2024-03-03: African Travel

I wasn’t sure what to call this post, as it is simply all the African images I had saved in my quick collection in Lightroom, some from back in 2019, and others more recent. This finishes off the last of the really old trip images I wanted to edit, but I still have a few from 2022 that I’d like to work through, as well as my cruise images from 2023.

A young man lion, doing what lions do best. Madokwe, November 2022.
A very healthy looking male lion on patrol in the Sabi Sands. May, 2019.
Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side. November, 2022.
A leopard looking awkward, rather than regal. Sabi Sands, May 2019.
A lone bull elephant. Madikwe, November 2022.
The milky way from my cabin deck. Sabi Sands, May 2019.

2024-02-19: Zebras

Zebras felt like a good follow on to last weeks post showcasing some giraffe images. They are another lovely animal to spot in the bush, especially when they are chilled out and allow a photograph with some nice eye contact.

As I was editing these images, I noticed as I was zooming in and out many scars on the adults. Perhaps from a brush with a predator, conflict with another member of the herd, or scrapes and scratches from moving within thick bush quickly. Potentially, a combination of all three. Seeing images of a few different individuals highlights that all the stripe patterns are unique.

Both mama and the youngster having some dinner. Madikwe, November 2022.
A perfect zebra tail swish.
Watchful attention. Eyes and ears focus in the distance.
I love the eye contact from both these zebras, but this certainly wouldn’t be an image I would want to try and print, as I’d have to swap in a new sky due to the extreme number of small flying insects creating little black spots throughout the blue sky and clouds. At this size and resolution, it isn’t an issue worth the time to fix. And besides, that’s being out in the bush. Sometimes, it is extra buggy.

2024-02-11: Giraffes

The weekend got away from me, so just a quick few photos in the hopes that it helps me keep with the habit of completing a weekly post.

I selected some giraffe images to share today. They are such an interesting combination of goofy and elegant, and are usually quite chilled out when spotted on safari which allows for lots of photo opportunities.

The lack of hair tufts on the ossicones indicates a male giraffe. They lose the hair tufts as they spar with other males in the traditional necking competitions. The image above provides good contrast, and is either a female, or a young male that has not yet started necking.
These two were part of a much large mixed group of giraffe and zebra spotted at the side of the road while on game drive in Madikwe, South Africa.

2024-01-14: Jackals

After wild dogs last week, I decided to work on the few jackal photos I had this week. Jackals are fairly common on safari, but on this past trip, the jackal sighting I had were of moms and youngsters, which was very cute to see. These images were taken just before dusk, and we had only a minute or two at the sighting before they were gone.

We first spotted mama jackal in the bushes just off the road, and stopped for a quick photo.
After a few moments, one of the pups came out of the bushes.
Mom stepped into the bushes (we believe to another pup) and we only had a moment before this little one scurried after her. Madikwe, South Africa. November 2022.

2024-01-07: Wild Dogs

Like elephants (featured in my previous post), wild dogs are a firm favourite to spend time with on safari. I’ve been so fortunate to see wild dogs on the majority of my trips (East Africa in 2016 being the only time I didn’t see them) – which I know is not the experience of most people. My very first guide cautioned me about getting my hopes up to see wild dogs, mentioning that she had talked to clients who had never seen them despite multiple trips, but I have looked at the desire to see things in the wild as a someday request, not something that will make or break a specific trip (and I did end up seeing wild dogs on that first trip, during a day trip in Chobe Park in Botswana).

I spent a few days in Madikwe during my last trip and saw two different wild dogs packs on a couple of different sightings. A morning sighting where the group was active and on the move, and an evening sighting where the pack was quite chill. All of the photos below are from the evening sighting. If you are interested in seeing the other images of wild dogs posted from this trip, you can find them here and here. And you can use the search bar for wild dog posts and find a variety of posts from over the years. I’ve not looked through those archives, but I am guessing they all mention how lucky I am to see wild dogs so frequently.

2023-12-17: Elephants

I was drawn to elephants today, and wanted to put together a bit of a variety of images, so I have a few in colour and a couple in monochrome to share today. While I have a decent catalogue of elephant images, these are all from my most recent trip to Africa in 2022.

