Dusk Zebra

I absolutely love photographing wildlife in the soft light just before sunrise or after sunset. There's a luminous soft glow and saturating mood that you just don't get in any other kind of natural light. I literally don't care what my subject is when I'm in this precious short window of light...

This particular photo was taken in the Mountain Zebra National Park of South Africa, a small reserve which has immensely beautiful vistas all around and is a highly underrated safari destination. Situated in the Karoo semi-desert near the town of Cradock, this National Park now sports lions and cheetahs, along with several interesting herbivore species and it's also a hotspot for seeing the elusive Aardwolf! 

This photo shows the endangered Cape Mountain Zebra (from whom the park takes its name). This species was critically endangered in the early 1900's but was brought back to a sustainable population thanks to the efforts of the South African National Parks, with the establishment of this particular National Park in 1937 no small step in securing their future.

You can read more about the park HERE.

Techs:
Canon 7D
Canon 300mm f2.8 L IS USM
f2.8  |  1/100 SS  |  ISO-1600

Enjoy your day, friends!

Morkel Erasmus

Standing Proud

Tall and proud he stands. Bathed in golden light as the sun sinks to the horizon.
He wants a drink, and he will get it, as he doesn't have enemies at this waterhole.

Elephants are special creatures. During my time at a research bunker in Namibia last year, I was fascinated by their various rumblings and communication techniques with the other elephants of the area. There is a recent publication on the National Geographic website where you can listen to some of these rumblings and noises, and see a diagram on how it works and what each sound and gesture signals. Check it out HERE.

Elephants are, however, under threat from daily poaching all over Africa. They are sometimes poached for meat, but mostly it's all about their ivory tusks. Nations around the world are trying to crack down on ivory smuggling rings and are burning their own confiscated ivory stockpiles, while banning local legal trade in ivory. Let's hope all these efforts will help, because an elephant is illegally killed in Africa every 15 minutes! On 4 October 2014 there will be a "Global march for Elephants and Rhinos" - and you can find more info HERE.

I hope you like this image!

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 70mm
f8.0  |  1/400 SS  |  ISO-220

click on the photo to view at optimal sharpness and resolution against a dark background

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

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

PhotoShare: Impala Portrait

A quick PhotoShare for you, folks!

This image was captured late one afternoon in the northern region of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The sun was on the verge of disappearing over the horizon, and I loved the way the last rays of light kissed the outline of this Impala ram, particularly the horns.

Once again, the Nikon D3s has allowed me to capture amazing clarity and detail at a very high ISO setting.

(Nikon D3s & Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II)  f5.6  |  1/1000 SS  |  ISO-4500

I am as busy as ever, and am looking forward to spending some time in the Kalahari at the end of this month...

Keep well!

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: Elephants from on high

Here is another quick photo - I am really swamped with work and personal issues so my lengthy blog post is still not finished (humble apologies).

This herd of elephants was photographed from the air - I was in an open-door helicopter flying low over the magnificent Okavango Delta in Botswana.

Enjoy!

 

Morkel Erasmus

 

PhotoShare: Another one bites the dust!

Hi everyone!! So I am back from an amazing trip to Botswana...with so many photos to work through I don't even know where to start...

Here is a quick one from our first morning on safari. This was the first time in my life I had witnessed this kind of behaviour, which is called "geophagia" (definition thanks to my friend Grant Atkinson, an amazingly talented photographic safari guide in Botswana). This Plains Zebra (Burchell's Zebra) was biting chunks off a termite mound in order to supplement her diet with specific nutrients.

I am in the process of doing a full trip report so hang in there!!

f5.6  |  1/2000 SS  |  ISO-800

Morkel Erasmus

Some exposure in the UK newspapers!

Good news everybody! The online editions of the popular UK newspapers the Daily Mail and the Telegraph picked up a series of photos of mine to publish this week. The photos cover unusual behaviour by an African Tree Squirrel.


Check out these links:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366128/Squirrel-carries-baby-nest-coiled-tiny-ball.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8380640/Pictures-of-the-day-14-March-2011.html

I am stoked about this exposure, and hope this is the start of more similar opportunities.

Kind regards

Morkel Erasmus

My Top 10 for 2010

I really can't believe we are at the end of 2010...it seems like only yesterday when we walked into this year all excited about the big things that were set to happen in our famlies, our lives, our cities, our countries and our world. Like any and every year 2010 had its fair share of ups and downs. I'm going to abstain from getting all deep and philosophical in this post (heck, those who know me well know that I do that often enough!)...and focus on one of the things that I can honestly say had only ups for me this year...my photography. Ever since taking up this hobby (read: obsession), I have been privileged to get to know and learn from many great photographers, and looking back over the past year I can really see how my own craft has grown, evolved and morphed into what it is now.