Butch Mazzuca, BPSA  

Motion on the Mara by Butch Mazzuca, BPSA

April 2026 - Motion on the Mara

About the Image(s)

“Motion on the Mara”

Canon 7Dii (crop frame) Canon 24-105 @ 105 (168mm equivalent) ISO 100 ??“ f22 ??“ 1/25th Tv

I’ve never submitted this shot into competition so I’m looking forward to everyone’s comments. I’ll begin by saying one of the most difficult aspects of capturing motion blur shots of herd animals is finding that lone individual that happens to be running nearby without a distracting background, foreground or other animals.



The second issue I had for this particular shot was that zebras and wildebeests don’t always coordinate their crossings of the Mara River :-) ??“ and I wanted a motion blur shot of a zebra. BUT, there were very, very few zebras mixed in with the thousands of wildebeests during the crossings we witnessed, so I considered myself EXTREMELY fortunate to have spotted this lone zebra at full gallop with nothing between us and a non-distracting background.

8 comments posted

David Kepley   David Kepley
Butch,
I had the same experience in the Masai Mara taking shots of wildebeasts and zebras. Hard to shoot one separated from the many, so great patience on your part! I'm assuming that youshot this while panning to get the head and body pretty sharp and the legs blurred. Great technique. This is one of those techniques I'd like to try a bunch of time to get the right combination of the speed of the animal and the amount of blur that looks best. In this shot 3 of the four legs are scarcely visible.   Posted: 04/02/2026 18:44:38
Butch Mazzuca   Butch Mazzuca
He was running FAST! :-)
  Posted: 04/02/2026 19:08:14
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
First, this is a visually stunning image. Panning the camera and keeping the important parts of the subject sharp and crisp is difficult while maintaining adequate blur. You have done this quite well. This may well be the best image I've seen from you. The conversion to monochrome was a wonderful choice as the absence of color brings out the structure and form of the image. I appreciate the rising diagonal of the zebra's body as it makes the motion feel stronger and a creates a feeling of drama. The clean background is just a nice bonus. This might be a good candidate for entry not only as a Nature image, but as a monochrome image as well although you might strengthen the whites if it is entered in monchrome.   Posted: 04/02/2026 19:30:17
Butch Mazzuca   Butch Mazzuca
Thank you Larry - I always learn something when you review images - much appreciated   Posted: 04/02/2026 21:36:28
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Thanks Butch. Just calling 'em as I see "em. When an image has that "it", what every that is, it just sings. This one is an opera!   Posted: 04/02/2026 22:40:47
Ann Von Pentz   Ann Von Pentz
Butch,
This is a very strong and beautiful panning image...love it! Immediately, the image communicates motion and the monochrome treatment emphasizes simplicity, making it all about the zebra. The zebra's head is sharp and anchors the image while the blur in the lower part of the image implies the energy and speed. The only thing I might do is add a radial gradient to slightly increase exposure on the head and face to bring more attention there. Beautiful!   Posted: 04/07/2026 03:11:29
Butch Mazzuca   Butch Mazzuca
Thank you for you kind words Ann, they're genuinely appreciated   Posted: 04/07/2026 03:35:43
Cindy Marple   Cindy Marple
It's challenging to get a pan-blur to work, but when it all comes together like this it is such a striking image. I don't think I've tried as slow as 1/25 before, I'm going to have to remember that as it gave you a really nice amount of blur.
I also think the b/w conversion was the ticket here. I'd like to see the whites a tiny bit brighter and like Ann's suggestion about brightening the head.
Well done, this is a wonderful image.   Posted: 04/19/2026 01:00:38

 

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