Zebra – Page 3 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

June 4, 2018June 3, 2018

2018-06-04: Monochrome Monday

A beautiful zebra for this week’s Monochrome Monday image.

Have a great week!

Look at the beautiful long eyelashes on this zebra! Great for keeping the flies away from her eyes.

May 2, 2018May 1, 2018

2018-05-02: Wordless Wednesday

February 11, 2018

2018-02-11: Revisiting Old Work

Another week, and another trip down memory lane in terms of my photography. I’m really glad I made the decision to work on images already captured for this month, as we got rather buried in the snow the past week, and I haven’t had the time, or the energy, to get out and try and capture anything new.

This week is a mixed bag of images, shot locally and in Africa, in colour and black and white.

20180211_Revisit_JSawicky0 — From 2014, a sunrise image of the Golden Ears from the dikes in Pitt Meadows where I used to walk my dog.

20180211_Revisit_JSawicky1 — Flying over Victoria Falls on the way into Livingstone airport in Zambia. Previously, I wasn’t really able to pull out any decent texture from photos shot through windows. Zambia, April 2013.

20180211_Revisit_JSawicky2 — Victoria Falls from the Zambian side. I was very fortunate to see it with just the right water level; enough so the falls looked incredibly impressive, but not so much that it was completely shrouded in mist. Zambia, April 2013.

For my then and now image, I chose this zebra from my first trip to South Africa. The original black and white conversion was done in Lightroom using a few basic adjustments, not long after I returned from my trip. The updated image was edited recently using a combination of plugins in Photoshop, including MacPhun Tonality and Topaz Detail. I’m sure I could achieve similar results simply using On1 Photo Raw (I’m not using Lightroom any longer for processing), but I like the ease of using Tonality for black and white edits.

Zebra original.jpg — Then – a basic black and white conversion lacking a lot of contrast.

20180211_Revisit_JSawicky0 copy — Now – the zebra stands out much better against the foliage, and there is a lot more detail throughout the image.

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

August 8, 2017

2017-08-08: Phinda Game Reserve

After my time in Botswana, we finished out our trip at three different camps in South Africa. All were places we had visited previously and liked so much we wanted to return to experience them again.

Travelling from the Okavango Delta to the Durban area in South Africa is pretty much a full day event. We didn’t have time for a morning game drive, so we had an early breakfast and took a leisurely 1 1/2 hour drive to the airstrip that was being used by Machaba while the local strip was flooded. From camp we flew to Maun, onwards to Johannesburg and then finally into Durban, arriving around 9pm. Rather than take another flight, we had a driving transfer from Durban to Phinda, around a 2 1/2 hour drive, that left our hotel around 10 the next morning.

Arriving at Vlei lodge, we were greeted like family with welcoming hugs from Kathryn, the camp manager (whom we had also met during our previous stay). We also had a chance to reconnect with the wonderful chef Happiness, who even asked us for our favourite items from the previous stay, so she could make sure they were on the menu during our visit.

Unlike the lodges we visited later that were adjacent to Kruger, Phinda is a fully fenced reserve, and as such have taken the difficult decision to de-horn the rhino population in an effort to curb poaching. With horns or without, rhino are such impressive creatures to come across. It is just so sad that it has come to this in order to keep them safe. Like the properties in both Namibia and Botswana, Phinda had received an abundance of rain during the rainy season, after several years of rather severe drought. The abundance of food and water meant that general game were much more scattered, and often the game drives were quite for periods when we didn’t see any animals around. We did have one epic morning drive though filled with fun elephant encounters as well as several groups of rhino.

Phinda is definitely a good place to go if you are interested in seeing cheetah. We saw 6 different cheetah during our stay, including a mom with 3 cubs.

Here are a few of my images from my recent visit to Phinda. If you are interested, you can find some from my previous visit here and here.

20170808_Phinda — A nightjar spotted by our guide Dumi on the way back to camp one evening. This was the first time I had a chance to photograph one of these birds. As with anything, a bit more practice required!

20170808_Phinda-10 — We spotted this herd of zebra, along with a large number of wildebeest on an afternoon game drive. It was a very blustery day, and the herd seemed quite on edge.

20170808_Phinda-9 — This group of five de-horned white rhino just wasn’t interested in cooperating and facing the same way for a photograph.

20170808_Phinda-8 — We spent time with a breeding herd at the water hole on a morning game drive.

20170808_Phinda-7 — Close encounters of the elephant variety! This guy was on route to the water hole, and wasn’t about to let our driving on the road slow down his pace.

20170808_Phinda-6 — We found these cheetah cubs and their mother later on the windy afternoon. They too were on edge and on high alert.

20170808_Phinda-5 — Our first afternoon game drive, we came across three lionesses wandering down the road.

20170808_Phinda-4 — Being investigated by one of the elephants at the watering hole.

20170808_Phinda-3 — A yellow-throated long claw found on a foggy morning game drive.

20170808_Phinda-2 — Drink in hand and a full moon rising. This was a lovely break on what was otherwise a rather quiet game drive, where we saw only a few small groups of general game like impala and zebra.

