Here we are at Monday again. I felt like editing some elephant images recently, so that is what I have decided to share today. Elephants, with their amazingly textured skin, look fantastic in monochrome images (at least I think so!)
I hope you enjoy my selections. Have a great week!
A lone bull elephant crossing the Boteti River in Botswana.An elephant enjoying some tasty greens.Giving the grasses a good shake, to remove excess dirt, before eating.An elephant enjoying a drink at one of the dams on Phinda Game Reserve.There is actually a pair of elephants here, climbing out of the dry riverbed in front of Ngala Tented Camp, but one is mostly obscured by the bushes. This image looked pretty flat and lifeless from the harsh midday sun, until I did the black and white conversion. I couldn’t quite go ask them to repeat the trek at a later time when the lighting was more favourable!
While this leopard sighting was almost two years ago, it feels both like a lifetime ago, and also like it was yesterday. I find it interesting how the same experience can occupy those different spaces, seemingly at the same time.
This was the second to last day of my last safari, and the photos don’t need too much commentary. Our ranger took us to a leopard and her two cubs that were deep in a ravine, and while we perched, parked on the side of a rather steep slope, the cubs went about their day, playing, chasing, exploring and occasionally, snuggling up with their Mom.
I hope you enjoy my selections for today. Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead.
An excellent climber already.A fallen tree makes an excellent perch to look out over the ravine.A very intriguing tail. A moment after this, it got a little chomp!Look at those messy green paws!Snuggles with Mom.A perfect cat pounce.Practicing stalking.It was wonderful to watch Mom get in on the game, and start to chase the cubs around.
It’s quite nice not having a theme this month, as I can select whatever images catch my attention. Today, it is a selection of images shot at or near sunset.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.
A sunset taken in Ongava Game Reserve in Namibia.A pair of bull elephants play fighting on the banks of the Boteti River as the afternoon light faded.A leopard in a tree at sunset. The stuff of magic.A lone zebra gives us a weary look as the sunset sets behind.A leopard in the fading evening light.
I’m keeping fingers crossed that I’ll have the opportunity to see lots of big cats while of safari next month. Here are a few images from my previous travels to start the week.
Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead!
A family of cheetah huddled together during a wind storm.A sleepy looking lion, obscured by the tall grasses.A leopard obscured by the vegetation.
Some leopards to start the week! Leopards are definitely my favourite cats to watch (well, at least of the cats I have seen so far… once I have the chance to see tigers and jaguars, I’ll have to revisit this statement!)
The first image was taken in Botswana in the Okavango Delta, in a sighting filled will drama (for the humans involved). Several vehicles from another camp were following this leopard, who was doing what leopards do best, being elusive and sticking to the cover of the bush. There had been a lot of flooding in the area, and a vehicle got stuck while following this cat, and then a second got stuck, trying to help the first. Our awesome ranger saved the day and got the vehicles mobile again, but both stuck vehicles missed out on the few photo opportunities that were available, like this one.
Seeing this image brings back fun memories of a great (and rather muddy) game drive. This can be a typical leopard sighting; lots of cover, grasses and bushes, but that’s also why I like it, because it is realistic.
This second image was also from the delta, and I have posted of this sighting many times before so I won’t go on and on. I think though, this shot is how people dream of seeing leopards, but the one above is a far more realistic scenario.
A gorgeous leopard who spent a late afternoon, through sunset, perched in tree, with only us there to watch.
This final image was taken in South Africa; our guide took us to a sighting of a mama leopard and her two cubs in ravine, and we had a brilliant time watching the cubs playing on the fallen trees, scampering through the swamp, and wrestling with each other. The cub pictured here was just about to pounce on its sibling, who was a few feet below on the ground. This was one of those sightings where, as we drove back to camp, our guide told us “we probably should keep this quiet while there are other guests around”.
A playful leopard cub descending a fallen tree.
Just so you know, you can find lots of images like these over in my gallery page!