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

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