First off a big thanks to Hilton Kotze for his guest post yesterday where apart from a killer sequence, excuse the pun, he share some solid advise for aspiring wildlife photographers. Make sure to go and check out his blog or, if you are keen on improving your wildlife photography, join him on a photographic safari.

As I sit here I don’t actually have a clue what to write about so let’s see how it goes.

Not sure if it is because there are too many thoughts and ideas I actually want to share or whether it is just on of those days.  The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to use the black and white image on the left in this post.  I photographed this lioness a few days ago during one of the most fantastic light-meets-lion moments I have had for a very long time.

Strangely enough this image stood out not because of the light on her, she was laying in full shade, but because of something else.  The look?  The lines?  The composition?  Not sure, but the moment I saw this image through the viewfinder and again later when I opened it on my Mac it jumped out at me.  It’s not one of those images that makes you go wow, like Hilton’s images from yesterday, but rather just a good, solid wildlife image.  To me there seems to be a sweetness about the lioness, an innocence.  Perhaps that, even more than the composition, is what drew my eye to this frame when I first saw it.

I have no doubt that as you spend more time in the field you will start seeing more and more of these kind of images.  You will see them as you look at your subjects and you will recognize them in an instant as you see your image take shape through your camera’s viewfinder.  Other than hours and hours or practice, the other way in which you can get better at ‘seeing’ images around you is to shoot, and share, with other photographers.

The sharing is the important thing though.  Showing someone the image you just took and telling them what you were thinking or going for when you depressed the shutter is a great way to organize your creative thoughts and make them real.  The more you do this, the more insight and vision you will have when you look through the viewfinder again.

Looking at other photographer’s images out in the field will also, if you are open to it, act as inspiration.  You will get new ideas with regards to angles, composition or the use of light.  Sharing and discussing your thoughts is what cements all of the learning process together and the final result?  You grow as a wildlife photographer.

Ultimately, and perhaps this is one of the stages Hilton mentioned yesterday, we move past trying to create wildlife images but rather try and express our  own personal vision.  Show your viewers what you see when you look at a scene.  Look for emotion in your subjects.  Look for moments.  This kind of growth is essential for your longevity as a wildlife photographer.

Quite a mouthful for someone who had no idea what to write about!  Anyway, on most Fridays I upload a slideshow with a few images from the last week but today I am going to have a quick look at the five new slideshow images I have chosen for March with a few thoughts on each.

The last few weeks have been amazing for lion sightings and this little guy and his four siblings stole the show each time.  When I was looking for images for the slideshow on the top of the blog I had to look for something that would work as a long landscape images.  That normally means fill the frame completely or leave plenty of negative space.  In this case the empty space on the right of the frame has been left open to ask the question “who or what is the little guy snarling at?”  If your images can ask questions then you are on the right track.

As with the lioness on the top of the post, this was another one of those moments that I saw through the viewfinder.  I shot three shots in this series, with this being the first.  Love the open ears and leading line taht gets created by the ellies trunk.  Great animals to watch and photograph.

For the last few weeks I have been shooting almost exclusively with my Nikon 80-200mm f2/8.  We were lucky enough to find this raptor sitting on a dead tree right next to the road which made for quite a nice photo opportunity even though it was quite gloomy – that is where the f/2.8 came in handy.  As you can see the sky was completely gray and overcast so I spot metered of the bird’s chest and fired away.  Neat and clean image which leaves all the focus completely on the bird  even though blue sky would have been nice.

A week or so ago I had an off evening so I joined Grant Marcus for an afternoon game drive.  Was great to be able to just sit back, look around and shoot whatever I wanted.  Great fun and a magical sunset.

This is a shot I have been trying for a while.  I am sure that every single person who has even photographed a zebra must have tried something like this but I still like the simplicity of it and even though I like this one I will keep on trying.

If you are looking for a quick and inspirational read this weekend, make sure to head over to Craft and Vision where you can pick up Dave Delnea’s latest e-book ‘Below the Horizon – Understanding Light at the Edges of Day’.  For $5 it is an absolute steal and even though, at Dave’s own admission, there are no mind blowing secrets in the book you will find great advise, guidelines and image of how to shoot before sunrise and after sunset.  Yeah, this is the realm of long exposures, early mornings and late evenings.  Awesome inspiration.  While you are on the site you might as will pick up a few of David duChemin’s e-books.  Probably the best photographic e-books available today!

