The Handshake

Secret societies have it. 
Mob bosses have it. 
Elephants have it. 
Secret Handshakes...

My time spent in this research bunker at a very remote waterhole in +Etosha National Park will always bring back fond memories of really seeing and experiencing the daily lives of elephants up close and personal. 

Elephants are highly social creatures, and even though many of the bulls frequenting this waterhole arrived and left on their own, they never failed to interact with the other bulls around the waterhole, often spending long periods just standing close to others, making contact and rumbling off their tummies or drinking water. 

These two bulls were greeting each other and gently touching trunks. The giraffes across on the other side of the waterhole caught my eye and I tried to work them into the composition by shooting vertically. I just love the perspective here.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 200mm
f11  |  1/800 SS  |  ISO-640

click on the photo to view at best resolution and sharpness

I wanted to share this image today as the day of announcing the winners of the BBC Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 draws closer. This photo of mine was a finalist in the "Black and White" category, and I had high hopes for it. Alas, it was not included in the final selection of winning images. It was a good year for me as far as the "final round" of the BBC WPY goes as I had 3 single images and a portfolio of 6 images through to the final round (none of which made it to the awarded images, unfortunately). I am looking forward to seeing the actual awarded images and seeing who walks away with the big honours this year after my friend and countryman, the legend Greg du Toit scooped up the grand title last year. I will try again next year, as it's always fun to enter images into this most prestigious competition in nature photography.

Thanks for viewing! What do YOU think of this photo? Let me know in the comments section below.

Morkel Erasmus

WILDpaper - Free Desktop Wallpaper for August 2014

I know. I'm lazy - I've been holding out on you. I skipped July when it comes to releasing new WILDpaper images for your desktops/laptops/tablets...

I hope you can forgive me...and accept this month's image as a peace offering! :)

This young Giraffe was photographed at sunset, ambling away from the Gemsbokvlakte waterhole in Etosha National Park in Namibia.

This month's cheesy quote:

"“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...” 

- Lao Tzu

You can download your free high resolution version HERE.

Feel free to share this post with anyone whom you feel would love to download this wallpaper!
Also, take note that you are welcome to contact me for any fine art prints that you desire from my portfolio - you can mail me directly using morkel(at)morkelerasmus.com


Thanks, as always, for your support.

Morkel Erasmus

Sabi Sands: February 2010 (Part 3)

This is the 3rd episode of a way overdue trip report from February 2010. If you need to catch up, check out PART 1 and PART 2 before carrying on with this post...

My lovely wife and I had a pleasant afternoon lounging around our room at Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve with its private plunge pool (summer months in the Lowveld are hot and humid). She took this photo of me looking out over the bush...

This photo shows the inside of our luxurious room - what comfort!

Soon enough, after stuffing ourselves with lovely teatime treats, we were off on our afternoon drive as the clouds were building for storms overhead. This photo shows Marius Coetzee driving us around the roads of the Sabi Sands - do yourself a favour and check out his website for some amazing photography...

Our first notable sighting of the afternoon was a journey of Giraffe (that's what a group of them is called) underneath a stunning rainbow (what is it with this trip and rainbows?)...

One of the bulls obliged me by going to stand in the perfect spot - how kind of him!

We then received word of a nice lion sighting, and proceeded there immediately. The Ximungwe pride was relaxing in a riverbed, and the sole surviving cub of that year's litter was playing with his mother. This little one had been dubbed "Supercub" due to the hardships he endured up to then, and the fact that he somehow kept up when the pride was on the move - which they did without consideration of a cub's presence in their midst.

As you can see, it was a fruitful sighting as far as photography goes. The mother was not very impressed with her cub's incessant playfulness, but she bore it like any good patient mother would. Shortly after leaving this sighting the heavens opened up and we got properly drenched!! Thanks goodness for the parkas in the vehicle (which I used to cover my gear which was on loan from Nikon South Africa)!!!

I hope you enjoyed this trip report thus far. More to follow in the 3rd episode...
Have a great week!

Morkel Erasmus

Giraffe Sunburst

I've been making a point of sharing some photos of ungulates on my blog and Facebook page recently. It's so easy to share the photos of the iconic big cats, other predators, elephants and rhinos...but many people have more appreciation for the lesser-known forms of life in the bush and actually enjoy seeing photos of them just as much.