We came across this big guy moments after leaving camp for our morning game drive. I was quite fortunate as my seat mates didn’t go on morning drives, so my guide and I could have a relaxed time in the mornings and we could stop at sightings for as long (or short) as I wanted. I had to tell my guide that he needed to call it with the elephants we found, or we’d end up hanging out with them the whole time. It was a good thing we didn’t, as not long after this, we found wild dogs. I guess I know what I am editing for next week 🙂 Madikwe, South Africa. November, 2022.
I didn’t ask the elephant for directions, but it is pretty clear that they are directing us straight on the road 🙂 Madikwe, South Africa. November 2022.
This was quite an interesting sighting, as I was in a hide to watch birds when this elephant came over to drink and graze. It was amazing to watch from such a close distance. He absolutely knew I was there watching him, but wasn’t concerned with me at all.
Madikwe, South Africa, November 2023.
I love monochrome editing, both for the visual appearance of it, and the way it can save a strangely toned photo. Out of the camera, this image had a very strong magenta hue. The image was captured on an early morning game drive, and while sometimes a magenta cast is quite appealing, on this image, it wasn’t, and trying to correct for it yielded some rather strange results. So, monochrome it is. I think monochrome suits this image as it gives a better impression of how easy elephants can disappear into the bushes than the colour version did. Hwange, Zimbabwe. November 2022.
This small group was part of a much larger herd that came to the waterhole outside of our camp, drinking and bathing and then enjoying a mud bath in the mud pits next to the dam. I love the position of the elephants, showing the typical behaviour of keeping the smallest in between mom and another older elephant (perhaps an older sibling). Hwange, Zimbabwe. November, 2022

2023-09-10: Elephants in Silhouette

I’d always hoped for the chance to capture an image of elephants silhouetted against a sunrise or sunset. I had the opportunity when I was in Zimbabwe last year, though the results weren’t quite what I had in mind. I think if we had been in position about 15 to 20 minutes earlier, the sky would have been a bit brighter, though still colourful enough to be interesting. Though, of course, had we been in this particular spot earlier, the elephants wouldn’t have been there, as they were on the move and just passing through the area.

There are so many sightings I think would be interesting, and images I would love to capture. I don’t put pressure on myself or guides when we are out and about to find certain situations, as part of the joy of being in the bush is the unexpected. Though if we are at a sighting, I will ask for a vehicle to be repositioned, if it is safe to do so and doesn’t adversely impact others, in order to be able to capture better images, but usually, the guide has already thought of that as they position a vehicle.

2023-06-25: Elephants at Hwange

I’m in the process of making some changes to my cataloguing of photos. After a few years of trying to work with Capture One exclusively, I’m moving back to Lightroom for cataloguing and basic edits. Given how hectic life was during the time I was trying to use Capture One, I probably didn’t put enough effort into learning the program, but Lightroom feels easier to use, and right now, that’s enough of a pull to make the switch. In all honesty, it’s nice to have so many different choices of software to use, and my choice may change again in the future.

It’s a little tedious transferring over my star ratings, since there isn’t an automated way to do things, but at least it means I am going through all the photos again to decide if I do want to work on them in the future.

As for today’s image, it should be no surprise that I gravitated towards elephants. This sighting was right after lunch when we arrived at our camp in Hwange, and everyone enjoyed the antics of this group rolling in the mud and dust bathing.

2023-06-11: Giraffes

I had planned to edit a few images today, but then the day got away from me. This seems to be a familiar occurrence lately, and I am going to need to do a bit better in planning my time to work on photos.

This image caught my eye out of the grouping that I had flagged to work on. These young giraffes were necking in the warm glow of the early morning sun.

A pair of young giraffes necking, Madikwe, South Africa. November 2022.

2023-05-28: Giraffe

A giraffe on a hot and sunny day. I think I caught the giraffe mid-chew, making it look even a little more awkward than they normally do.

A giraffe seen in Zambezi National Park, Zimbabwe. November, 2022.
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