South Africa – Page 36 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

June 14, 2013

And now, for something a bit horny…

Hey you – made you look! You probably weren’t expecting a post dedicated to Rhinos, were you?

Part of my desire to see a Rhino was based on fear. Fear that if I waited too long, they would be poached into extinction. I certainly hope that doesn’t happen. At last count, 273 had been lost in Kruger National Park this year alone. It makes me feel sad and dismayed that people cling to these outdated, and patently false beliefs about the power of Rhino Horn (or Bear Gallbladder, Tiger parts…) Sadly, as long as there is a market for these items, people will continue to brutalize animals.

The first time I saw a Rhino, it was somewhat anti-climatic. We were just about to stop for sundowners, and there they were…. It was one of those sighting that I had to be told where to look, and I still didn’t see them at first. They were far from us, in the tall grasses and amongst some bushes, in the falling light. Blackish grey blobs in the distance. Even at 300mm zoom, I couldn’t get a decent view of them. It didn’t help that the group of three was so focused on grazing, not a single one raised their heads the entire time we were stopped. It was exciting to know they were there, but I really didn’t get a sense of them at all.

It wasn’t until our last evening game drive that we had a proper opportunity to watch the rhinos and get some good photo opportunities. I was surprised by how close we were able to be to them in the vehicle, but they were completely unconcerned with us. We were completely captivated viewing them, and they were completely captivated by their grazing. I had heard previously that rhinos have terrible vision, and looking at them up close, it is easy to understand that fact, as they appear to have very small eyes in proportion to their body size, and they always look to me a bit squinty, like they need a strong pair of glasses.

Heading off for a new patch of grass. Rhinos at Londolozi, April 2013

May 30, 2013

Lion at Londolozi

Now that I am FINALLY finished my Bachelor of Commerce degree, I have been able to start taking photography courses. Learning more about photography technique is something that I have wanted to do for awhile, I just never had the time. I was so excited to be finished my degree; to have more free time to pursue other interests, but in the end, I lasted a measly 7 weeks without any school. I just enjoy learning new things.

In Saturday’s class, we were working on an editing process and asked to bring in a minimum of 100 shots, and they could be recent or something that we did previously, as long as it was shot in RAW. So I packed up about 800 pictures from two days at Londolozi, and headed off to class. At the end of our editing exercise, we had to submit the 8 best edited shots we had.

The woman that sits next to me described it as “Sick!” – I was pretty sure that was good, but I actually double checked on urban dictionary to be certain (and then I felt old….) I think this photo falls into my top ten shots taken at Londolozi and probably in my top ten shots of the entire trip.

This beautiful Lion (I believe he is referred to as Hip-Scar Majingilane, but I could be mistaken) provided us with wonderful photo opportunities. He was located right at the entrance to the property, and was very casual around us, and went about his business grooming, snoozing and staying very still for great shots.

I could have spent the whole day watching this fella, and I imagine if I had the opportunity to see him daily, I would never grow tired of it.

***November 30, 2015: Note I’ve had to update this post as I had to reload the original images that I included with this post.

May 20, 2013

Sundowners

I first came across the term sundowners on a trip to Hong Kong. Basically, it’s just a fancier way of saying an after work drink.

Now, popping into a nice pub or sitting on a patio having an after work drink is a great, but having a sundowner on the African Bushveld, or a Zambezi River cruise – that’s absolutely fantastic. I admit freely that these photos are not the best pictures I have taken. The photos really weren’t the point – they were almost an afterthought.

On the river cruise, I relaxed and chatted with my parents, enjoyed a cold Zambian beer and spotted wild life and birds on the shore. I had some fun playing with my camera photographing the sunset on full zoom, and ended up with the photos below, filled with colour.

For sundowners at Londolozi, I enjoyed the company of our fabulous guide and tracker, Talley and Freddy, the other guests along for the game viewing, and a cold glass of Chenin Blanc (and far too many Chili Bites). I even left my camera on the vehicle, not just once but on two different evenings and had to climb back up for it, as I was so content simply enjoying the peace and tranquility of watching the sunset in what I can honestly say was my favorite place on earth.

I am shocked I managed to get this last photo, as I didn’t have a tripod and was trying to avoid the dreaded camera shake on a fairly lengthy exposure.