After reading Below the Horizon, I headed out to give the long exposure thing a bash.  Have not done anything like that for a very long time but along with Gavin Tonkinson, had a great time.  We played with tripods, remote controls and neutral density filters and as mentioned earlier, it is the best way to learn. Shot a good couple of frames and even though the results were ok, I will be doing a lot more of this in future.  Here is one of the images I shot after sunset.

This was a four second exposure which shows the view towards the west of the Madikwe Game Reserve.  The reflection in the vehicle windscreen is my attempt at being creative and in the distance you can see the light of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone.  Very different to what I normally shoot but a great exercise in long exposures.  Will hopefully be posting more of these in future.  Good fun.

Before I let you go for the weekend, one last wildlife photograph that I shot the same afternoon as image of the lioness at the top of the post.

Beautiful light, awesome action and another fantastic African moment!

Have a great weekend!  See ya on Monday!

Gerry

I have quite a few field guides.  A lot actually.  Anything and everything ranging from bird and mammals to trees and frogs.  You would think that there comes an point that you don’t relaly need another one, and that is what I thought, but then this one came along.

The Raptor Guide by Ulrich Oberprieler and Burger Cillie has raised the bar for bird field guides and is an absolute must for anybody heading out into the wild places of Africa.  Yes I know there have been a lot of raptor guides in the past, and yes I have them as well, but the detail and ease of use of The Raptor Guide makes it stand out above the rest.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

1. General Biology – Includes info on bills, eyes & vision, calls and hearing, breeding behavior and conservation problems and solutions.
2. Raptor Groups – Including details on how to identify different groups of raptors.
3. Species Accounts – A detailed account of each individual species.
4. Confusing Birds – Comparisons and ways to differentiate between confusing species.
5. References – Sections on raptos groups, raptors in flight and a quick index.

The introductory section of the book covers, in amazing detail, an introduction to raptors and proceeds to look at how a raptor’s senses work.  Attention to food and hunting methods van make an incredible difference when you are viewing raptors in the field.  By differentiating between terms such as soaring, stooping, quartering and surprise attack you will be in a much better position to identify raptor purely on the way they search for and attack prey.

In the section group called Raptor Groups each group of raptors get looked at in a general but detailed way.  Common prey and behavior per group will make it easier to start narrowing things down when you do see a raptor out in the wild.  From here you can proceed to the Species Accounts where you can read up on pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about each individual species.  Each species has has been given a double spread.  On the right hand page you will find some amazing photographs of each species showing different plumages and variations that you might find such as in breeding or juvenile birds.  On the left of page you will find all the standard info you would expect in a field guide and more.  The layout makes it easy to use and very informative.

This field guide really takes that next step when you get to the References section.  One of the most difficult aspects of identifying raptors is when they are circling high up above. The Raptor Guide includes a complete comparison, per raptor group, that shows each species, including juveniles and variations which will make identification a whole lot easier.  Yes, many field guides have comparisons of raptors in flight but the difference here is that species are shown in flight as you would normally see them.  Large raptors normally get seen from underneath so you to compare them like this.  Smaller raptors such as goshawks and harriers are show differently as you normally see them darting around between trees.  So simple and a huge help when trying to identify raptors in the field.

Another great, and very helpful section, is one on Confusing Species.  Each possible confusing species, such as a Martial Eagle and a Black-Chested Snake Eagle, are looked at with various pointers that you could use out in the field.  Easy to use and extremely effective.  Follow the numbers step by step and you will know which species you have your binoculars pointed at.

If you work in a game reserve, visit lodges often or are just looking to get a great field guide to the raptors of Southern Africa you need this book.

The Raptor Guide is available at Kalahari.net and any good book store.   Click here to get your copy from Kalahari.net immediately.  By using this link you will not only be able to order the book, for less than R200, and have it delivered to your doorstep but you will also be helping me to earn a few cents for the referral.  I reckon if 100 people use the link I could perhaps buy a Coke?

On a slightly different note, I am almost finished reading No Stopping for Lions.  Still an absolutely amazing ride through Africa.  I received an email from Tracy recommending ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ by Anthony Lawrence.  Great call Tracy as I already have the book ready and waiting and I will post a review soon!

If you have have any recommendations for books or blogs that relate to wildlife, photography or anything ion between let me know!

More soon!

Gerry