Hwange's Pink Elephants...

Their thirst was obvious by the way their gait changed into a frantic run as the herd neared Nyamandhlovu pan in #Hwange national park. This is not unusual in the dry month of September as thousands of animals rely on the life giving water pumped into pans throughout the park.

Chris was lucky enough to participate in the Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe annual game count in Hwange National Park this September. Every year since 1972 hundreds of volunteers converge on the park and are assigned to watch a specific water hole for 24 hours and count everything they see. Its hot, you are confined to your car, its tiring, but the rewards are worth the effort, both for the experiences gleaned by the counters as well as the wealth of information that is recorded for the Parks' authorities.

The Hwange game count is the longest continual game census in Southern Africa and because of this, trends in animal numbers can be extrapolated and studied. As with most large scale surveys its not 100% accurate but generally very consistent, however it gets quite tricky to definitely say how many elephants there are in the park. Some estimates put the population between 30-35 000 while the figures from the 2014 game count results suggest around 23 000.

The count wouldn't be possible without the massive efforts of WEZ Matabeleland who organises the count as well as Friends of Hwange Trust.

Shot at Nyamadhlovu Pan, Hwange National Park, Nikon D610 with Nikkor 70-200 F2.8 ISO 640 1/160 @ F4.5

Shoot Wide to See More...

Most, if not all, wildlife photographers have gorilla sized forearms from wielding some of the longest lenses money can buy. They are also not shy to wield the beastly lenses in the direction of any animal, bird or insect that has the misfortune to wander into view. Its no surprise that I fit into that bracket and unashamedly utilize the large magnification you get from long lenses.

Other then the associated cardio workout that you get from wielding such lenses, you are also able to get really close to your subject matter without having to sit on top of them. This is an advantage that we should not scoff at as most wildlife photographers are keen conservationists and have the comfort of and respect for their subjects in the fore of their consciousness. The only drawback from wielding such magnification is that it can become quite addictive and when the action heats up there is little regard for thinking or doing anything else.

Again, I am one of those that gets distracted by the 'pink mist; when the action starts and have only recently been able to consciously drag myself away from the long glass and approach animal, action and behavior using shorter lenses that afford a wider view of my subjects. Again, most pro wildlife photographers will have a shorter zoom or prime, such as the excellent 70-210 range, for exactly that reason, the wider you shoot the more you see and seeing the whole picture is as important as seeing the tick that hangs off your subjects eyelash.

So next time you are bashing away with your long glass, stop, think and pick up a shorter telephoto and try and capture the animal, or animals, in their environment.

Why: Despite the temptation to use his longest lens Chris used a shorter focal length to enable him to capture the whole herd of Buffalo as well as the huge cloud of dust that picked up the subtle pink hues of dawn. Using a longer lens would have drastically reduced the angle of vision and thus how much of the scene Chris could have captured.
How: Nikon D610 and Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm ISO 800 1/500th second @f6.3
Where: Hwange National Park

Would you like to learn more about photographic techniques and how to take great pictures? Join Chris on a Photographic Safari Workshop in some on Southern Africa's most stunning wild areas.

Don't Create Wallpaper...

Everyone loves a sunset, especially one of those breathtaking, ‘OMG those are colors I have never seen’, kind of sunsets. I'm sure all of us, professional, amateur or learner photographers have captured a million such sunsets, and I'm sure we have all photographed them in the same manic, run-around, wild eyed, the "lights about to disappear" manner. After your nine-millionth sunset you will hopefully have control of the wild-eyed demon that emerges at sundown and will start to think critically about what you are doing.

Take this picture for example, its not even a sunset, rather a sunrise and something that most people not blessed with the crazy urge to rise before the sun often miss out on. Given a bit of cloudy weather to pick up the rays of the rising sun and the colors that they produce you can capture some stunning images, once you have tamed the wild - eyed panic beast.

And so to get to the point, an old University professor used to regard sunrises and sunsets with marginal interest and with almost gleeful disdain referred to them as "wallpaper". Beautiful colors yes but nothing of much interest. It took me quite a few years of frantic running around at sunset and sunrise to realise what he was on about.

You need something of interest, even if its subtle, to bring the organza of colors into perspective, to give them root in the place and scene you are photographing. In short you still need a subject matter even if you are photographing colors never seen by another human eye before.

So when you are next in the heat of the moment, take some time to slow down, pull yourself towards yourself and look for a subject matter to give some sense, place or scale to those amazing colors.

Where: Little Samavhundla pan, Hwange National Park.
How: Sunrise, HDR composite of 3 different exposures, calmness and attention to subject matter!
Tech specs: Nikon D610 with Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 @ 80mm ISO 800 F8 1st exposure 1/80th sec, 2nd exposure 1/20th sec, third exposure 1/250th sec.

Would you like to learn more about photographic techniques and how to take great pictures? Join Chris on a Photographic Safari Workshop in some on Southern Africa's most stunning wild areas.

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