Giraffes are certainly an iconic African species, and frequently turn up on the lists of "have-to-see" animals for new safari tourists to the continent. They can be tricky to photograph, though, as their awkward lanky stature makes it hard to compose your photos in such a way to do them justice. This old bull was feeding on a tree by the roadside around sunset in the Kalahari desert one afternoon back in November 2012. Giraffes were reintroduced to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park a couple of years ago after being hunted out many many years before that - and they are doing very well, particularly in the northern reaches of the Auob river valley where this photo was taken.

I used the late afternoon mood and position of the sun here to add interest to the photo (after careful positioning of my vehicle). Stopping down my aperture to f22 helped me make the most of the sun's rays creeping over the back of the giraffe - creating the "sunburst" or "sunstar" effect. The incredible dynamic range of the Nikon D800's sensor allowed me to have immense detail to work with, even with shooting directly into the sun. 

Does it work for you?

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @ 100mm
f22  |  1/400 SS  |  ISO-900
Exposure bias -1.3

click on the photo to view at optimal resolution and sharpness

Morkel Erasmus

Stumped by a Cheetah

Okay, I should probably post some images from elsewhere for a change, but allow me one more Zimanga moment...

I had some amazing encounters with Cheetahs on foot during my stay at this reserve. On one occasion, Charl Senekal (the manager of the reserve which is owned by his family) took me and my young daughter up to within 7 meters of a female he's named Scarlet as she was resting under a tree on a hill after making a kill early that morning. She was very relaxed in our presence and needless to say my daughter was thrilled with the experience.

This photo was taken a day or two later, when we released the oldest male on the reserve (called Kalahari) from a boma in which he was recuperating from a small surgical procedure he'd been subject to. We followed him on foot as the boma was opened and he started patrolling his territory again. These cheetahs are wild and hunt for themselves, and have been habituated to Charl's presence since they first came onto the reserve.

In this photo, he had jumped onto a fallen tree and took in the scent of a rival male who passed through here the previous day. I crouched down and framed my shot to have the curious Giraffe in the background as well (he just happened to walk by at this point in time).

The fact that I was shooting with at 112mm focal length should give you an idea of how close I was...

Techs: 
Nikon D3s 
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR @ 112mm 

f4.0  | 1/1000 SS  |  ISO-200

click on the photo to view at optimal resolution and sharpness

Encounters with the predators of Africa on foot are special and to be recommended - provided you do it in the company of guides who know the animals of the region and are trained to handle dangerous encounters on foot.

Have a great day, folks. Keep your eyes on the Wild Eye website as we should be releasing a Zimanga-based package soon!

Morkel Erasmus

Lions vs Giraffe - The Finale

We come to the final chapter in this dramatic moment of natural history.
If you've been following this tale closely - I thank you for sticking it out...
If you've been blissfully unaware and this is your first glance of this story, then please do get up to speed by reading PART 1 and PART 2  before continuing (a cup of coffee would be needed).

The old bull was clearly feeling the weight of the two male lions gripping his hind legs like steel. He was shuffling and shaking to try and break free from their lethal grip.
He was fighting valiantly, even though he was intensely tired and worn down.

And then, a mere 30 seconds after the first lion got a proper grip, he tumbled to the ground, a fallen giant, a defeated warrior, a vanquished fortress. 

(You don't have to worry about seeing gory photos, I posted photos without blood in this post!)

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1800

I was taken aback - I had really thought that more of the pride members would be needed and they would be jumping into the fray by now. Not even the third young male was getting involved - and the rest of the pride was not even on the scene as I was viewing it. Yet, no sooner did he fall, and the pride suddenly appeared (they must have been waiting patiently in the bushes, all non-committal for some reason). The third male now made himself useful by going for the jugular of the giraffe immediately. It was over in a matter of a minute. The old guy didn't even struggle upon hitting the ground - relenting to his fate as it were.

And so, suddenly it was very quiet. Not just in front of me at the scene of the crime, but also in my head and heart. No more frantic camera setting decisions. No more wondering if this was actually going to play out to the end. Just a reverence and awe for the raw power of nature, the natural struggle and fight for survival that these creatures endure day after day - the dance of life and death. Sometimes, the prey has the best moves and gets away, leaving the predator hungry and desperate. At other times, the predator outmaneuvers the prey and sustenance is obtained by the sacrifice of another. Yet every time, it is something that leaves us reeling, reflective, and at odds with ourselves. It's a strange duality of the life of a wildlife photographer - finding joy and adrenaline at the chance of photographing these things, but also finding sadness and empathy with the victim (whether that's the fallen prey or the disappointed predator left hungry again). 

