I had a completely different image ready to go, but something about it just wasn’t sitting right with me. So I started scrolling through my photo catalogue, and came across the series of images I took of a pride of lions that had treed a leopard, seen during my safari in 2015. That sparked my creativity in a whole new direction.
I wish I would have thought of creating a composite image like this when I was originally editing the series and creating a blog post about it. I think this image captures the essence of the sighting in a way the individual images were unable to. If you didn’t catch the story of the lions versus a leopard the first time around, you can fid it here. There was definitely a lot going on that morning!
I hope you enjoy this last instalment of my multiple exposure project. Next month, on to something new.
Happy Monday everyone! To start the week, I thought I’d share a group of mangy lion cubs, spotted near Ngala Camp last year. This was an excellent lion sighting; during the time we spent with them, we saw lots of interaction amongst the cubs and between the cubs and their moms and aunties. The pride males paid the group a brief visit, and we even had the opportunity to watch the little ones suckle and take trips to drink out of a deep puddle. There are a lot of times that you find lions in the daytime (or anytime really) and they do nothing but lay around like lumps, so it was wonderful to have so much going on during this sighting.
A group of lion cubs, under the watchful eyes of one of the pride females. Ngala Camp, May 2017.
This first multiple exposure image of the month is an idea that I jotted down in more than one place over several months, so I am finally glad to have a chance to explore it and create something.
I created this image utilizing photoshop, using some basic layer masks and adjusting the blend mode to suit. It really is that simple but that are lots of step by step tutorials available if anyone is interested in researching it further.
The lion image that is a basis for the composite was shot in Etosha National Park in Namibia in April 2017. This young male lion slunk across the road in full stalk position towards a herd of zebra, but as they had spotted him before he even started moving, it really was a wasted effort. The orientation of the zebra pictures I had from that same time period weren’t quite right for what I was looking to do, so I found one in my catalogue taken in the Okavango Delta in 2015 that worked much better. The positioning of the group of zebra and tsessebe give the impression that they were watching something in the distance… perhaps even a predator moving through.
There have been lots of exciting changes over the month, so I have decided to start a month in review post as a way to share what’s going on, highlight a few of my favourite images posted during the month, and let you know what the topic will be for next month. So let’s get started.
February’s topic of the month: Revisiting old work
I really enjoyed having a reason to scroll through the early days of my photo catalogues, looking for images that I may have overlooked the first time around, or just didn’t know how to properly edit them. It is a process I would recommend to anyone that is looking to see how far they have progressed as an artist. I found the then and now edits to be the most valuable though, as I could look at an image with fresh eyes compared to a previous interpretation. Some times the results were quite subtle, but I definitely learned a lot doing the work.
What’s new this month
A lot has been happening behind the scenes in February! I was able to finally move ahead with combining my blog and gallery sites into one cohesive website. You may have noticed the change to www.jennifersawickyphotography.com. I’m happy to have everything centralized in one place; it will make it much easier to share content in the future. I did all work myself, and I’m definitely not a web expert so it probably took me twice as long as it should, but it was a way to learn some new skills, challenge my brain a bit, and exercise my creativity in a slightly different way. All wins! My gallery is still under construction, but please take a look around and let me know what you think. I will be continuing to add more items over the coming weeks.
Five Favourites from this month
A young elephant getting a drink from a broken landscape pipe. This was one of the youngsters that thrilled me by repeatedly visiting me at my vehicle while his Mom stood by.
What’s coming up next?
For March, I have decided that I want to work on showcasing multiple exposures. I am definitely going to try my hand at doing some in camera multiple exposures, but I have had several ideas percolating for images for some time from items already in my catalogue, so this will give me the perfect opportunity to finally work on them. The winter has been challenging with a lot of snow, and I don’t think that it is wise to set myself a topic for the month that requires getting out a lot with my camera. The snow in my backyard for example is now waist high, so getting around and exploring is a bit tricky. And to be honest, not super appealing.
This is one of the multiple expose images I created last year. I am excited to delve into more work like this 🙂
The first WordPress photo challenge topic of the year is growth. There are lots of directions that this can be taken, but I’ve decided to use it as an opportunity to show off some of the younger generation of animals that I saw on my last safari. The wild is a dangerous place for youngsters, with so many species having mortality rates above 50%. I hope all of these animals have been able to grow strong and healthy.
A rhino cow and calf seen during a late afternoon game drive on the Ongava Reserve near Etosha National Park in Namibia. We were very fortunate to have several rhino sightings during our trip. Namibia, April 2017.This lion pride was very busy, with 6 small cubs, all of whom were suffering with mange. I am hopeful they all made it through the winter months. South Africa, May 2017.I have few photos of this sighting, as the light was falling rapidly and the cubs were deep in a thicket. But their antics were too adorable not to try and capture. So while their Mom fed on a giraffe kill, these two scampered around, wrestled, and attempted to climb the tree behind them. They even had a few moments of playing with the food. South Africa, May 2017. (1/250sec, f5.6, ISO 25,600)We came across these elephants just after setting out from camp early one morning. They had discovered an underground water pipe and had pulled it up to get to the water. Elephants of all sizes were enjoying a drink as the sun came up. Being amongst the elephants is definitely one of my favourite things; I could have happily spent the whole day with them. South Africa, May 2017.Right after leaving the elephants seen above, we saw this. I don’t think it gets any better in terms of an amazing sighting; we were able to track this beautiful leopard all the way to her new den site, and then spend time watching the tiny cubs explore their new home (a hollow log). South Africa, May 2017.
