nature – Page 84 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

August 6, 2015

CEE’S BLACK & WHITE PHOTO CHALLENGE: HANDS, FEET OR PAWS

A tiny baby elephant wraps his trunk around his mama's front leg while she has a quick rest at the side of the road (and shows off his little foot in the process). Phinda Private Game Reserve, April 2015 1/640sec, f9, ISO 4000 — A tiny baby elephant wraps his trunk around his mama’s front leg while she has a quick rest at the side of the road (and shows off his little foot in the process).
Phinda Private Game Reserve, April 2015
1/640sec, f9, ISO 4000

August 5, 2015

Lions at Night

During my last trip to South Africa, I was lucky enough to watch lions at night not just once, but on four separate occasions. I have wanted to post these photos for a while; originally I held off as I printed two of them as a gift, and didn’t want to run risk that they would be seen on screen before the prints showed up in person (they looked AMAZING, if I do say so myself). I’ve finally had the chance to work through all the photos I had hoped to edit. A few of them are also on my Smugmug site, links are provided for anyone interested.

I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful evening.

A lioness passes incredibly close to the front of the landrover. Londolozi Game Reserve, May 2015 — A lioness passes incredibly close to the front of the landrover.
Londolozi Game Reserve, May 2015

Giving us a glimpse of her powerful teeth and jaws. Phinda Game Reserve, April 2015 — Giving us a glimpse of her powerful teeth and jaws.
Phinda Game Reserve, April 2015

What big teeth he has! Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015 — What big teeth he has!
Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015

20150805_Lions at night-8 — Such a beautiful cat. Phinda Game Reserve, April 2015

This lioness was obviously bored of all the attention she was getting. Phoned Game Reserve, April, 2015 — This lioness was obviously bored of all the attention she was getting.
Phinda Game Reserve, April, 2015

20150805_Lions at night-11 — Keeping a watchful eye out. Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015.

CEE’S FUN FOTO CHALLENGE: PEACH OR APRICOT COLORS

Flying over one of the areas of salt production on Namibia's coastline. April 2015. 1/800sec, f10, ISO 320 — Flying over one of the areas of salt production on Namibia’s coastline.
April 2015.
1/800sec, f10, ISO 320

CEE’S FUN FOTO CHALLENGE: PEACH OR APRICOT COLORS

August 4, 2015

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

August 2, 2015

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Older Than 50 Years

I didn’t think I would be entering any photos for this challenge, as I couldn’t think of any subject to photograph. Then, a couple weekends ago, I signed up to go for a hike to Ancient Forest. We had a beautiful day for a hike in the forest, and lucky for me, a member of one of the local hiking groups accompanied the group I was with, to give a talk about the area.

Certainly if you are in the Prince George area it is a beautiful place to visit, and a very unique ecosystem in the region. Some of the cedars in the forest were in excess of 5 metres in diameter and over 2,000 years old.

Standing in the middle of the forest, looking straight up.

The beauty of the sun filtered by tree branches.

Tourism PG

CEE’S BLACK & WHITE PHOTO CHALLENGE: OLDER THAN 50 YEARS

July 18, 2015

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

July 15, 2015

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.

July 14, 2015

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.

July 13, 2015

African Harrier Hawk

Partway through our game drive on our last morning at Chitwa Chitwa, I spotted a fairly large bird in some trees a short distance from the vehicle, and our guide Surprise quickly realized that it was a hawk that had been successful hunting. We headed closer but the hawk was definitely not too comfortable with our presence and headed for a new tree as soon as we got too close. After that happened twice, we moved on to allow him (or her) to enjoy breakfast in peace.

It was such a cool sighting and I am very grateful I was able to capture it.

Have a great evening!

An African harrier hawk flies with a green spotted wood snake in its mouth. 1/1000 sec, f8.0, ISO 320 — An African harrier hawk flies with a green spotted wood snake in its mouth.
1/1000 sec, f8.0, ISO 320

He seemed to be settling in to have breakfast, but soon changed his mind and was off again. 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 280 — He seemed to be settling in to have breakfast, but soon changed his mind and was off again.
1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 280

We moved the vehicle and for a few moments, had a closer vantage point.

Off again 1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 140 — Off again
1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 140

The poor snake had tied itself into a knot while clutched by the hawk. — The poor snake had tied itself into a knot while being clutched by the hawk.

July 11, 2015

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.