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.
Happy Monday to all! For my first monochrome Monday post of the year, I decided to share not only my favourite animal, but an image that I recently printed for a display in my home. I love surrounding myself with images that evoke memories of wonderful times and fantastic adventures. I reuse old frames over and over again, some needing to have duck tape on the back to hold everything together, but it allows me to update images whenever I want. I have loads of photo displays throughout my home, from beautifully framed large-size matted prints, to unframed 5″ x 5″ cardstock images arranged in groups of 25 images. As I move throughout my home, I’m taken back to beautiful places and inspired to plan the next adventure.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.
An elephant in the desert. Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, Namibia. April, 2017.
A few old boys at a water hole near Nxai Pan in Botswana. The one spraying mud was the first one there, and when seeing him we thought he was an absolutely enormous bull. But then these other individuals came along and he was forced to make way for them, deferring to their larger size.
I am a few days delayed in posting for this topic, but I wanted to play along anyways. The photo prompt last week was experimental, and it gives me an opportunity to share some of the images I call my Artistic Impressions.
It’s timely, as I was just listening to a wildlife photography podcast that I really enjoy, discussing photographic art as opposed to straight “documentary style” wildlife photography. I thought the comments of the host, Gerry Vanderwalt, were absolutely spot on. His take on it was use your wildlife images in whatever way you choose to create the art you want to make, but just be very clear when presenting it to let people know that what they are seeing is not reality.
Now, I don’t think anyone would mistake any of these images for reality, and the comment was more aimed towards compositing work, but, I really do feel that people should create whatever moves them. If reality didn’t match how the moment made you feel, then turn your images into something that does invoke the feeling of the moment. Just don’t try to claim it is something that it’s not.
Anyways, on to the images 🙂
A watercolour style take on a ground hornbill at sunset. I loved the posture of the bird and the shadow on the termite mound, but found the image to be less sharp than I would have liked. Turning it into one of my artistic impression images allow me to play up what I liked most about the image.If an elephant visited one of my dreams, I think it would look something like this.A cormorant perched on the edge of the Atlantic, with seals frolicking amongst the waves. A small part of a large seal colony in Namibia. The weather along the coast was dull and blustery, and many of my images left me flat. This take on the scene reminds me of surveying the area through the fogged and misty windows of our vehicle.
