European Roller (Coracias garrulus)

Madikwe Game Reserve, 6 March 2010, 17h11

Nikon D300, Nikon 80-200 @ 160mm, 1.2000, f/2,8, ISO 200

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Sometimes when you go on safari you will go hours without seeing one of the sought after photographic subjects.  The last few days has been a bit like that but during times like this you can always look out for and  photograph landscapes, macro images and birds.  Many people don’t even try to photograph birds because ‘I don’t have a good enough camera’ or ‘I don’t have a long enough lens’.  If you cannot make a good image with ‘basic’ camera equipment how do you plan to use the fancy lenses and things to do so?  Isn’t have the fun in photography to push your own visual and creative boundaries and see what images you can create regardless of your equipment?  I shot the above image at a focal length of  160mm which for bird photography is probably considered almost wide angle but it just shows that if you are patient and you keep your eyes open there really are wildlife images everywhere.  I guess the bottom line is that you should never stop looking for subjects or trying to capture those subjects when out in the field.  Regardless of what equipment you are shooting with!

Thursday is, always, guest blogger day on Photo-Africa and I am extremely pleased to have Mitchell Krog share his thoughts and ideas on nature photography with us tomorrow.  Mitchell will be discussing what he looks for in an image when he’s out there photographing nature and how he envisions bringing his views of nature to his audience.   In Mitchell’s own words “It’s a lot more more than clicking a shutter button, it’s about telling a story by capturing the character, expressions and nature of an animal and furthermore stirring an emotion in the viewers of my images. For me photography is an incredibly powerful medium because it allows me to show others how I see the world, not how they see it, and that to me is the most unique gift and not one I ever take for granted.“

During the last few years Mitchell has achieved much recognition in the last few years with his images, has had his works published in a number of publications locally and internationally and has received numerous awards for his images.  Mitchell also has a very strong background in environmental and conservation fields and this gives him a solid understanding and appreciation of the threatened ecosystems and environments which he so often has the priveledge to photograph. He has a firm belief that it is difficult to save what cannot be seen and has often used his images for motivating environmental causes.

Make sure to visit Photo-Africa tomorrow for Mitchell’s guest post.

I’ll see ya on Friday!

Gerry