This duality makes it what it is:
a drama
a tragedy
a celebration
a mourning
a necessity...

I think often the reaction of wildlife photographers to getting shots like this gets misconstrued as glee or sadistic tendencies by the general public, when it's in fact the adrenaline and excitement of the age-old battle that excites us, not the actual kill. I think I would have been just as affected whether the giraffe fell or shook off his attackers. When the prey falls, we feel sorry for it, but glad for the predators who get to live another day. When the prey gets away, we feel glad for it but sorry for the predators who may go without a meal for perhaps the umpteenth time that week...

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1600

The rest of the pride were suddenly popping up as if they were part of the action the whole time. Confirming my suspicions that they had taken turns in running this old giraffe ragged all through the night, very few of them had the intention of tucking into their meal immediately. They all needed a rest, a moment of respite. But none more so than this female, who very poignantly sought a pillow for her head and ended up using the neck of her quarry for a moment's shut-eye. Yet, if taken as a snapshot in time, this moment can almost seem as if the predator is in fact taking a moment of silence and respect for her prey...paying thanks for being able to live a bit longer thanks to the sacrifice of this old and weary warrior that fell. 

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f5.6  |  1/320 SS  |   ISO-2000

Here's a photo showing even more of the pride members "paying their respects" as it were...

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f11  |  1/125 SS  |   ISO-2500

Lions have an interesting relationship with their prey. I showed this behaviour in my story about lions in the Kgalagadi taking down a young eland as well (you can read it HERE) - they usually tend to end up playing with their pray a bit before devouring it.

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f8.0  |  1/320 SS  |   ISO-1100

 This guy was trying to figure out what the tail bush of the giraffe is for...

By the time they really got stuck into the giraffe, a couple of other vehicles had arrived, some from Namutoni and some from the lodges outside the Namutoni park gate. I decided that I would make way for them, and that I wouldn't get better photos than I already have with the light becoming harsh and the sighting becoming crowded. I had this memorable event all to myself for the most part of the crucial action. I could have had my wife with me, and a couple we'd met in Etosha on this trip who we'd become friends with - the Cunninghams - who are also keen wildlife photographers. My wife wasn't there because she chose to sleep in, given that our two young kids were also having an unusually drowsy morning I wouldn't blame her, she worked hard in playing with them in the back of the SUV while I drove around and stuck my lenses out the window. Our friends the Cunninhams, well their alarm wasn't set properly, and they literally arrived minutes after the giraffe was down. What's the lesson? No matter what - get up early and head out of the gate first when on safari!

I think I will conclude this story here. I hope that you could, like me, achieve a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complex relationship between predator and prey, and the delicate balance of the circle of life in the African bush. Viewing this first hand, taking a few photos and reflecting on it now, certainly has had that effect on me. Yes, from a photographic viewpoint I wish that more lions got involved, that they would have jumped on the giraffe's back and neck in dramatic fashion, and that the giraffe would perhaps have shaken them off and landed a kick or two, sending them flying - regardless of the outcome of his life. But I know I witnessed something very rarely seen from start to finish in the bush - and many of my friends who are full-time guides living and working in the bush for years on a day-to-day basis would attest to that. 

Having these experiences leaves one richer and makes you feel privileged to be a child of Africa...who knows how long we will have the chance of witnessing these struggles with the way things are changing on our continent???

What are your thoughts upon reading and seeing this story in word and photo? Feel free to drop me some of your musings in the comments below, I would love to hear from you.

Morkel Erasmus

Lions vs Giraffe - The Dance

I promised that I wouldn't let you wait too long before carrying on with the telling of this gripping event...

If you missed the first part (The Prelude) then click HERE first.
Again - click on the photos and scroll through them to view properly against a dark background.

UPDATE: the next episode has been posted by now
Part 3 - http://bit.ly/liongiraffe3

Once the stage was set and the players were assembled, it was time to start the dance.

