Have ever sat mere yards from a herd of elephants as they drank at a watering hole? What about had one brush by just inches from you? Or then tried to photograph the whole thing? No? Well, it's a good job Greg du Toit did, then.
In fact, doing so has just snagged him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013. The shot was take just after dawn at the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana. New Scientist explains how he captured the photograph:
Du Toit wanted to represent the animals as gentle yet ghostly, so he set a slow shutter speed, used a polarising filter and messed with the white balance to create a cool atmosphere. As he waited, a baby elephant trotted right in front of him, just in time for him to capture the moment.
The picture, as well as the other winners, are on display at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at London's Natural History Museum, from 18 October 2013 until 23 March 2014. [New Scientist]
Image by Udayan Rao Pawar/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013