily curfew for some months. It looked like these giraffes were going home before the start of the curfew that day...

“All Roads Lead to Beauty” by Isabel Gund; a safari jeep's tires made perfect leading lines through the golden grasses of Botswana to this magnificent baobab tree

“The End of Another Day” by Brett Wild; sunset over the vast lakes of the Makgadikgadi Pans

“Night Feast at the Waterhole” by Randall Ball; spotted hyaena feeding on the remnants of a zebra carcass at a waterhole

“Sunset” by Melchior Koopman; the setting sun was nicely hidden by this gentle giant, bringing out the beautiful colours in the sky. Photo taken from a small boat on the Chobe River.

Do you have a silhouette or sunset image that you think is better? We would love to see the best images you have to offer. You can submit your entries here.