The old giraffe bull had seen a lot over the years of his life. Over the decades of his life he had seen seasons of severe drought and seasons of plenty on the landscape of Etosha. He was a living testimony to the fact that this harsh yet beautiful environment produces survivors. Animals who brave the odds and the elements and come up trumps time and time again. Lions had tried to subdue him many times before, and he bore the scars to testify to that. Every time before this morning he had been able to outwit and outmeneuver and fight his way through the onslaught. I can't help but wondering if he felt confident or hopeless as the chase wound down and he found himself circled like this...

scars from a previous battle

Furthermore, he had lost one of his eyes ,which put him at an even bigger disadvantage as he could not see both of his attackers at once. Perhaps he lost the eye in a scrape with a thorn branch while evading lions years earlier? Who knows...

one eye was gouged out

Nevertheless, tired and old as he was, he wasn't going to merely lay down and let his assailants overcome him. He needed to try and scare these two young brigands off before the rest of the pride caught up. They had made turns in running him down all night long, and he had survived this far. This was the last stand, his Gettysburg.

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1400

The lions started to move around him. Giraffes have immense hooves and muscular, long, powerful legs with which to fling those hooves at would-be assailants with enough force to deal out a lethal blow. This old guy was unfortunately just too tired to kick with this kind of ferocity - he did lash out a few kicks and swing around to meet his attackers a few times, but his kicks showed his fatigue. 

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1600

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1600

I kept cycling between taking a few shots and then removing my eye from the viewfinder to observe what was happening properly. I knew I would probably never see this play out in real-time again, but so often we stay glued to the viewfinder permanently in an epic sighting and never get to use both our eyes and our other senses to experience what was happening and burn it in our memories vividly for years to come. I had arrived with the D800 fitted with the 70-200mm lens and the D3s with the 500mm lens, and even though I wished for more frames-per-second and a bigger buffer I wasn't going to switch lenses in the midst of such a sighting and possibly miss out on the big moments. I was too close for using the 500mm properly - they were only 20 meters from my vehicle!

And then one of the young male lions found a grab-hold onto the buttocks of the giraffe - on his blind side...

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1400

A fully grown male lion can exceed a weight of 250kg. These two weren't that bulky, but I would put them at least at 150kg each. Once both had a hold, the giraffe would need to content with about 300kg of weight dragging down his hind quarters, while trying to maintain his precarious balance.

Given the level of fatigue the old giraffe had displayed, I wasn't surprised that he could not shake the lion from his leg. He tried valiantly to keep the second attacker at bay...

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1400

With his right leg bogged down, the giraffe could only do so much. His spirit was brave, but his body was weak. The inevitable happened - a second leg was grabbed...

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1400

The third male lion you see peeping in here from the right, had arrived a minute or so earlier, but he was very non-committal. I was wondering if he would ever join the fray, as he seemed quite a bit more scared of the big giraffe than the other two were...

The battle was hanging in the balance now. Two strong, confident young males using all of their brute strength to bring down a prey that would feed their pride for days...a large and battle-hardy giraffe who wasn't giving up easily...and a third male lion who was a bit of a wuss.

Where were the rest of the lions?
How long could the giraffe stand?
How would this end?

I know it's not fair of me to leave you on another cliffhanger - but I am kind-of forced to do so. I had promised to post this edition today on my Facebook page, but a massive power disruption in our town that lasted from 8pm last night until this morning as I had to leave for the office forced my hand. I need to process a few more images from my main hard drive in order to fully tell the tale and show you the action as it went down. This will have to wait until our main electricity supply has been restored.

Please do stay tuned for the third and final episode of this saga - I should have it live on the weekend or by the latest on Monday morning.

Feel free to share these blogs with people who might want to be in on the action!

Have a great day, my friends...

Morkel Erasmus

Lions vs Giraffe - The Prelude

I've been putting off telling this story on my blog...but I feel that it's time. In November 2013 I went on a very long safari-roadtrip with my lovely wife and our 2 young children. The destinations were to be the Etosha National Park in Namibia and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa.

The story I want to tell played out in Etosha. We had come to the last few nights of the Etosha leg of our trip and were based in the Namutoni rest camp in the East of the park. On our first afternoon upon arriving in Namutoni, we took a short drive to scope out the nearby popular waterholes of Chudop and Klein Namutoni. We found the resident lion pride having a drink at the Klein Namutoni waterhole around sunset.

