White Rhino Youngster

Nikon D3s, Nikon 300mm VR II, 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 320

Monochrome conversion with Nik Silver Efex Pro

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

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Young Lion

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II @ 200mm, 1/2000 f/4, ISO 400

Madikwe Game Reserve

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

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Young Zebra

Nikon D3s, Nikon 70-200mm VR II @ 200mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 500

Madikwe Game Reserve

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

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Lion Feeding on Young Zebra

Madikwe Game Reserve, 26 February 2010, 17h19

Nikon D300, Nikon 80-200 @ 200mm, 1/160, f/5.6, ISO 640

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If you have ever watched lions feeding you will know that it is a very clinical scene.  The lions go about finishing their meal in a very step-by-step fashion. I am not referring to the actual kill, like what Hilton Kotze described in his great guest post last week, but rather the large cats feeding on the carcass.  A few weeks ago we found a lioness and her two youngsters, around one year of age, in pretty thick bush.  We sat watching the lions moving around in the thickets for a while when one of the youngsters walked down a game path straight past out vehicle carrying the head of their unfortunate prey.

Considering that the lion in the image is only about a year old, you can see how tiny the zebra must have been.  Under normal circumstances most people who come on safari hope to see the actual kill but on this occasion it was pretty unanimous that no one would have liked to see the three lions take down this very young zebra.  I am not too fond of photographing and showing lions on a kill – personal preference – but up until the moment the young lion appeared out of the thickets we were not exactly sure what they were doing and as wildlife photographers we should try and capture every aspect of nature..  Difficult to watch and photograph but a natural part of life in Africa.   That moment, and this image, acts as a reminder that nature can be pretty cruel at times but that every animal has it’s place in the circle of life.  This image, simple as it may be, tells that story.

See ya tomorrow!

Gerry

Young Elephant

Madikwe Game Reserve

(Nikon D300, Sigma 50-500 @ 420mm, 1/640, f.6.3, ISO 500)

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We see a lot of elephants.  This makes it easy to images of them but, in a strange kind of way, more difficult to create unique images.  With anything that you do on a regular basis, you need to start thinking out the box to keep things fresh.  Background, different lens, capture action, different light, anything!  We were heading back to the lodge a few days ago when this little youngster stopped to give us a good look.  A slight cloud cover made for a soft light on the young ellie.  The grass and different layers of vegetation made for an interesting background that almost frames the ellie but does not overpower him.  As I watched him through the viewfinder I waited for him to give me ‘something’ which, in this case, was the trunk raising up.  Slightly different but with the background it makes for quite a nice elephant shot.  Well I think so!

More soon.

Gerry

Young Spotted Hyena

Madikwe Game Reserve

(Nikon D300, Sigma50-500 @ 200mm, 1/180, f/6.0, ISO 400)

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When we where sitting watching this young hyena the bright morning sun on it’s fur was the one thing that everybody noticed.  The position of the sun made for something between side-lighting and back lighting but it was perfect.  The curious little guy stood perfectly still, watching us very intently, while we all fired away.  The directional light made the fine fur stand out and the rim lighting around the ears give the scene that ‘something else’.  I was hoping to show the highlights in the fur so I spot metered off the hyena’s face, which was dark enough for the highlights to pop, and fired away.  Quick conversion to black and white.  All done.

More soon.

Gerry