All of the animals in the Serengeti National Park, including the elephants, are
visibly pleased as the long dry season finally ends, and the first rain in November begins to fall. The Serengeti short-grass savanna in early November is dry, brown, and has been cropped by grazers almost down to the ground. If you happen to be there, you can see it turn green almost overnight. The sky becomes brilliant as well, with fleecy white clouds that leave afternoon shadows on the green grass and happy herds. The matriarch leading her family in this image is a favorite of mine. We've seen her multiple times, always recognizable by the backwards tusk, which I am told she has had all of her long life.
I took the image with a Canon 7D with an EF 28-135 mm f/3.5 - 5.6 lens. The exposure settings were 1/250 sec, f/ 18, ISO 400, 41 mm.
