Interviewed on PetaPixel

If you are an avid photography enthusiast, then there's no doubt that you have come across the website/blog called PetaPixel somewhere on your websurfing. It's one of the most popular dedicated photography websites around, so I was caught totally left-field when their editor-in-chief contacted me via my website and requested to do an interview for PetaPixel.

A couple of email exchanges later (for lack of an appropriate coffee shop to get together in midway between the USA and South Africa!) and things were finalised. I am humbled and honoured to be featured on there, and you can read the entire interview (with some photos) HERE.

Morkel Erasmus

Forest Zebras

We usually associate Zebra (specifically, the species Plains/Burchell's Zebra) with the rolling plains of the savanna, and not with forests. However, there is one place where you can see them in a forest...and that's in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe.

There are many things which could have been better in this photo. That darn middle zebra with its head down is my main bugbear, and the elements of the scene could have been better arranged. What I do love, is how this transports me to being out on the Mana floodplains at first light...and there's few things that beat that!! Can you spot the hippo in the background??

I captured this photo on foot. It was also my first time using the new and improved Nikkor 80-400mm VR-II lens (and I was duly impressed).

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 80-400mm VR-II
f5.6  |  1/200 SS  |  ISO-900

click on the photo to display at proper resolution and sharpness

I will be heading to the Chobe river on Wednesday, leading my first Wild Eye photographic safari of the year. See you on the other side!

Free HD desktop background 2

The response to my last free desktop background was great, so I decided to put another one out there. I might release one per month...still deciding.

Anyway, this one shows a Spotted Eagle Owl chick, photographed against the setting sun in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Kalahari Desert, South Africa). Instead of including a "calendar" in the corner like so many people do on background images, I am going for inspiring quotes on each of these.

You can download this image for free by clicking on THIS LINK. I hope you enjoy seeing it on your iPad, laptop or desktop computer!

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." - Jonathan Swift

Have a great day, friends!!

Morkel Erasmus

A tree on a hill

I posted a pretty grim update on a poached rhino last night on my social media outlets, so I thought I'd just post a simplistic and serene landscape photo this morning to make up for it. I haven't been out photographing landscapes properly in a long time - I blame the wildlife haha.

This is from my archives - a trip in November 2011 to be exact. What was supposed to be a relaxing fly-fishing retreat with good friends inevitably turned into a photographic mission for me as I woke up one morning to what looked like a promising sunrise. I trudged up the hill behind our little cottage, and looked for a composition before the light peaked. I found my composition, but the light didn't really "show up" as well as I anticipated. It's still a decent image and I've kept it. What do you think?

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 @ 14mm
f16  |  ISO-200  |  Blend of 3 exposures using manual luminosity masks in Photoshop

click on the image to display at proper resolution and sharpness

Thanks for your time, my friends!

Morkel Erasmus