Tag: landscape

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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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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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Dead Vlei

Dead Vlei was a place of amazing beauty. The colours were so intense, the landscape so surreal; a photo can't really do it justice, but it's all I've got until I have the chance to go back someday. You can be certain you'll see a few more photos from this gorgeous place.
Dead Vlei was a place of amazing beauty. The colours were so intense, the landscape so surreal; a photo can’t really do it justice, but it’s all I’ve got until I have the chance to go back someday. You can be certain you’ll see a few more photos from this gorgeous place.
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Londolozi Highlights

Londolozi is well known for having amazing leopard sightings, and I certainly had one during my stay, but you’ll have to stay tuned to a future post to hear all about it and see the photos, as that encounter definitely deserves to be a post on its own (as does the Pangolin sighting!!!) 🙂
We had an absolutely fabulous time during our two night stay, and a lot of laughs with our ranger Dave and tracker Judas. I’d be back there tomorrow if I could (I think in fact I asked Phil the camp manager more than once if I could hide myself away somewhere just so I could stay longer).
The following are just a few of the moments that made me smile during my time there; I took over 1500 photos during my stay, so you can be certain you’ll see many more in the coming days and weeks.

This very blog was started after my first trip to Londolozi in 2013.  In case you missed those first posts, you can find some of them here (or use the search function at the bottom of my home page to find them all!)

My First Leopard Sighting

Leopard Sightings – Even Better the Second Time

Here is a link to my guest blog post from my first trip to Londolozi, in case you missed that:

A Home at Tree Camp

And now for the images – I hope you enjoy!

A small group of wildebeest gather around a tree, on a perfect autumn afternoon. 1/1000sec, f10, ISO360
A small group of wildebeest gather around a tree, on a perfect autumn afternoon.
1/1000sec, f10, ISO360
A saddle billed stork on one of the sandy banks in the river. 1/1000 sec, f9, ISO 560
A saddle billed stork on one of the sandy bars in the river.
1/1000 sec, f9, ISO 560
This photo brings me close to tears; I think it shows what I love best about being out in the bush, just bearing witness to the day to day lives of animals. I absolutely love elephants, and capturing this tender moment when the youngster had a chance to suckle was one of the benefits of parking ourselves in the river and hanging out with this small family. 1/1000sec, f8, ISO 360
This photo brings me close to tears; I think it shows what I love best about being out in the bush, just bearing witness to the day to day lives of animals. I absolutely love elephants, and capturing this tender moment when the youngster had a chance to suckle was one of the benefits of parking ourselves in the river and hanging out with this small family.
1/1000sec, f8, ISO 360
We parked in the river to watch this small family group drinking and crossing the river. What came next??? 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400
We parked in the river to watch this small family group drinking and crossing the river. What came next???
1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400
Well and truly stuck! Our position in the river gave us brilliant viewing and photographic opportunities, but unfortunately left the land rover with tires at least half buried in the sand. Dave was so worried that we would be upset at waiting for rescue and being late for breakfast, but we all had an absolute blast; just another part of the safari adventure! 1/1250sec, f16, ISO900
We got well and truly stuck!
Our position in the river gave us brilliant viewing and photographic opportunities, but unfortunately left the land rover with tires at least half buried in the sand. Dave was so worried that we would be upset at waiting for rescue and being late for breakfast, but we all had an absolute blast; just another part of the safari adventure!
1/1250sec, f16, ISO900
The tractor arrived to remove our stuck vehicle from the river; I'm not sure if Dave has lived that one down yet. 1/1250sec, f10, ISO500
The tractor arrived to remove our stuck vehicle from the river; I’m not sure if Dave has lived that one down yet.
1/1250sec, f10, ISO500
The result of having to call for rescue, Dave ended up with the dreaded pink ammo pouch. I think it may be good luck though, as we had some amazing sightings after he took possession of it!
The result of having to call for rescue, Dave ended up with the dreaded pink ammo pouch. I think it may be good luck though, as we had some amazing sightings after he took possession of it!
Even after getting dragged out of the river, Dave still stopped in the sand along the river so I could photograph this beautiful white fronted bee-eater. 1/1250 sec, f10, ISO 1000
Even after getting dragged out of the river, Dave still stopped in the sand along the river so I could photograph this beautiful white fronted bee-eater.
1/1250 sec, f10, ISO 1000
The morning sky was like a painting, and I was happy just to sit and watch that;, stumbling across this herd of elephants made it all the better. 1/640sec, f5, ISO 3600
The morning sky was like a painting, and I was happy just to sit and watch that; stumbling across this herd of elephants made it all the better.
1/640sec, f5, ISO 3600
My first attempt at photographing lightning; I set up my camera on the tree camp deck under a patio umbrella, and let the camera do it's thing on a timer function while I enjoyed wine and dinner. We were out on drive and returned just before the rain started, but watched the most intense part of the lightning from the vehicle on the way back to camp. I'm pleased with the results for my first attempt; it was basically focusing and aiming at nothing and hoping for the best! 25sec, f11, ISO 800
My first attempt at photographing lightning; I set up my camera on the tree camp deck under a patio umbrella, and let the camera do it’s thing on a timer function while I enjoyed wine and dinner. We were out on drive and returned just before the rain started, but watched the most intense part of the lightning from the vehicle on the way back to camp. I’m pleased with the results for my first attempt; it was basically focusing and aiming at nothing and hoping for the best!
25sec, f11, ISO 800
A slightly different editing technique, but from the same storm as the other lightning photo (one of only a few periods of rain I had on holiday). 25 sec, f11, ISO800
A slightly different editing technique, but from the same storm as the other lightning photo (one of only a few periods of rain I had on holiday).
25 sec, f11, ISO800
I asked both my Dave's to find me owls, and they both succeeded :) The light was not in my favour for photographing this southern white faced owl, but I really like this black and white conversion. 1/1250sec, f6.3, ISO 900
I asked both my Dave’s to find me owls, and they both succeeded 🙂 The light was not in my favour for photographing this southern white faced owl, but I really like this black and white conversion.
1/1250sec, f6.3, ISO 900
A couple of iconic African shapes - elephants and cheetah. 1/250sec, f7.1, ISO 3600
A couple of iconic African shapes – elephants and cheetah.
1/250sec, f7.1, ISO 3600
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