Category: South Africa

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2018-07-02: Monochrome Monday

I didn’t plan on taking yesterday off of posting, but I had a last minute invite to play golf, and decided to do that instead of sit in front of the computer.  While I do my best to keep to the schedule I have set for myself for posting, sometimes a bit of leeway is in order, especially to take advantage of the all too short summer we have up here.

As for today, I wanted to share some more images from this fantastic leopard sighting.  The interaction we got to see between the cubs, and the cubs and their mom had all of us on the vehicle laughing.  The cubs raced around, climbing on everything in sight, tackling, chasing and biting at each other and then took the occasional break to have a cuddle with mom before repeating the process over again.

I hope you enjoy my picks for today.  Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead.

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The cubs pause at the top of a fallen tree to survey the landscape below.  They didn’t pause long before they were off again, exploring the ravine.
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What goes up, must come down.  
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There was some rather serious tail biting going on just after a shot this image.  Mom does not look too impressed!
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2018-05-28: Monochrome Monday

I thought it would be nice to start the week with some big cat cuteness.  I spent a morning watching this gorgeous leopard family in a swampy ravine; Mom mostly resting and watching as the youngsters climbed trees, played in the swamp, ran around in random circles and terrorized each other.  We were all laughing and smiling at the antics of the cubs, and I am glad I came away with some photos to share of the moment.

I hope you enjoy!

 

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A recognizably dirty look as one cub gets all of Mom’s attention, and the other seems none too pleased about it.
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Watching the world from a perch on a high fallen tree.
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Diving for her sibling’s tail.
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One tries for a peaceful drink, while the other takes a bite of tail.
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Mom joined in on the fun as well, chasing the cubs up the hill.  I’m not sure if the cub was attempting escape or a kick to her head…
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2018-05-27: Painterly Effects Project – Elephants

Anyone that has read this blog more than once or twice is familiar with my love of elephants.  So it should come as no surprise that I have created a painterly effects project using elephant images.

I’ve really enjoyed working with elephant images this week, as the large, recognizable shape has allowed me to work with some very abstract settings, without compromising the ability to know what it is you are looking at.

I hope you enjoy my images for the week, and wishing you the best for a positive and happy week ahead.

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A pair of young elephants greet each other with affection.
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A pair of bull elephants test each others strength in the shallows of the river.
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Follow me.
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A herd of elephants gathered at a dam.  This is an 8 shot stitched panorama.
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Mother and daughter stealing a drink from a broken pipe.

 

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2018-05-21: Monochrome Monday

Today I felt inspired to share a few images from my last morning game drive before heading home from safari last May.  It was a rather epic morning, featuring elephants, leopards and this pair of lions (basically an entire safari’s worth of sightings in one morning).  After listening to lion calls whilst having our morning coffee and rusk stop, we found this pair a short distance away.  They would walk together for a short distance along the road, stop and survey the area or lay down for a few minutes, and then carry on.

I hope you enjoy my selections; wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

 

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Pausing and listening before moving on.  There were lots of lion calls in the distance; lots of drama in the bush that day.
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An impressive guy, one of the Matshipiri male lions.
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A bit of lion flirting.
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We drove down the road from the lions a short distance so we could get photos of the pair walking towards us along the road.  Obviously they didn’t get the memo as to what was anticipated 🙂
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Our ranger parked alongside a termite mound to give the pair space as they came closer along the road.  They stopped to one side and looked as if they were going to mate (pictured here).  She suddenly changed her mind, crossed the road and climbed to the top of the termite mound we were parked alongside, and they proceeded to mate there instead.  When that happened, the pair was inches from the hood of our vehicle.
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2018-05-14: Monochrome Monday

Just a giraffe popping in to wish you an excellent week ahead.

 

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We were parked at the top of a hill for coffee when a giraffe suddenly popped into view, walking up one of the slopes.  Phinda Game Reserve, May 2017.
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2018-05-06: Topic of the month – Painterly Effects

To some, using software to make a photo look as if it were sketched or painted may seem like an abomination.  Photographers often go to great lengths (sometimes at great expense) to create sharp and crisp images that show the viewer exactly what the scene looked like.  But what about those times when that beautifully crisp, perfectly exposed image doesn’t convey the feeling of the moment?  Or, heaven forbid, what if you goof up on the exposure, or mess up the focus a bit, but the moment was great and you still want to do something  with the image?  These are just some of the reasons for exploring painterly effects with photography.  I’ve edited photos in the past for all those reasons and while I don’t post them too often, I do have a gallery of my favourite Artistic Impressions or Photo Art images.

This week, I was inspired by a vintage style travel poster I have had hanging up for around the last 12 years or so.  I see it every time I walk towards my sitting room; this week I was struck by the interest in creating a photo series inspired by it, whereas most of the time I just look at it and think “I really want to go to the Serengeti someday”.

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A quick snap of the poster that inspired this week’s editing.

I decided to do a series of Big 5 animals; I can imagine these in a vintage travel brochure advertising visiting the “Dark Continent” to see the wild and ferocious Big 5.  I edited all of them using the Topaz Simplify filter through the Topaz Studio program.

I hope you enjoy!

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