A mother's devotion

Here we go: my first photographic story after my return to blogging!

In January of 2018, we headed to one of our favourite safari destinations: The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. This is where a great deal of our time in the bush is spent, and we have been making a tradition of returning every summer for the past few years.

This specific sighting unfolded in the perennial Auob riverbed, not too far south of the Mata-Mata campsite. After spending the better part of the morning with a large pride of lions who had occupied the Craig Lockhart waterhole, we came across this sight:

A springbok ewe had given birth, one of the first fawns dropping in this year's summer! Still frail and weak, the fawn was not able to get up yet. The mother was grazing close by, and eventually moved in closer to give some encouragement to get up. My little daughter of nearly 7 years old, who was in the vehicle with us, was very excited by seeing this for the very first time.

The little fawn did not even seem to want to try to get up. There were a couple of black-backed jackals milling about, and they are very opportunistic, eager to grab any easy meal. The next few minutes would determine whether this little springbok had a chance to live.

Mom would meander away and graze to divert attention away from the fawn when she saw the jackals watching from a distance. Every so often she would return to try and nudge it into action.

It did not take long for the jackals to notice that the little fawn was not making much effort to get up and start walking...and so the game of cat and mouse began...

The first jackal approached from behind the mother, and she turned to face him!

She was not going to let these scoundrels take her baby without a valiant fight...

The jackals were very sneaky, though, and it was apparent that they had a strategy to "outfox" (excuse the pun) the mother of the little one. While she was fending off once jackal, another would come from behind and grab the fawn.

But mom was doing her best to fight for her little fawn. She charged in again, and forced this jackal to also drop his bounty and scoot away...

The drama kept unfolding. With mom's attention now on the newest attacker, another subversive scavenger could sneak in from a different angle and try its luck...

Mom noticed, and gave a valiant chase...but alas, this was the end of the line. Just as she was catching up on the newest thief, the jackal dove into a thorny shrub to start consuming his prize. We surmised the fawn had succumbed at the bite of the first jackal already.

Needless to say the vehicle was silent for a while, and then my daughter burst into tears. She is not a fan of black-backed jackals to this day!

Let me know what you think. Not the nicest story, but part of the drama of being on safari for sure.

Morkel Erasmus

Returning to Namibia

For someone who feasibly lives merely a day's hard drive from the glorious expanse that is Namibia, I visit very seldom. I suppose that's the way it is - life gets in the way, other destinations beckon...but that will change soon.

We will be embarking on a 24-day camping adventure, with families in tow, across a vast portion of Namibia. That's something we South Africans love to do - overland camping, lugging everything along from a freezer to a portable shower to a mini-kitchen, "spending a fortune to live like a hobo", as the meme goes.

We were originally only going to go to Etosha for 2 weeks, but then we got thinking - we will be there already, why not add another week? So here is a quick rundown of our trip:

• Etosha National Park
• Spitzkoppe
• Sossusvlei
• Namib Rand Reserve
• Quiver Tree Forest
• Fish River Canyon

As you can see, it's a veritable bucket list of destinations.

We hiked the Fish River Canyon in 2009, and visited Etosha last in 2013, but I haven't been to the Namib desert regions since 1995!

To say we are excited is an understatement...

Camping with those you love under the immense stars in the wide spaces of Namibia for 3 weeks, cut off from social media and the political turmoil and all the drama in the world...eating good food, drinking good wine, taking some photos, reflecting on how God has blessed us...what more could you want?

See you all on the flipside...

Morkel Erasmus

The Nutcracker Badger

It's 6 January 2016...early in the morning.

The sun has just risen, and we spent its rising with a lioness close to the Rooiputs waterhole in the Kalahari desert, more specifically, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park that straddles the borders of South Africa and Botswana.

South Africa is experiencing a heat wave of sweaty proportions - normal summer temperatures here average around 45C, and this week it's been up to 54C most days...in the shade. As we drove out of camp it was already 26C, pre-dawn.

