PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Tomasz Szpila | Muddy Trick

Name: Tomasz Szpila
Picture title: Muddy Trick
Category: People’s Choice
Nationality: Poland
Occupation: I am the CEO of a company and in my spare time I am an amateur photographer

Technical information
Camera: SONY A1
Lens: SONY FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS
EXIF: 1/1600 sec at ƒ/11.0 • ISO 1000
Accessories: –

Tomasz Szpila says:

During safaris, photography in the middle of the day is usually avoided because of the harsh light and the reduced activity of animals that tend to rest in the shade. But on this occasion, while relaxing after the morning drive, we noticed elephants visiting the waterhole only about 300 meters from our tents. Instead of letting the opportunity slip by, we asked our guide to take us closer by vehicle, so I could try for a tighter composition. My goal was to capture only the head, the trunk, and the spray of mud suspended in the air.

The subject was a solitary bull African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. In the late morning heat, he was fully engaged in his natural skincare routine, scooping up mud and flinging it across his massive body. To the eye, the mud seemed to fly in a random, chaotic pattern, but when frozen by the camera it revealed unexpected and almost sculptural shapes. The elephant spent only a few minutes at the waterhole before continuing on his way, leaving us with a fleeting but powerful reminder of how even the simplest behaviors can become extraordinary when seen through the lens.