Big Splash

I hope you're not tired of me posting about my awesome trip to Zimanga Private Game Reserve yet? Indulge me one more...

I absolutely love being able to shoot at eye level with my subjects. It makes the photo come alive in a way that shooting from the normally elevated position of a vehicle just cannot do. Given, you can get some nice eye-level shots through clever vehicle positioning and using the lay of the land to your advantage. Often, however, the only way to achieve this is to get out and get dirty by lying on the ground (if the reserve you are in allows this). 

I was able to do just that at Zimanga last weekend as we photographed their dominant Hippo bull thrashing about in the Hlambanyathi dam in sweet golden afternoon light. This spot was next to their new "Lagoon Hide" which is currently under construction and which would definitely warrant a return visit! I wanted to focus on the facial expressions of the Hippo and on the resultant splashes, so I fitted the 1.4x teleconverter to my lens for this session. The one concern with these shots is that the camera autofocus will lock onto some of the bigger water splashes that fly towards you, rendering your actual subject out of focus behind the splash.

I think this one came out alright, don't you? This is pretty much full frame from the camera.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
1.4x teleconverter
f9.0  |  1/1000 SS  |  ISO-1600

click on the photo to display at optimal sharpness and resolution

As always, I appreciate your time and attention. Have a superb day!

Morkel Erasmus

Hippo Foursome

Hey everyone! Here's a quick photo to share with you from my recent safari to the Chobe river in Botswana. You can catch up on all the detailed trip reports over on the Wild Eye blog:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

As we were cruising along the Chobe river that straddles the Chobe National Park in Botswana and the Caprivi strip in Namibia, we came across a pod of Hippopotamus who were out of the river quite late in the morning. Hippo usually come out to graze at night and return to the water as the day breaks.

My guests and I were able to capture a couple of lovely photos of these youngsters lazily standing on the riverbank, not entirely committed to getting wet just yet. Some of them looked like they were standing up sleeping, in fact. We were able to maneuver nicely with our specialised photographic boat for lovely photographic opportunities, even as they eventually stepped into the water.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
1.4x teleconverter
f8.0  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-2500

click on the photo to view at optimal sharpness and resolution

Morkel Erasmus

Golden Jaws

If you have been following my blog and/or social media channels for a while, then you would know that I have just returned from leading a Wild Eye photographic safari to the renowned Chobe river ecosystem between Botswana and Namibia. The photo opportunities my guests and I were blessed with were legion - and I've got so many new and interesting images to share.

Though the Chobe National Park boasts the highest density of elephants in southern Africa, I thought I would kick off the sharing of images from this trip with something different - an image I have been wanting in my portfolio for a LOOONG time. It's not anything new or groundbreaking, but it is a classically African image, and I am glad to have added it to my portfolio after this safari.

As we were approaching a pod of hippopotamus in the last light of the day, the sun just broke through the clouds for a moment, and I instructed our guide and boat driver Patrick to position us so that we can photograph silhouettes of the hippos against the backlight of the sunset. Just as we were nearly in position, the dominant bull of the pod reared up and gave a characteristic display of dominance with his mouth open. It was over in 2 seconds, and I was pointing my lens in that direction but not expecting anything. I quickly focused and fired off 4 frames with the boat still rearing to a stop, of which I liked this one the best. The golden glow and rim-light was achieved by dialing in an exposure compensation of -1.3 on my camera. The mood was enhanced by the light also hitting the thousands of insects flying about along the surface of the river.

I hope you like it! I will be posting a full trip report on the safari on the Wild Eye blog soon, so watch this space.

click on the photo to display at the proper sharpness and resolution

Morkel Erasmus