Suddenly I spot a dark shape moving purposefully along the dry Nossob riverbed.

Honey Badger!! If you don't know what honey badgers are, they are pretty much the roughest, toughest buggers in the African bush.

This video might enlighten you...

Anyhow, finding a honey badger on a trip to the Kalahari is a special treat, and this early in the morning! We follow him as he scrounges around, digging for grub in the loose Kalahari sand.

"Nothing here..."

"How about here? I smell something!"

Promptly the badger dug up a small leopard tortoise! Right next to our vehicle (and we were the only people there).

The prey in itself brought its own set of challenges - how to break through the shell?

A tough nut to crack...

What followed is a lengthy process of the dexterous badger working his prey until he was able to pierce the shell of the tortoise, and get to the good stuff inside. Yes, it's sad for the tortoise, but it's the circle of life and it was fascinating to get to watch this "nutcracker" at work.

Suffice to say that the badger eventually got through the carapace of the tortoise.

That wasn't the end of the morning's activity, though!
As we are watching the badger feeding, my wife notices that there are two lionesses and two lion cubs walking by behind the badger...talk about a Kalahari double whammy!

Let's leave the lions for another day - as they kept us busy for the rest of the morning.
I hope you enjoyed seeing these photos!
We have some video too - might edit and release it soon.

Keep well...

Morkel Erasmus

Returning to the Sabi Sands

It's been a while.

3 years to be exact.
3 years since I was able to last spend time in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, a jewel in the lowveld and one of the best places to view and photograph leopards in all of Africa.
3 years ago, I didn't have much luck. I was only there for 2 nights and with the constant rain we only found one leopard on the last afternoon as I was about to leave the reserve.

Despite living in South Africa and going on safari frequently - leopard photos are a bit lacking in my overall portfolio. I've enjoyed amazing sightings of most of the other iconic African mammals, but leopards keep on avoiding me. THIS encounter in Kruger was the most memorable, but I am yearning for a fresh dose of leopard-awesomeness.

This weekend, my wife and I are returning to the Sabi Sands.
Between the properties of Singita and Leopard Hills, I hope we will be lucky enough to spend some quality time with Africa's beautiful secretive predator. At the very least, we should have a great time and recharge some of our own batteries.

Have a great weekend, folks.
See you on the flipside...with some new images I hope!

Morkel Erasmus

Death Dance

Sometimes you spend hours waiting for a specific photo, anticipating and watching for the decisive moment in sweltering heat...other times you just stumble into the right spot at the right time. 

I wish I could wax lyrical about the planning and preparation that went into capturing this moment, but I can't. It was a combination of right time/place and luck (we all need some luck in this thing called wildlife photography!). During our 2013 +Wild Eye Great Migration photo safari I hosted with +Marlon du Toit, we saw some lions lying in the grass next to the Mara river, and decided to head closer for some portrait photography. As we pulled to a stop, to our amazement a lone wildebeest scrambled up the riverbank (having just done a solo crossing we couldn't see from our vantage point), and the poor thing literally almost tripped over the lions. The largest female of the small pride wasted no time in pouncing on the unfortunate ungulate, and a lengthy struggle ensued during which we were privy to the emotional dance of death between these species that occurs during the Great Migration. 

This particular wildebeest didn't seem to want to give up and kept struggling to escape his attackers, but to no avail. We were very close to the action, and shooting with a 500mm lens forced me to compose a little out-of-the-box, but I liked how it came out!

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f8.0  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-1400

I also converted it to monochrome, and I like it better in that medium. What do you think??

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II  |  f8.0  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-1400

Let me know which you prefer by dropping a comment below.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great week...

If you would like to join us in the Mara Triangle this year for an awesome photographic adventure, then check out THIS page.

If you would like to purchase this tone version as a limited edition fine art print for your office or home, mail me: morkel@morkelerasmus.com

Morkel Erasmus

Elephant in the Mara

Hello everyone. I've been a bit flooded of late so blog posts have been sparse.

