2018-06-11: Monochrome Monday

A young rhino grazing peacefully in the early evening on Ongava Game Reserve in Namibia.  May it have the opportunity to live in peace, free from the harm of poaching.

 

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2018-06-10: Birds Projects – Sparrows and Swallows

It has been a challenging week for photographing the birds, with dull, cold, rainy days, and flat, lifeless skies.  But, regardless of the weather, the show must go on, and if I were on holiday I wouldn’t give up on taking pictures just because the weather wasn’t perfect.

I took a trip early in the week to a nearby farm where there are nest boxes for swallows and bluebirds.  While I saw a couple of brief glimpses of the bluebirds, I didn’t capture any images, so I will have to go back and try again for those.  I did get some good images of the swallows and bluebirds in the same area a couple of years ago, you can find that old post here.

It looks like the sun may make a brief appearance today, so it’s time to sign off and get outside and get shooting.  I hope you enjoy this week’s images, I am hoping to have some hummingbird images to share next week.

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I find it difficult naming the wide variety of small, brown and beige coloured birds we have in the area, but I am almost certain this is a Clay-Coloured Sparrow.  While it looks like the bird is singing a beautiful song, it actually sounded like some type of buzzing insect, which is the exact description of the song for this sparrow in my bird book.

To find out more about the Clay-Coloured Sparrow (and here the insect buzz call), check out the link below.

All About Birds – Clay Coloured Sparrow

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A tree sparrow peeks out from the nesting box.
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A tree sparrow couple during one of the brief moments of sunlight while I was out.

 

2018-06-03: Monthly Project – Bird Photography

Part of the reason that I chose bird photography this month was to get out and enjoy the nice weather, as well as get familiar with a new lens I have purchased.  So at first glance it may not make any sense that today I’m posting images from my last trip.  I have gotten out a bit over the past couple of days and taken some bird images, and I have been really impressed with the lens so far.  But I’m already half way through Sunday and I haven’t had a chance to start editing, so rather than miss posting altogether or rushing my editing process, I decided to go for some bird images from my catalogue that I haven’t posted before.

I hope you enjoy my selections for this week, and next week I will be sharing some of our local birds.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

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We came across a very large sociable weavers nest while on a game drive through Etosha National Park.  There was a lot of activity in and out of the large communal nest, here one of the birds pauses in a more open spot where it is easier to see them.
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Up against the nest, the weaver is very camouflaged.
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The nest itself was so large it brought down one of the large branches of the acacia tree.
crimson breasted shrike
This crimson breasted shrike played hard to get for a photo; this was the best that I could do while driving through the Makgadikgadi Pans.
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A beautiful glossy starling in early morning light.
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My personal favourite, the lilac breasted roller.

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…

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.

 

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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