January 2026 Wildlife Photography Contest Advanced Category Winner

On 20 August 2020, during a photo safari in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve bordering Kruger National Park, South Africa, I encountered a leopard stalking a steenbok through long yellow grass. To capture the tension of the moment, I deliberately broke convention, using a zoom-burst technique with a slow shutter speed. By zooming out from the leopard’s eye while pressing the shutter, the grass dissolved into a dramatic blur, creating a vignette of motion while keeping the predator’s head relatively sharp.

Sabi Sand is renowned for offering some of the finest leopard photography opportunities in the world. Generations of leopards here grow up accustomed to the presence of game viewers, allowing photographers to witness their natural routines — hunting, feeding, playing, and mating — without distraction. This unique coexistence provides rare chances to experiment creatively in the field.

With an exposure of 1/13 sec at f/25 on a Canon EOS R5 and a Canon 70–200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the image transforms a fleeting moment of predation into an abstract study of motion and focus. Blurred Boundaries embodies the spirit of “Breaking the Rules” — challenging the convention of sharpness to reveal drama through distortion.