In the beginning of the month, I published a collection of images from my 2014 "photographic year". Though I always do this and view it as a useful way to assess my growth and artistic voice, I purposefully posted only images taken at 100mm focal length or less. You can read the entire post HERE.

The image I am sharing today NEARLY made the cut in that post.
During our +Wild Eye photographic safari to experience the Great Migration in the Mara Triangle in September 2014, we spent some time with a gentle yet impressive African Elephant bull who was leisurely grazing on the long red oat grass along the Mara river. He was right next to our vehicle so I was able to inspire my guests to really work the scene with their wide angle lenses. I am a sucker for an "animalscape" and having a circular polariser in front of my lens helped bring out more detail in the sky and tame some of the harsh late morning light.

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 24mm
Kenko Pro Circular Polariser
f4.0  |  1/400 SS  |  ISO-100

Do you enjoy seeing photos like this? Or do you prefer the animal to be larger in the frame?
Let me know - drop me a comment on this post and let's discuss...

Morkel Erasmus

10 below 100 - my reflection on 2014

Good day folks! I bet the title of this blog post has you perplexed...

Since January 2010 I have made it a habit of posting a collection of my personal best moments in nature photography on my blog. I know some people scoff at this trend (obviously because many photographers seem to be doing it to get attention), but for me it really is a great way to take stock at the end of another calendar year and its accompanying travels/adventures, and also to assess where my personal expression in terms of photography is going. 

Am I growing as an artist? 
Am I changing the style and feel of my images subtly and subconsciously or boldly and consciously?
Am I putting out bland images and stagnating in my creativity?
Am I still enjoying what I do?
Do I primarily find joy and fulfillment in the work that I put out there?

These questions are constantly at the back of many artists' minds and doing these posts is a good way for me to try and answer them. The last one is paramount - we should primarily focus on producing a body of work that satisfies ourselves, if other people enjoy it then it should be a bonus. You can never cater for the majority of tastes out there, so it's prudent to first satisfy your own notions and tastes in the art that you produce...

Anyway - so this year has seen me really making a point of putting down the longer telephoto lens more often when doing wildlife photography. I have always immensely enjoyed landscape photography, and my previous years' reflective posts have included some outright landscape entries. I have also always had a knack for composing wildlife photos to include more of the environment and the scene in which the subject finds itself. We often harp about conserving the African wildlife, but in order to do that effectively we also need to place an emphasis on conserving the habitat, the ecosystems in which these species thrive. Habitat fragmentation is a big threat to most of the African biodiversity and it's a bigger problem year after year. 

This year I tried to create even more of these "animalscape" kind of images, and with shorter lenses too. Which brings me to the title of this post...

Instead of opting for another "best 20 shots of the year" divided into landscape, birds and wildlife (my 3 main subjects), I am going to post only 10 photos, all taken at focal lengths of 100mm or less. Yes, 10 photos of wildlife or landscapes or birds, all captured at focal lengths ranging between 14mm and 100mm. The short side of things. I hope this inspires you to reach for your shorter lenses more often - it's so easy to rely on the big guns to bring us tack sharp nicely isolated portraits of our wildlife subjects (in fact, if the winning images of this year's Natures Best competition are anything to go by, these kinds of tight portraits are probably coming back into fashion). 

So, like so many other wildlife photographers putting out their best work from 2014, I could have shown you frame-filling shots like these, showcasing how I used my super telephoto lens for the purpose it was built for:

While I do capture these kinds of portraits, and while they do look beautiful in many cases, I find that they also don't give context - they don't always scream "AFRICA!" to me - it's just where my personal taste has been going and growing in the past few years. The images I picked here were all taken by me, either hand-held or using a tripod (in the case of some landscape shots), using no fancy tools like remote control buggies and drones and selfie-sticks - just plain old photographer looking through the viewfinder...

So, without further a due, here are my 10 selections, with some back-story and technical info thrown into the mix. They are posted chronologically based on date of capture. To view the images at best resolution and sharpness - please do click on them...


