Terrific Twinspot

Hi everyone.

I have just returned from a visit to an exciting new photographic reserve in South Africa called "Zimanga". Besides spending time on foot with an awesome pack of African Wild Dogs and a relaxed male cheetah, the reserve also boasts some new established and in-progress specialist photography hides, built in consultation with Bence Mate from Hungary. Zimanga is situated close to Mkuze in the northern corner of Kwazulu-Natal, a veritable birders' hotspot.

You can see more of the reserve and the hides on the official website: www.zimanga.com

This Pink-throated Twinspot was photographed from one of these hides. It's a bird not often seen in the open as it prefers dense woodland areas, and it also is only found in the northern corners of Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa), Swaziland and Mozambique. More species info can be found HERE.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f7.1  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-2800

(you lose a stop of light from shooting through specialised one-way glass with no noticeable loss of image quality - this ensures the birds are mostly unaware of the photographers inside due to the sealed hide being much darker than the ambient conditions)

click on the photo to view at optimal resolution and sharpness

Stay tuned to my blog and social media channels as I share more of my Zimanga experience in the coming days and weeks...

Morkel Erasmus

Call of the Spurfowl

There are very few things that affirm to you that you are in the bush and you need to wake up to go on a game drive as pleasantly as the morning call of the Swainson's Spurfowl. This call evokes endless memories of trips to the Kruger National Park and surrounds in me, and I'm sure many of you too. This bird is actually a francolin, and can be found all over Southern Africa. This particular photo was taken early one morning close to the Satara rest camp in the Kruger National Park.

If you want to learn how to improve your bird photography, check out the new series I am busy posting over on the Wild Eye blog:

For the Birds - Part 1

For the Birds - Part 2

(more to come!)

Techs for this shot:

Nikon D300s

Nikkor 200-400mm f4 VR @ 340mm

f5.6  |  1/400 SS  |  ISO-500

click on the photo to display at optimal resolution and sharpness

Now I feel the need to go on safari...darnit! Don't you?

Morkel Erasmus

Kite Launch

One of the most common raptors to be sighted all over Southern Africa is the Black-shouldered Kite. They are often seen sitting on telephone poles and fence lines in the countryside, or hovering over grasslands as they scan for prey. I have seen them very close to urban areas on a number of occasions too. This photo was taken in the Kalahari desert, though. I was sitting patiently, watching this perched kite through my viewfinder, and waiting for the moment when it would alight from its perch and fly off. I was happy that the bird decided to do so before I disintegrated in the searing heat, and that it flew in my direction. By using a fast shutter speed, I was able to freeze the moment nicely and capture a couple of tack sharp frames of the take-off.

Techs:

Nikon D3s

Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II

1.4x teleconverter

f5.6  |  1/2500 SS  |  ISO-560

Exposure Bias: +0.3 

click on the photo to display properly

I hope you all have a wonderfully festive New Year's celebration! Be safe, and remember to clock in here shortly after New Year's Day as I will be revealing my "Best of 2013" blog post (which has become somewhat of a tradition on my blog) - you can view last year's selection HERE.

Morkel Erasmus

Mahem in the Mara

During the recent Wild Eye photographic safari that I led to the Mara Triangle in Kenya, we had some very nice sightings of (in my mind) Africa's most beautiful crane species - the Southern Crowned Crane (or Mahem Crane). This photo was taken as the early morning light burst through the clouds on the horizon and lit up the outline of this crane as it was performing a mating dance.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f4.0  |  1/320 SS  |  ISO-800

click on the photo to view properly

Ready to roll with this week - bring it on!

Morkel Erasmus

Graceful Wings

There are few birds in Africa that evoke more in us than the African Fish Eagle. It has been my favourite raptor for years, and their haunting calls along Africa's waterways are an amazing reminder of the privilege we have to be on safari.

One of the best places to see and photograph them is on the Chobe river in Botswana. You can join us on a Wild Eye safari to this amazing oasis of wildlife where we will use a specialised photographic boat fitted with rotating chairs and mounted gimbal heads for your long lens, while based on a luxurious houseboat that can moor deep into the Chobe National Park for special access to key parts of the river in good light when other operators need to move out to make the "gate times". There's one date left in 2013 but 2014 dates are already laid out - I will be leading a trip from 12-16 March 2014. You can book and see all the details and info (plus images of the boat and houseboat) HERE.

click on the photo to display properly

This image was taken from the Wild Eye photographic boat. I just love how the light reflected off the water displays on the bird's open wings.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f8.0  |  1/2000 SS  |  ISO-2500
Exposure Bias +0.7

Have a great day, friends!

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: He went that way!

I just love photographing the beautiful, shy and lightning-quick Malachite Kingfisher. This one was preening in gorgeous early morning light at the Marievale Bird Sanctuary in Nigel, South Africa.

(Nikon D3s, Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II)  f5.6  |  1/5000 SS  |  ISO-1600

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: Black-Headed Heron

Nothing fancy for you tonight, folks...just a simple image of an everyday bird (at least in our parts) in great light coming in to roost for the night.

(Nikon D7000  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II)  f7.1  |  1/2000 SS  |  ISO-1600

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Morkel Erasmus