01/06/2026
Sometimes I think about how difficult it is to do justice to a sky like this.
The real challenge is always balance — balance between the subject and everything around it.
Now imagine a cheetah climbing a tree at sunset. The first instinct for most photographers would be to zoom in, expose for the cheetah, maybe front-light it, keep detail in the animal, get the classic “epic wildlife shot.”
And honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that.
But when I saw this scene, the sky became my subject.
I asked my guide to position the vehicle directly against the light for a silhouette. He thought I was making a mistake. But to my relief, I was completely alone at the sighting, so I had the freedom to experiment without ten other cars blocking the angle.
The tree was what held the frame together for me — its shape breaking the fire in the sky — and the cheetahs became the final detail, almost like little bonus points hidden inside the scene.
For me, wildlife photography is not always about showing the animal clearly. Sometimes it’s about showing the feeling of the moment.
Q: What would you have done in my position?
Exposed for the cheetah… or gone for the silhouette?
Shot on Nikon Z9 with NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