1. "Chobe Crocscape"
During the Wild Eye Chobe Photo Safari I hosted in March, we came across a young Nile Crocodile basking in the morning sun on the banks of the Chobe river. We were able to position our photographic boat in such a way so as to make nice low angle close-up photos possible. I whipped out the 24-70mm lens with a polariser attached and made some "crocscape" images.

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8  @ 24mm  |  f5.6  |  1/500 SS  |  ISO-200  |  Kenko Pro Circular Polariser

2. "On Another Level"
On the same Chobe safari as above, we have a massive storm move through one afternoon, after which the air was crisp and clear and fresh. We spotted a herd of elephants moving down to the river to goof around, and set our photographic boat in that direction. We were able to coax the boat in gently quite close to where the young bulls were being boisterous in the water. I'm a sucker for low angle shots of wildlife, and if it can be low angle and wide angle, even more so. This is one frame from many we captured during that afternoon's session - my guests being inspired to also whip out their shorter lenses and make this moment count.

Nikon D800  |  Ni'kkor 24-70mm f2.8  @ 62mm  |  f5.6  |  1/320 SS  |  ISO-560  |  Kenko Pro Circular Polariser

3. "Wild Coast Rocks"
Seascapes is another genre that has eluded my lens (based on the travels I've been preferring) over the past 2 years. This year we made a family pilgrimage over Easter to my brother-in-law who lives in Gonubie, a small town on the outskirts of East London in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, and which lies on the start of what is called the "Wild Coast of South Africa". I was only able to work in one afternoon's shooting due to the nature of the trip (family time a priority), and quite liked how this one came out. Another sunset which looked promising, but fizzled out - monochrome was a nice alternative.

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 @ 14mm  |  f10  |  3 sec SS  |  ISO-50  |  RedGed Tripod

4. "Hazy Zambezi Daze"
If you have been following my work for a while, you will know how enamored I am with the beautiful wilderness of Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. I was notably excited to return this year hosting another +Wild Eye safari, and I made a point of shooting with wider lenses here as well, to try and capture the essence of this haunting landscape. This moment stood out for me - there was a constant haze from fires on the Zambian escarpment across the river for the first couple of days, which gave off an eerie kind of light and mood. Standing on an embankment looking down over the floodplains, I was able to capture this scene - the fallen albida tree a stark reminder of the cycle of life and death in this place, and the elephants meandering between the trees like they always do.

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 62mm  |  f7.1  |  1/500 SS  |  ISO-2500  |  Kenko Pro Circular Polariser

5. "Big Vic"
Here's another image from our Mana Pools photographic safari. For me, a photograph is more than just what it is, it's also about what it evokes. Firstly, it should evoke something in the viewer, but it should also evoke the memory of the moment for myself - I should link back to an exciting or ethereal moment in nature, and remember it as if I was still standing there. This moment is one such a moment - it's certainly not an award-winning photo, but my clients and I will never forget this morning when we were sitting on a fallen log and one of Mana's gentlemen, Big Vic, sauntered over to us and started feeding on a tree right in front of us. And I do mean right in front of us - he was a mere 5 meters away from us here (the wide angle distortion makes it seem further, though).

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 24-70mm f2,8 @ 29mm  |  f5.6  |  1/320 SS  |  ISO-400

6. "Floodplains of Fantasy"
Staying in Mana Pools, I wrote extensively about the story behind this photo in THIS BLOG POST (would love for you to check it out). Suffice to say that capturing a true wide angle landscape image of this unique area was somewhat of a challenge for me on my previous trips, and it came together with this shot.

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 @ 14mm  |  f8.0  |  ISO-200  |  Blend of 3 exposures

7. "Into the Storm"
Invariably, trying to do wide angle wildlife photography without the use of a remote controlled buggy or drone predicates that the better images will be of the slightly bigger animals - hence this is the 4th image in this post that contains elephants! This is just one of those images that evokes so many possible responses linked to conservation, family, life's hardships, etc. Wouldn't you agree? I captured this moment on the first afternoon of our +Wild Eye Great Migration photo safari to Kenya in September.