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

July 16, 2017

2017-07-16: Highlights of Little Ongava

The second stop on my recent trip to Southern Africa was at the beautiful Ongava Game Reserve adjacent to Etosha National Park. Like at our first camp, here we also found a familiar face, as the camp manager we met on a previous trip to Namibia had moved over to this region, and was running the lodge during our stay. We had a wonderful time catching up with Maggie; I am still amazed that we not only found familiar faces so far from home, but that people remembered us as well 🙂

Typically, we went into the national park to explore on our morning game drives, and the spent the afternoons on the private reserve. The Etosha region had also received higher than average rainfall, and was very lush and green during our stay. Right before we arrived, they had a day of heavy rain, and on our first game drive we ended up stuck in the mud on one of the roads on the Ongava Reserve. After about 45 minutes, our awesome guide Willy managed to get the vehicle moving again. We were all covered in splattered mud from head to toe, but laughing and smiling; its all part of the safari adventure.

We spent time with elephants and rhino, lions and wildebeest. We saw zebra, oryx springbok and impala, and an abundance of birds. The reserve had a lovely hide, but due to the rains in the region, water sources were abundant and the man-made dam near the lodge was not being frequently used during our stay (with the exception of the resident terrapins). It was a beautiful region that I hope I have the opportunity to explore again in the future.

Here are a few images from my 3 nights in this beautiful area.

20170716_LittleOngava-3 — A bull elephant on Ongava Game Reserve. This big guy was attracting quite a crowd, as he is one of only four elephants on the reserve. All the elephants ended up there after breaking in from neighbouring Etosha, and then deciding to stay.

20170716_LittleOngava-4 — We saw many herds of zebra during our drives through Etosha.

20170716_LittleOngava-5 — This young wildebeest was part of a sizeable herd, but was unfortunately injured and hobbling around on a broken leg. This one will definitely be the animal the lions size up as a potential meal, the next time the pride and the herd cross paths.

20170716_LittleOngava-6 — We were fortunate to see both white and black rhino during our time in the Etosha area. Such impressive creatures.

20170716_LittleOngava-2 — One of the highlights driving through Etosha was coming across this group of brothers chilling out next to a waterhole. They were very close to the road, giving lots of people a fantastic opportunity to see lions up close. One of the brothers went into stalk mode, and crossed the road towards a group of springbok, but they had spotted him quickly so it was a no go for some springbok for breakfast.

20170716_LittleOngava-7 — A rock hyrax seen near the dining area at Little Ongava. This little one was calling out constantly and making quite a racket, but it took me a bit of time to spot it. Apparently, this hyrax is always hanging around the camp.

20170716_LittleOngava-8 — A pair of ostrich seen during a drive through Etosha National Park.

20170716_LittleOngava-9 — A waterbuck on the Ongava Private Game Reserve. Waterbuck are not a naturally occurring species in the area, but were introduced the the reserve around 10 years ago to see if they could cope with the terrain and climate. The population there has been thriving.

20170716_LittleOngava — Our last morning in Ongava, we spent time on the reserve rather than in the park, as we had a fairly early flight to our next destination. We were having a rather relaxed drive when another guest on the vehicle spotted a lion hidden in the grass in a thicket; we were able to drive closer and find the entire pride having a rest as the day heated up.

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

June 21, 2017

2017-06-21: Wordless Wednesday

June 4, 2017

2017-06-04: Artistic Impressions

I’m busily working behind the scenes trying to get my photos catalogued and rated so I can started the editing process. Good thing I still have a stock pile of edited images that I can share.

Today, some of my artistic impression images.

I hope you enjoy, and wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead.

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May 19, 2017

2017-05-19: Feel Good Friday

Last week I shared some images from my time in Ishasha, and this week, a mixed bag of images from my time in the Masai Mara region of Kenya.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!

DSC_8806-Edit — A zebra giving me a quick stare down. I find it is not too often that I get the opportunity to photograph a zebra straight on, as usually they turn away from the camera.

DSC_8907-Edit — A lion cub giving us the once over, before moving off to play with its sibling and a stick!

DSC_9348-Edit — A good 50% of the elephants that passed by our vehicle stopped and used this tree as a scratching post.

DSC_9430-Edit — Mama topi with a very small baby.

DSC_9942-Edit — A cheetah on a wildebeest kill. The weather was just calming after a torrential downpour, which might account for the miserable look on this cheetah’s face. That, or the vultures hanging around nearby.

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

May 15, 2017

2017-05-15: Monochrome Monday

It seems a bit strange to pre-schedule posts so far in advance. As I type this, it is still April, and when this gets uploaded, I’ll be on my last week of holidays in Africa. I know I will be coming home with lots of images and stories to share.

This week’s selection is another mixed bag from my time in Kenya.

I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful week.

DSC_9438-Edit — One of the zebra herd briefly checked out our vehicle before returning to grazing.

DSC_8212-Edit — An egret gets a free ride on the back of an elephant in Amboseli.

DSC_7568-Edit — A wildebeest appears to be on high alert (but honestly, with wildebeest, you never quite know).

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

May 14, 2017

2017-05-14: Masai Mara

The wildlife in the Masai Mara was just as amazing as it looks in all the nature programs that I watch. Here is a selection of images from my time there.