Safari – Page 27 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

October 12, 2016

2016-10-12: Wordless Wednesday

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October 10, 2016

Every month the photo club I belong to has a photo topic of the month, as well as being able to submit a further 5 photos for review and discussion. Since all I have captured since I returned home are a few grainy images of one of the local deer (and lots of my dog) I thought I would share them here as well. I am hoping to get back into the swing of things with my “What I’ve seen this week” Sunday post very soon.

Until then, I hope you enjoy some images of Uganda and Kenya.

dsc_9372-edit — This image stirs up so much for me. I can almost smell the fever trees and the acacia and the scent of the elephants, I can almost hear the rumbles, the crunch of branches and chewing of leaves, I can almost feel the warm of the sunlight. Working on these images takes me right back and gives me a mini mental holiday 🙂

dsc_0137-edit — Three young male lions had taken down a wildebeest in the night, and shortly before I shot this, all three were still picking away at the carcass. There were a half dozen jackals hanging around, trying to figure out how to safely get close enough to grab a morsel or two. This one only took another step before turning away.

dsc_9851-edit — Witnessing a river crossing involves a lot of waiting, and then a lot of chaos in a short period of time. I’m looking forward to sharing more about this experience!

dsc_4453-edit — Just like human babies, the mountain gorilla infants that I saw were incredibly curious, and explored their world by touching everything.

dsc_9570-edit — A lappet faced vulture lays claim to a wildebeest carcass that looks to be little more than some fur and bones.

p1010245-edit — The repeating lines of tea fields near the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda.

October 5, 2016

2016-10-05: Wordless Wednesday

October 3, 2016

2016-10-03: Monochrome Monday

October 2, 2016

2016-10-02: Elephants

As everyone surely knows by now, elephants are my very favourite animal to spend time with and to photograph. My time in both Uganda and Kenya did not disappoint with elephant sightings. From seeing their footprints in the forest while tracking gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda, having a large male outside my tent at my camp in Amboseli, or being surrounded by the largest herd I have ever see while in the Mara, I had a little bit of everything.

Here are a few images of my favourite animal. I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful day.

20161002_elephants — A herd of elephants passing by our afternoon game drive in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.

20161002_elephants-6 — A large herd of elephants passed through the Ol Kinyei conservancy, and we were lucky enough to spend about an hour with them one morning. This tree was a favourite for neck scratching as the group moved along.

20161002_elephants-5 — One of the family groups seen in Ol Kinyei Conservancy while staying at Porini Mara Camp.

20161002_elephants-4 — Every elephant is unique; this one in Amsoseli National Park had tusks that crossed at the tips. I had a lovely time being so close to such lovely, relaxed elephants.

20161002_elephants-3 — Granted not the greatest elephant picture ever, but such a lovely sundowner spot in the Selenkay conservancy while staying at Porini Amboseli camp. There was a raised viewing platform by the waterhole, where everyone staying at the camp gathered for drinks and snacks.

20161002_elephants-2 — This big guy could almost be called the camp elephant at Amboseli camp, as he stopped by pretty much every day to graze amongst the tents and visit the nearby waterhole. I took this standing by the door of my tent, he was amazingly close.

March 11, 2016

2016-03-11: Impala Rut

If you’re in Southern Africa in the autumn (April/May) you’ll be there during the impala rut. And believe me, you’ll find yourself uttering the same phrase I did repeatedly “What on earth was that noise?”

I still don’t understand how a creature like this, can make a sound like that. To hear it for yourself, check out sound number two on this website.

Both in Botswana and South Africa, we heard a lot of noise and commotion, and saw a few different groups of bachelors going crazy, running and jumping and locking horns.

20160311_Impala Rut.jpg — That’s the face that goes along with the noise. So attractive!

20160311_Impala Rut-2 — Is this what the ladies do when they hear that sound and see that face??? 🙂 I was in the right place at the right time to watch a herd of impala bounce through the bushes. This is a composite of 5 different photos.

20160311_Impala Rut-4 — A clash of horns.

20160311_Impala Rut-5 — Racing around, making noise, fighting about who is the manlier man.

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Unfortunately, the guys kind of lose their minds during this time, and throw their normal caution and vigilance to the wind. The result…

20160311_Impala Rut-3 — They end up as a snack for a hungry pride of lions (or leopards, cheetah, wild dog, hyaena). This was actually a very interesting sighting in itself, you can see more about it here.

December 28, 2015

2015-12-28_Monochrome Monday

One of my dream wildlife sightings / photo opportunity was to see a leopard in a tree. I’m sure I mentioned it before, but it happened in what I felt was an unlikely place, the Okavango Delta.

I was looking through photos with my Mom yesterday and came across these after not having seen them for awhile, and I thought they would be great to edit in black and white. I still have a lot more shots to get through 🙂

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If these are the type of photos you’d like to own, you can find them here:

Jennifer Sawicky Smugmug Site

November 11, 2015

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

September 3, 2015

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!