UPDATE: the next 2 episodes have been posted by now
Part 2 - http://bit.ly/liongiraffe2
Part 3 - http://bit.ly/liongiraffe3

(for the best view of the photos, you'll need to click on one and scroll through them using your arrow keys)

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/500 SS  |   ISO-220

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f7.1  |  1/800 SS  |   ISO-1100

The pride was clearly getting ready for their nightly foray of hunting. Their bellies weren't full or bulging at all, and with about 9 adult lions to cater for they would need to hunt regularly. The sun was just setting, and the tension was palpable. All the other animals that had come to drink could sense the lions were not just lying around...

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f5.6  |  1/800 SS  |   ISO-1400

Much like on a morning only a year earlier (read THIS post for that story), my wife made the prediction that they would make a kill during the night. Boy, would she be right...but that's what you're reading this story for, so I will carry on.

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f2.8  |  1/200 SS  |   ISO-200

We eventually had to leave the pride where they were, as the camp gate time was beckoning. I have a gripe against Etosha gate times in general...as they work on the exact time of sunset and sunrise, and often the best light and sightings happen before sunrise or shortly after sunset. At least in the summer months in the Kalahari and Kruger you get some good leeway either side of sunrise and sunset for those epic moments!

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f5.6  |  1/500 SS  |  ISO-800

The next morning, I was up early and ready to go out. My wife waved me on, as the kids were having a rare morning of still being asleep (usually they were up way before we want to leave for game drive), and she decided to rest a little too (she was minding them every day in the back of the vehicle, after all). I was first out the gate on a cloudy morning, and also the only one from Namutoni heading out for Klein Namutoni that morning, which is about 4km from camp. All the other vehicles going out on an early game drive seemed to turn right out of the camp towards the Chudop triangle...not a bad decision given the open setting and density of predators in this area...but it was a bad decision for them on this morning!

No sooner had I turned into the gravel road leading up to Klein Namutoni, when I spotted 2 of the young males of the pride we sat with the previous evening on a serious trot. Now, if you've spent any good amount of time observing the behaviour of lions, you'll know that they only ever run or trot like this for 2 main reasons - to get to food or to get to a competitor and fight. As I came around the next bend I saw the reason for their brisk pace: a large and old Giraffe bull was ambling up the main road, trying to run but obviously dog tired! The pride must have been chasing him for hours during the night, as his hind legs were dragging (but he was as yet not wounded). I kept a reasonable distance and allowed the chase to go its natural way. As always with these kinds of sightings, a part of you hopes the prey will find a way to escape, while another part of you (the avid action photographer) wants it all to go down in a spot where you can take some photos of it!

Anyway...soon the Giraffe seemed to realise that he would not escape, and he stopped just off the road (as you drive into Dik-Dik drive past the waterhole) and turned around to face his assailants...the tension was incredible, and my mouth was agape as I realised I would be the only person to witness this taking place only about 20 meters from me!!!

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 79-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f5.6  |  1/320 SS  |   ISO-4000

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 79-200mm f2.8 VR-II  |  f4.0  |  1/250 SS  |   ISO-1400

There were so many questions running through my mind as these 2 "Spartans" squared up against their behemoth prey...

Where were the other members of the pride?
Are 2 young males enough to take down such a big and muscular quarry?
Would one of them be hit by a deadly kick from the giraffe?
How long would this last?

And of course the photographic questions and challenges!
Low light meant high ISO settings, shallow depth-of-field (considering I was trying to photograph multiple subjects none of which were small), slow shutter speed...

I know that by now you are probably extremely curious and anxious to see what unfolded.
You will have to wait for the next edition in this series - I'll post it soon, don't fret!
Suffice to say it is one of my most dramatic sightings ever...and I didn't even take that many photos, since I was so spellbound just watching it.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for more soon!

Morkel Erasmus

Travel Companions

I thought I'd give you a break from Chobe imagery for a short while...

This photo was taken at the Gemsbokvlakte waterhole in the Etosha National Park in Namibia this past November. We had waited for a long time for this male lion to get up and when he did, he proceeded straight to the waterhole. A lone giraffe was also in the area, and also thirsty. In this frame it looks like they are heading in the same direction (and the title implies thus), but the giraffe was actually mostly keeping a close eye on the lion. 

