A Personal Hwange Serenade...

Being a lover of the bush its easy to appreciate the small things when on a game drive, especially when they put on what seems like a performance just for you! On a recent trip to Hwange National Park in the wet season we drove around the corner to see this little Red Billed Spurfowl taking in the afternoon sun on a dead tree right next to the road. Immediately cutting the engine we rolled slowly to a stop right opposite the bird. With my heart in my mouth and fully anticipating the little guy to flap off we waited for a few minutes in complete silence. Red seemed to be taking it all in his stride and after surveying us for a few minutes went back to his usual routine, which happened to be his late afternoon bath.

After much vigorous preening and grooming he ended the pamper session with, literally, a little song and dance! Shuffling up and down the dead branch he crooned, sqwuaked and sang all to our utter astonishment and wide eyed enjoyment. After just the rich amount of time and feeling as if he had obviously entertained us enough he threw back his head for on last trill and flapped off into the setting sun. It has been one of the most enjoyable bush experienced I have had in a long time, being serenaded as the hot African sun goes down!

Chris frequently travels to Southern and east Africa's best wildlife destinations leading Photographic Safari Workshops, why not join him in Hwange in October 2014

Photography in Stormy Weather...

A lot of photographers (including me!) can get quite depressed in "off" weather, typically cloudy and non-sunshine weather is the usual culprit. But given certain circumstances the potential to get amazingly dramatic pictures if often there if you are willing to take the chance with the elements. I have spent a lot of time out in the field and always have my eye on the horizon in 'cloudy' weather as the sun often pops out from behind the cloud just before it sets. This combination of golden light shining on stormy clouds can be fantastic and result in some breathtaking images! This is exactly what happened in the case above when Chris watched the gathering storms being light up by the afternoon light, even though it was raining in the distance perseverence paid off and Chris managed to get quite a dramatic sequence of pictures!

Where: Top of Joina City, Harare, Zimbabwe
How: Nikon D3 and Nikkor 16-35mm lens on a tripod
Settings: ISO 400, f11 @1/15th sec

Would you like to learn more about photography and how to take great pictures? Why not join Chris on an introduction to photography course or a photographic safari workshop?

When Fish Eagles Attack...

On a recent visit to Rhino Safari Camp in the stunning Matusadonha National Park I was pottering around one of the multitude of quite bays that fringe the island when I came across a Goliath Heron going about his early morning fishing routine; flitting from spot to spot looking for the biggest catch.

The largest of the Heron family, the Goliath is a beautiful bird and thus I was very keen to get a few pictures of this chap and his morning routine so I slowly and quietly eased myself into a position where I had a good view of him hoping he would move towards me so the early morning light would catch him at the right angle and light up his beautiful feather markings.

After a few moments of blissful silence and serene observation he started moving, to my dismay, away from me and out of the bay towards the open water. Disappointed but still keen for a picture of this large bird in flight I lined up and waited patiently for him to spread his wings and head out.

Almost on queue the magnificent bird, with wings outstretched began hi pre-flight check when all of a sudden in a blur of sharp claws and unrestrained anger a nearby previously peaceful Fish Eagle had taken some deep exception to the presence of the Goliath and decided to see him off! Obliviously unawares of this potential all I saw through the view-frame was a blur of motion in from the top right and the indignant sqwuake of the Goliath as it headed out, feathers abruptly ruffled!

Thankfully, due mostly to reaction than anything else I managed to squeeze off a few shots of the action before I even knew what was going on, which brings us on to this months bit of pearly advise; plan and expect for everything and when it happens when you are off guard don't hesitate to hold your finger down on the shutter button, you may end up with some stunning results!

The Sound of Africa's Rivers...

A trip to any of Africa’s large waterways wouldn't be the same without the iconic sounds of honking, snorting, laughing, wheezing, spraying, splashing, roaring and general cavorting that Hippo’s tend to punctuate the atmosphere with. An African sunset wouldn't be the same without the accompanying vocal acrobatics but in addition to the audio satisfaction it may provide its onlookers the seemingly random bursts of sounds are vitally important in the Hippo community.

Due to their amorphous build, nocturnal activity and tendency to spend most of the day submerged in water communication plays a vital role in any Hippo community. The amazing variations of sound are made from the exhaled breath of a surfacing Hippo, can resonate for many kilometers and can communicate anger, threat, alarm and general communication between family members “honey I’m over here-here-here-here-here” as most if us would like to imagine!

Where: On a Photo Safari at Rhino Safari Camp on Lake Kariba in the Matusadona National Park.

How: Nikon D3 and Nikkor 500mm f4 VR ED. ISO 640 Aperture f7.1 @ 1/500th of a second. Shooting into the sun can be tricky so its best to try and avoid blowout in the highlights. To do this you must make sure you do not overexpose the scene and so meter for the highlights i.e the brighter part of the image. This however ushers in a new problem in that you do not want to loose detail in the darker areas of the picture! Such is the tricky life of a photographer!

Why not learn more about metering and join us on a photographic safari to one of our stunning wildlife destinations!