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 24mm  |  f4.0  |  1/125 SS  |  ISO-640  |  Kenko Pro Circular Polariser

8. "Quintessential Migration Sunset"
Those of you who have been in East Africa to witness and photograph the Great Migration will know how hard it is to capture the encompassing grandeur of this natural spectacle in a 2D photo. I tried last year and I tried again this year - I found that true wide angles don't really do the trick, the 50mm to 100mm range seems to work better. It's something I will keep plugging at until I get a better shot!

Nikon D4s  |  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 70mm  |  f4.5  |  1/160 SS  |  ISO-2000

9. "Kalahari Dune Storm"
During our trip to our beloved Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, my wife and I were privy to see some immense storm activity as the summer rains arrived to this arid land in full force. Our first evening in the park was spent at the KielieKrankie Wilderness Camp, set aloft on one of the highest dunes in the park. Having driven in under a blanket of building cumulus clouds the afternoon, the storms that rolled in were dramatic, intense and awe-inspiring. The wind was so strong that using a tripod was moot, and I had to resort to hand-holding my camera and trying my best to time my shutter finger with the lightning strikes that occurred frequently. This is one of the better results...

Nikon D810  |  Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 @ 14mm  |  f8.0  |  1/60 SS  |  ISO-1250  |  Handheld!

10. "Love Bites"
I noted above that many of my attempts at wide angle wildlife photography invariably ends up being spent on larger animals as it's easier to fill a significant part of your frame with them. Sometimes, however, things do work out in your favour with other species. We found this mating pair of lions early one morning at the 13th Borehole waterhole in the Auob riverbed of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, and they proceeded to have their honeymoon ritual right next to our vehicle. Naturally, I whipped out the 24-70mm and worked the scene. This is one of the frames that I am happiest with...

Nikon D3s  |  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 42mm  |  f5.6  |  1/400 SS  |  ISO-800  |  Kenko Pro Circular Polariser

That's about it, folks. I hope you enjoyed this selection, if only for the fact that I tried to veer away from my usual format in this "year in review" post.

Are these my absolute favourite images from 2014?
Not all of them, no.

But I did set out with a specific photographic goal in mind for 2014 - to do more of these kinds of shots, and more of them that are worthy to add to my portfolio, no less. I think I succeeded in some ways. I shall probably carry on doing that. 

I doubt that I will ever find myself using remote buggies and drones to photograph wildlife. I do enjoy the fresh perspective that those methods bring - and perhaps it's only because I'm a bit of a cheapskate and don't really see myself splurging on those toys yet. There are also unanswered questions in my mind as to the effect these things have on the wildlife that you approach with them - not so much the single dude who does it here and there, but more on the effect it will have when every 2nd photographer rocks up at a sighting with a drone flying and a remote buggy driving closer...this debate is lively and ongoing - let's see where it ends. For now, I still hugely enjoy being behind the viewfinder, grabbing different cameras and lens combinations as the situation changes, and forcing myself to be creative right there where I am in the sighting. Each to their own, right?

I entered the big photo competitions in 2014 as well. Despite having 3 single images and a portfolio of 6 images in the final round of the "big one" (BBC), none of them placed in the awarded images. I shall probably try again in 2015, if only to take a shot at it. I know there are so many high quality images entered every year and the standards keep lifting - but I like the process of deciding which ones to take a chance with and entering them. 

As a side-note, one of my images that was shortlisted for the finals in both the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and the Natures Best Windland Smith Rice awards was also a wide angle image (taken in 2013 from a research bunker in Etosha). I remains one of my personal favourites in my portfolio, regardless of whether it rakes in any accolades:

I hope you all have a fabulous 2015 - and that you will be challenged to shoot a variety of scenes and focal lengths when you are out spending time in nature.

God bless you all, and thanks for reading!

Morkel Erasmus

Madikwe: May 2010 (Part 2)

If you missed out on the previous episode of this trip report, click HERE.


