A photographer risked it all leaving his camera in the path of a gigantic herd of elephants — with incredible results.
Wildlife photographer Yarin Klein decided to put his camera that was connected to a remote control right next a huge herd of elephants in Amboseli National Park in Kenya.
Klein laid his Nikon D850 camera and 14mm f/2.8 lens on the ground, knowing that it could have been trampled and destroyed by elephants at any time.
But thankfully, the big risk paid off when the photographer recovered the camera and saw the stunning close-up shots that it had taken.
Klein, who is based in Israel, took the high-risk shots two years ago. However, the video of the moment has been going viral on social media in the last month.
“Amboseli National Park in Kenya is known for its huge herds of elephants. That day I saw a huge herd walking on a dry lake,” Klein tells PetaPixel.
“I took a few shots of them from a great distance with my telephoto lens and then I decided that I wanted to get closer, really close.”
‘I Hoped The Elephant Would Not Destroy My Camera’
It was at that moment that Klein decided to swap his lens and instead place the camera near the herd of elephants in pursuit of the ultimate shot.
“I saw the elephants were walking in the same path so I decided to leave my telephoto lens in my bag and switch to a 14mm wide angle lens with a remote control,” Klein explains.
“I’ve asked my driver at Amboseli National Park to go further so I could place the camera on the ground and wait for the elephant to approach it.”
It took several attempts before Klein got the perfect close-up shots of the herd of elephants. Throughout the process, the photographer was nervous about his camera being crushed by the massive animals but knew the opportunity was worth it.
“It took about seven times until I was satisfied with the angle and the final result,” Klein says.
“Of course, I hoped that the elephant would not step and crash the camera but it was a risk I am willing to take in these kinds of situations.
“I didn’t know what a treasure I had in my hands until I opened my computer and saw the photos later that week.”
More of Klein’s work can be seen on Instagram.
Image credits: All photos by Yarin Klein.