Weekly Photo Challenge: Ornate

Years ago, I lived for a year and a half in the UK, and spent a lot of time on my weekends touring properties listed under the National Trust.  If I had been asked to come up with photos to describe my impression of ornate at that time, I would have drawn on references such as rococo furniture, tapestries, paintings with gilded frames, the fencing surrounding Buckingham Palace and the gardens of Hampton Court.  All are still valid today, and I could go back in my archives and find dozens of examples… but my brain seems to work differently now.

Now, when I think of ornate, I think of birds.  The beautiful detail of feathers when seen up close.  The dizzying array of patterns, colours and textures.  The mating performances.  Even the patterns of their flight.

When you look at the birds below quickly, they seem to be dusty creatures in tones of beige, brown and grey.  So take a closer look at a few ornately decorated birds I found in Botswana and South Africa.

A pair of namaqua sandgrouse. Who says you can't pair stripes and polka dots together? Kalahari Desert, April 2015 1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400
A pair of namaqua sandgrouse. Who says you can’t pair stripes and polka dots together?
Kalahari Desert, April 2015
1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400
An orange river francolin, also in the Kalahari Desert. This one had been digging in the dirt. At least the coating of mud on his front feathers doesn't obscure the wide variety of patterns and colours on display. April 2015 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400
An orange river francolin, also in the Kalahari Desert.
This one had been digging in the dirt. At least the coating of mud on his front feathers doesn’t obscure the wide variety of patterns and colours on display.
April 2015
1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400
A swainson's spurfowl (I believe our ranger referred to it is a slit-neck francolin as well, or something like that). I was lucky that bird stayed still for such a long time, usually these scurry off into the bushes site quickly, but this one posed perfectly so we can see not only the intricate feathers, but the texture on his legs and around his eyes. Seen in the Okavango Delta April 2015 1/800sec, f11, ISO640
A swainson’s spurfowl (I believe our ranger referred to it is a slit-neck francolin as well, or something like that).
I was lucky that bird stayed still for such a long time, as usually these scurry off into the bushes site quickly.  This one posed perfectly so we can see not only the intricate feathers, but the texture on his legs and around his eyes.
Seen in the Okavango Delta April 2015
1/800sec, f11, ISO640
A crested francolin at the roadside in the TImbavati. May, 2015 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO 200
A crested francolin at the roadside in the TImbavati.
May, 2015
1/640sec, f5.6, ISO 200

Ornate

2015-09-021: Monochrome Monday

A gorgeous female leopard lounges on a fallen tree.  I love the positioning of her head and the curl of her tail.  I even like the harsh shadows, as it shows she was out and about long after leopard are usually tucked away for the day to beat the heat. 1/1600sec, f7.1, ISO 640  Monochrome conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro
A gorgeous female leopard lounges on a fallen tree. I love the positioning of her head and the curl of her tail. I even like the harsh shadows, as it shows she was out and about long after leopards are usually tucked away for the day to beat the heat.
1/1600sec, f7.1, ISO 640
Monochrome conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro

The Daily Post: From Every Angle

After seeing this challenge, I decided to go through the photos I took of fish eagles throughout my last trip to Southern Africa.  I saw them from a lot of different vantage points, including from above, which is a unique way to watch birds.

I hope you enjoy!

Looking into the river, looking for the next meal. 1/1000sec, f10, ISO 400
Looking into the river, looking for the next meal.
1/1000sec, f10, ISO 400
This juvenile fish eagle was perched in a tree across from my room.  The branches in the background are distracting, but I couldn't ask him to move, and I didn't want to spend ages photoshopping them out. 1/32sec, f5.6, ISO100
This juvenile fish eagle was perched in a tree across from my room. The branches in the background are distracting, but I couldn’t ask him to move, and I didn’t want to spend ages photoshopping them out.
1/32sec, f5.6, ISO100
The tilt of the head shows off the hooked book. 1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 100
The tilt of the head shows off the hooked book.
1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 100
An attempt at dinner as the light fades.  This time, he was unsuccessful. 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 6400
An attempt at dinner as the light fades. This time, he was unsuccessful.
1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 6400
A view from behind.1/800sec, f7.1, ISO 800
A view from behind.1/800sec, f7.1, ISO 800
Watching a fish eagle fly from above, during a helicopter tour of the Okavango Delta. 1/1000sec, f9.0, ISO 900
Watching a fish eagle fly from above, during a helicopter tour of the Okavango Delta.
1/1000sec, f9.0, ISO 900
Capturing a fly by. 1/250 sec, f5.6, ISO 160
Capturing a fly by.
1/250 sec, f5.6, ISO 160
A pair of fish eagle perch along the river. 1/200sec, f7.1, ISO 200
A pair of fish eagles perch along the river.
1/200sec, f7.1, ISO 200
Flying off into the sunset. 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 2200
Flying off into the sunset.
1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 2200

Daily Post Photo Challenge

2015-08-31: Monochrome Monday

I exposed this shot for the sky, as I wanted to capture the amazing texture of the clouds and the suns rays visible behind the clouds.  The trees naturally went into silhouette.  Converting this to black and white emphasized the texture far more than the colour photo did. 1/1000sec, f7.1, ISO 110
I exposed this shot for the sky, as I wanted to capture the amazing texture of the clouds and the suns rays visible behind them. The trees naturally went into silhouette. Converting this to black and white emphasized the texture far more than the colour photo did. Okavango Delta, April 2015 1/1000sec, f7.1, ISO 110

Travel Theme: Mellow

I did a quick scan through my last batch of travel photos to find a few mellow shots to share.

I hope you enjoy!

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A leopard rests peacefully in a tree top near Baines Camp in the Okavango Delta. 1/800sec, f9.0 ISO 640
20150818_Travel Theme- Mellow-4
A lion cub chills out as dusk descends on Phinda Private Game Reserve. 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO 1600
20150818_Travel Theme- Mellow-5
A group of cheetah cubs take a rest on the road after a hard days play. 1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 1100
20150818_Travel Theme- Mellow-2
Sunrise over the Sabi Sands. 1/320sec, f5.6, ISO320
20150818_Travel Theme- Mellow
Sunset on the Timbavati, and the first star of the evening. 1/60sec, f4.5, ISO 500

Travel Theme: Mellow

Photo Challenge: Creepy

I guess truth be told, I don’t find the maribou stork creepy per se.  It’s more thinking back to kids stories about storks bringing home new babies.  I can only imagine a small child seeing one of these birds after hearing one of those tales, and then spending time being terrified about what might actually show up at home.

Whether they are really creepy or not, here are a few photos of maribou storks, creeping through the Okavango Delta in search of dinner.

Certainly not the most attractive bird I've ever seen (but I don't think the ugliest either).
Certainly not the most attractive bird I’ve ever seen (but I don’t think the ugliest either).
A group of caribou storks patrol the shallow waters of the Okavango Delta.
A group of caribou storks patrol the shallow waters of the Okavango Delta.
Creeping around in unison.
Creeping around in unison.

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One of the storks was successful on the hunt.
One of the storks was successful on the hunt.

The Daily Post – Creepy

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