Day 2

We headed straight for the sighting of African Wild Dogs that was called in on the radio. When we found them they had moved from the side of the road and were staring intently at something deeper in the bushes - would we see them hunt?

They soon lost interest in whatever was back there, and proceeded to move about and socialise with each other. The surrounding bush was quite dense so the images aren't that great - but this was my first proper Painted Dog sighting in years (I don't have much luck with them in the Kruger National Park) and I thoroughly enjoyed spending a good deal of time with them in close proximity, watching the pack interact with each other.

When the dogs decided to lie down, we took our cue to return to the lodge, have a hearty brunch, and relax around the pool watching the wildlife come and go to the small waterhole in front of the lodge. We also met up with Grant Marcus and Gavin Tonkinson, two of the local Madikwe guides involved at the time with Tuningi Safari Lodge. They were keen to join us on our afternoon drive as they didn't have guests to attend to at the time.

Later that afternoon we decided to head to a range of kopjes for a sunset shoot - obviously looking for some wildlife sightings on the way. All these great plans were interrupted when this little lady shot across the road right in front of us!!

Back then, Madikwe wasn't really known for quality leopard sightings. The cats that were there were known to be skittish around vehicles. That's all changed now and the reserve produces some great leopard sightings consistently now. We decided to stick with this young leopardess and see what she does. She ended up providing us with a real quality sighting. Initially, after she scoped us out properly from behind a bush, she sauntered back across the road, and after earning her trust we gently followed her trail off the main road.

She was skulking through the long grass, peering ahead. Was she on the hunt?

She stopped at a nearby tree - not your typical tree preferred by leopards (this one was densely covered in branches and looked like a tough one to get high up in) - peered up, and before we even realised it she jumped into the tree and climbed to the top, where it seemed she had a kill stashed. She was just about to tuck in, when a lone male Impala strolled by. She immediately went into hunting mode - tail swishing to and fro, waiting for the impala to walk past right under her position...

There was silence in our vehicle as we held our breath - would we see her jump down on this ignorant antelope right in front of us???

The wind shifted, and just before her quarry was close enough for a pounce, he caught wind of her and bolted in the other direction. She relented and carried on feeding on her existing prey. What a close call! The sun had now set (there goes our sunset shoot on the kopje, but we didn't mind) and we used a spotlight to grab one or two images of her feeding, then left the sighting as other lodge vehicles started to arrive.

Driving leisurely back to the lodge with the spotlight at the ready, we came across some "African Unicorns" as well (you can figure that one out by yourself), and stopped to photograph some of the iconic dead leadwood trees under the stars as well.

I still had a lot to learn about nightscape photography at this stage, but it was fun and that is what matters in the end!

We had a jolly dinner around the fire recounting the day's exciting turn of events. What would our last morning in Madikwe hold?

Morkel Erasmus

Shake it Off

All is quiet, except for the sound of doves and guinea fowl in the distance.
The sky is bright blue on a winter's morning.
I am sitting in an underground research bunker in +Etosha National Park in Namibia.
He approaches from the southeast, ambling like they usually do. His footfalls are quiet, eerily quiet, like they usually are for these giants.

I see the secretion from his temples and down the inside of his hind legs - he is in musth, an aggravated hormonal state which makes elephant bulls particularly agitated.

The bunker provides protection but you still feel small and powerless when an African Elephant bull gets this close. As he approaches the waterhole he inevitably passes by our bunker.

He sees us, smells us, whatever but he notices us.
An indignant shake of the head, and the dust puffs off him.
A deliberate trip of my shutter.
I have my image.

By the way, I chose the title of this photo long before Taylor Swift had a hit song with that name...

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 36mm
Kenko PRO Circular Polariser
f11  |  1/200 SS  |  ISO-900

This photo is Copyrighted © Morkel Erasmus.  
click on the photo to view at proper resolution and sharpness

I hope you have a fabulous day!

Morkel Erasmus