And no - this is not from the sighting where I witnessed a pride of lions taking down a giraffe on the same trip...more about that later!

In hindsight, I wish I'd shot this with my 70-200mm lens. I really thought I would fit them in better with the 500mm and wanted that telephoto compression effect for this (obviously the giraffe was not directly behind the lion). In the end, this is the best I got with both in the frame, and the horizon isn't perfectly level either...

Just goes to show, there's always an opportunity to learn from your mistakes in the field, and you're never too old to make mistakes and realise them way too late, haha!

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6  |  1/800 SS  |  ISO-500

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you! Thanks for looking, as always...

Morkel Erasmus

Ungainly Runner

Hello there! It's Monday - so why don't we just gallop into the week ahead full force, even if we might look a bit ungainly after the weekend's activities? This lone giraffe was running past a herd of elephants at a remote waterhole in Etosha late one afternoon. In about 5 weeks I will be heading back there with my family - can't wait! I love using other animals in the background to add context to a scene.

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 70mm
f8.0  |  1/800 SS  |  ISO-400

click on the photo to display properly

Chat soon!

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: Kissed by the Sun

It's been a while since I shared a photo outright on my blog for the sake of just sharing a photo. Here's one I processed last night from a 2012 trip to the Kalahari. The first rays of sunlight were just enveloping this lone giraffe and I loved the mood. What do you think??

The key to a good rim-light photo is proper exposure. If you have time, play around until the histogram looks good and you have good shadow and highlight detail...

Until next time!

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: Noah's Giraffe

I know, I know, it's a somewhat weird and quirky title, but the rainbow should give the reason away!

I find giraffe difficult to properly compose photographically at the best of times...and know many wildlife photographers who share that sentiment. Their irregular form and contours and their size make them somewhat of an enigma and easy to do an injustice to on photos.

It's a bit easier for those frequenting the plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya or the Serengeti in Tanzania where they act as great anchors and pillars for wide shots of the landscape...but in the dense bushveld of South Africa it becomes a tad harder to do them justice.

Every now and again, though, the giraffe does all the hard work for you...like stand in the right spot. This one posed perfectly right in front of a beautiful rainbow one summer afternoon in the Sabi-Sands Game Reserve.

(Nikon D3s, Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II) f5.6  |  1/1000 SS  |  ISO-320

Chase the light!


Morkel Erasmus

WORKING THE LIGHT

Hello again everyone...

I thought it was time for a new post since we're already a few days into August. My, how this year is just rocketing past!!

Sometimes we find ourselves in that "sweet spot" for photography. You know - the golden morning/evening light from the sun teetering on the brink of the horizon falling over your shoulder and straight onto whatever animal or bird happens to be caught in your viewfinder at that moment. Everything just comes together...like these giraffe I found the other day in the Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa:

More often than not, however, we find ourselves in a situation where it's just not possible to get into that "sweet spot". In many cases it's an insurmountable task to get ourselves in that position due to terrain constraints or the fact that you might not be allowed to go off-road in certain reserves (at least that's the case for most of the places I go on safari to), but at other times there's just not enough T-I-M-E to do so...these "truly" golden minutes only last for a few fleeting moments after all.

Seeing the BIGGER picture...

When I first made the switch from "point-and-shoot" snapper to a bona fide DSLR photographer, I couldn't wait to get my first close-up shots of my favourite animals. But alas, it didn't take me very long to get bored with getting standard close-up shots. Why? Mainly because everyone with a half-decent lens has them. You see, for me it was never going to be about just "getting" the photo. It was always going to be about creating art. Now don't get me wrong, for many people getting the photo is enough and it's the only reason they lug around a camera and some lenses on their safaris...and each to his own indeed. I've just always been artistically wired and on top of that I always throw myself 200% at something I'm passionate about (something which can be frustrating for people around me!).


So it didn't take very long for me to start becoming very aware of the myriad of possibilities that exist with every photographic opportunity that I encounter. Not that I recognise ALL the possible compositions and variations - oh no! Often I have come home and looked at the photos I created, only to realise then that I could have done something differently and it would have made all the difference in the world! In those moments, I try and file the mistake as a lesson learnt to tap from when faced with a similar opportunity.