Tag: Botswana

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Kalahari Sunset

I have been doing my best to spend at least an hour each day going through my photos and finally working on organizing and rating them.  It may sound boring to some, but I absolutely love it.

I spent the evening going through photos from the Kalahari Desert, and kept coming back to this sunset photo.  The colours make me smile, so I thought I would share.

Have a great evening!

A beautiful sunset over the Kalahari Desert. Taken during a sundowner drinks stop at Kalahari Plains Camp, April 2015. 1/60sec, f4.0, ISO400
A beautiful sunset over the Kalahari Desert. Taken during a sundowner drinks stop at Kalahari Plains Camp, April 2015.
1/60sec, f4.0, ISO400
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Half and Half

This weeks WordPress photo challenge is half and half, and the first thing I thought of was all the sunset photos I took during an Okavango Delta sundowner cruise.  We stopped the boat in a tiny bay, and had a beautiful view of this small island with the sun setting behind it.

A beautiful sunset on the Okavango Delta, Baines Camp, Botswana. April 2015. 1/250sec, f8.0, ISO 100
A beautiful sunset on the Okavango Delta, Baines Camp, Botswana. April 2015.
1/250sec, f8.0, ISO 100

Half and Half

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Travel Theme: Land Meets Water

I think my favourite place (so far) where I have seen land meet water, is the beautiful Okavango Delta.  Experiencing it by helicopter is truly a breathtaking experience.  Here is my choice for the photo challenge Travel Theme: Land Meets Water

The glorious Okavango Delta, where the division between land and water changes on a daily basis.
The glorious Okavango Delta, where the division between land and water changes on a daily basis.
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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Colour – Bright Green

Here is my photo for Cee’s new Colourful World challenge.  The colour of the week is lime or bright green.  This little bee eater, perched amongst the bright green leaves of several different types of plants, seems a good fit.

A little bee eater perched in the shade, away from the mid day heat. Baines Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana. April 2015.
A little bee eater perched in the shade, away from the mid day heat.
Baines Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana. April 2015.
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Kalahari Desert Star Trail

I’ve not had the opportunity to work on many star trails (only twice before this past trip) and while we had clear skies almost every night, there wasn’t always an opportunity to photograph the stars.  Most places we stayed had covered decks plus tree cover, and at almost every property it was against the rules to leave your room unattended after dark due to things like lions and leopards.  And the few places I did have the chance to work from my room, I didn’t necessarily have the best view of the stars, and it wasn’t advisable to leave the camera outside over night working, so I was limited to my waking hours (and when getting up before 5am, those aren’t too late).  Now add to all those limitations the fact that once I finally had the chance to stack the photos, I realized I got the settings wrong. Heavy sigh. 🙁

But…

I still like this composite.  I obviously set the period between photos far too long, as when you zoom in, you can see black spaces between the stars instead of a perfectly smooth trail.  To me though, when zoomed in it looks like a macro photo of some type of fabric.  I also like the way the curves are different from one side to the other.

This is a technique I definitely need to practice A LOT more, and I am looking forward to learning the proper settings.

A composite that is filled with errors, but I still really like the final result.
A composite that is filled with errors, but I still really like the final result.
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Right way up

Don't adjust your computer, this is the right way up! A lovely reflection of river reeds and grasses on an unbelievably still channel in the Okavango Delta.
Don’t adjust your computer, this is the right way up!
A lovely reflection of river reeds and grasses on an unbelievably still channel in the Okavango Delta.
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Okavango Delta Highlights

The area of the delta where I stayed was one of permanent water, but day by day, changes in the landscape were apparent as the flood waters flowing in from the Angola highlands began to fill previously dry channels.  I think I had the best of both worlds as I was able to see the delta from both land and water – and as a special treat, by air on a helicopter tour.

I took over 1800 photos in 3 nights in the delta.  I hope you enjoy a few of the highlights.

A lone giraffe wanders through an area of new flood.
A lone giraffe wanders through an area of new flood.
A leopard peers down from a tree.
A leopard peers down from a tree.
A spectacular sunset over the delta, taken while on a sundowner boat trip.
A spectacular sunset over the delta, taken while on a sundowner boat trip.
A gorgeous female leopard using a fallen tree as a vantage point. I had no expectation of seeing leopard at all in the delta, but I had told my guide the previous afternoon that my dream photo would be capturing a leopard on a tree branch. In two days, I saw three leopards. Talk about lucky!
A gorgeous female leopard using a fallen tree as a vantage point. I had no expectation of seeing leopard at all in the delta, but I had told my guide the previous afternoon that my dream photo would be capturing a leopard on a tree branch. In two days, I saw three leopards. Talk about lucky!
A pair of spotted hyena cubs rest outside of their den.
A pair of spotted hyena cubs rest outside of their den.
Stand-by passengers at the airstrip?
Stand-by passengers at the airstrip?
A fish eagle from above.
A fish eagle from above.
The delta by air.
The delta by air.
A herd of elephants from above.
A herd of elephants from above.
Water crossing! One of the camp vehicles carrying luggage from the airstrip to the camp.
Water crossing! One of the camp vehicles carrying luggage from the airstrip to the camp.afr
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Kalahari Plains

The Kalahari was far, far greener than I anticipated.  I had expected a dry and dusty, somewhat barren landscape.  But we arrived at the end of the rainy season, and the desert had received rain only a day before we arrived, so everything was quite lush and green.  As such, all the animals we saw were very well fed.

Here are a few images from my time at Kalahari Plains.

A pair of lion cubs peek at us from behind their mom.
A pair of lion cubs peek at us from behind their mom.
A Kori bustard searches the grass for his next meal.
A Kori bustard searches the grass for his next meal.
A black backed jackal gives us the eye as the daylight begins to fade.
A black backed jackal gives us the eye as the daylight begins to fade.
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Wild Dogs

I recently had a request for some more wild dog photos, so I spent some time this evening going through the photos I took back in April 2013 when I was lucky enough to see them in Botswana.  I had dismissed many of the photos when I originally took them, as the light was rather difficult, but what a difference a year makes.  I have more skills in editing now, and am able to correct things that I wasn’t able to just a short time ago.    I didn’t have time to go through all the photos I flagged this evening, so if you are a betting person, you can put money on the fact that you’ll see more of this group later in the week 🙂

Torn ears and a face full of flies. 1/400sec, f5.3, ISO1600
Torn ears and a face full of flies.
1/400sec, f5.3, ISO1600
A group of wild dogs rests in the shade from the mid afternoon heat, at Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana. 1/500sec, f5.3, ISO1600
A group of wild dogs rests in the shade, away from the mid afternoon heat, at Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana.
1/500sec, f5.3, ISO1600
I have no idea what they might have saw, heard, or smelled, but it certainly captivated the attention of the group. 1/640sec, f4.8, ISO800
I have no idea what they might have saw, heard, or smelled, but it certainly captivated the attention of the group.
1/640sec, f4.8, ISO800
A wild dog heads away from the group. 1/1000sec, f4.5, ISO800
A wild dog heads away from the pack.
1/1000sec, f4.5, ISO800
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