A Graceful Descent | Getaway Photographer of the Year Finalist

We’re proud to announce that our talented in-house photographer, Ryan Rapaport’s photograph of a leopard descending a tree in the Sabi Sand is a finalist in the Getaway Gallery Photography Competition 2013!

Sponsored by Canon, the Getaway Gallery Photography Competition 2013 has been running since 1989 and features work from some of the world’s best travel photographers. Go Raps!

The photograph, captured on safari at the Chitwa Chitwa Private Game Reserve, in the Sabi Sand, features a young male leopard gracefully clambering down a tree to rejoin his mother after feasting on her kill in the branches above.

A Graceful Descent – by Ryan Rapaport

“A leopard is a rare sighting at the best of times but I experienced a once in a lifetime viewing during my stay at Chitwa Chitwa Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand. We followed a mother and her sub-adult cub in the early morning as they made their way back to a tree that had a kill perched in its branches. While the lazy mother relaxed at the base of the tree hidden in the long grass her cub clambered eagerly up the tree to sink his teeth into the kill. I managed to capture a sequence of moments as this young leopard rejoined his mother, his powerful claws tearing the bark off the tree as he went, his tail wrapping around the tree for added stability and his eyes focused on returning to his mother. I had to move fast to get the correct settings to freeze this perfect moment that I will never forget.”

– Ryan ‘Raps’ Rapaport

Camera Info:

Canon EOS 7D | Focal Length – 100mm | ISO – 250 | 1/2000 sec | f / 4.5

Please take a minute and vote for his photograph on the Getaway Gallery here, featured alongside many other superb entries from photographers worldwide! Winners will be announced in the January 2014 issue of Getaway.

The stunner above is one from a series that Ryan shot in Chitwa Chitwa – take a look at the whole story below…

Be sure to take a look at Chitwa Chitwa in our video of this unique luxury safari lodge in the Sabi Sand!

Contact one of our travel experts for more information about going on your own photographic safari in Africa!