<\/p>\n It’s this split-second clarity that ultimately earned Allen<\/a> the Travel Image of the Year title, as well as the Winner \u2013 One Shot: Travel in Monochrome category.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Chosen from more than 20,000 entries across 160 countries, his photograph topped one of the most competitive travel photography contests in the world.<\/p>\n Allen, a seasoned wildlife photographer and founder of PhotoSafari<\/a>, has spent more than three decades living and working across Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa. His work has previously been recognized by awards like the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, making this latest win a continuation of an already remarkable career.<\/p>\n About the winning shot<\/p>\n The image was captured in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its dense wildlife populations and dramatic landscapes.<\/p>\n Allen’s photograph shows a massive bull elephant bathing himself in dust \u2013 a natural behavior used to protect his skin from insects and the sun \u2013 captured in a fraction of a second, when everything aligned.<\/p>\n That visible eye \u2013 clear, sharp, and expressive amid the chaos \u2013 transforms the frame into a portrait.<\/p>\n The TPOTY praised the image for its razor-sharp timing, saying<\/a>: “Sometimes photography is about the defining moment, and you don’t get much more defining than this.<\/p>\n “A fraction of a second earlier or later and the elephant\u2019s eye is obscured, and it becomes simply a picture of dust.”<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n A winning gear combination<\/p>\n \n The Sony FE 200-600mm f\/5.6-6.3 G OSS picks up the baton from the prestigious FE 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6 G M OSS<\/a>, extending the telephoto reach by 50 per cent, with virtually no compromise in all-round performance (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n Capturing moments this precise demands equipment that can keep up \u2013 and Allen relied on a proven photography setup.<\/p>\n The image was captured using a Sony A1 II<\/a>, alongside the Sony FE 200-600mm f\/5.6-6.3 G OSS. <\/a><\/p>\n With its full-frame sensor performance, dependable AF tracking (autofocus) and stabilization, Sony’s Alpha system proved perfectly suited to capturing a moment like this.<\/p>\n Paired with Sony’s super-telephoto zoom \u2013 a lens prized by wildlife photographers \u2013 Allen gained exceptional reach, sharpness, and optical stabilization.<\/p>\n Shooting at 1\/750 sec, f\/6.7, ISO 1000, the shutter speed ensured crisp detail, while the telephoto compression added drama and scale to the scene.<\/p>\n If you want to explore more winning images, please visit the Travel Photographer of the Year website. <\/a><\/p>\n You might like…<\/p>\n Browse the best cameras for wildlife photography,<\/a> the best lenses for bird photography and wildlife<\/a>, and the best telephoto lenses.<\/a><\/p>\n Looking for competitions to enter? Here are <\/a>10 global photo contests now open for entries from February to May.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GMLVBD2frPpfdezCUF8PYS.jpg\")
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