Trip report: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – March 2024 Part I

My wife and I visited the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park over the Easter weekend of 2024 – only 3 full days in the park. One might ask – only for a weekend travelling over 1600km? Yes, why not! Nevertheless, we had a few interested sightings, and we were able to identify 65 different birds during those few days.

Part one of the trip report will focus on our major sightings and the summary of these major sighting during those days are:

• Two different cheetah sightings (one between Montrose and Rooibrak waterhole and one near Gemsbokplein waterhole).
• One lion sighting (1 sub-adult male lion) just north of Urikaruus rest camp
• Three leopard sightings – see descriptions below the photos posted in this post

Below are a few of these sightings we had in the park – see the explanations of the photos and/or sightings below each photo (for those who are interested in the park itself). All the photos were taken with a Sony A1 camera and Sony FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 lens.

Kudu on dune
1/400 sec, ISO500, f6.3 @ 350mm
Saturday morning, we decided to drive to the 13^th borehole waterhole. On our way we came across a herd of 6 kudus – taken between Gemsboksplein and Batulama waterhole on Saturday morning before the herd disappeared behind the dunes.
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Leopard in bushes
1/2500 sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 600mm
When we arrived at the 13^th borehole, we were informed that a leopard is walking from the riverbed towards the upper road between the dunes. We parked on the mentioned dune road and the leopard walked past us towards (across the road and up the higher dune). This was just after 08:00 in the morning
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Leopard other side
1/5000sec, ISO500 f6.3 @ 600mm
The leopard did not disappear over the higher dune as anticipated, but up on the dune he suddenly turned 180 degrees and decided to walk back to the water hole. Here he is about to cross the riverbed back towards to waterhole.
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Leopard close up
1/4000 sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 600mm
The leopard had just crossed the riverbed and was walking towards our car. Now you start to see the saliva dripping out of his mouth. An indication that there is another male leopard in the vicinity. He was calling and then we heard the other leopard returning the call behind the higher dune (relatively far away) but unfortunately, we never saw the other male.
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Leopard through the leaves
1/4000 sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 600mm
After crossing the riverbed, the leopard moved directly towards the nearby tree, giving me the opportunity to get a photo of him through the small branches of a three-thorn bush. Now you can clearly see the saliva dripping from his mouth. He was definitely not a happy chap.
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Leopard against tree
1/4000 sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 200mm
Because of the other male in the vicinity, he started to smell and mark some of the nearby trees. Just the establish his territory. He was almost too close to our vehicle for a 200mm lens.
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Leopard in blossoms
1/1600 sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 200mm
The leopard crossed the road leading towards the waterhole and he moved up the opposite dune (he just came from). We thought he will disappear over the dune but no, he stayed just below the ridge of the dune (lying in the shade of a bush). We waited at the waterhole to see what is going to happen – especially with the other male around. After a while he moved back down the dune walking through some of the beautiful yellow flowers of the thorns on the ground – again towards to riverbed.
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Leopard on ridge
1/200sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 600mm
Eventually he crossed the riverbed (again!!!) and walked towards to higher dune road. We drove to the higher dune road and waiting for him to cross the road again. While approaching the road, he stopped on a smallish ridge giving me the opportunity to get ‘n photo of him with a naturally blurred background. It was now already 10:00. He did not walk all the way over the ridge of the higher dune (we thought this time he might disappear over the dune) but he rather came back again down the dune into the riverbed and laid underneath a tree in the riverbed. At that stage we decided to leave him while he was resting a few hundred meters north of the waterhole (in the riverbed). We drove back to our chalet for a much-deserved brunch. What a morning!
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Meerkat Kgal family
1/2000 sec, ISO800, f63. @ 388mm
Saturday afternoon we decide to drive to the Kamqua waterhole. On our way back, just before Rooibrak waterhole, we came across a meerkat family next to road rested in front of their burrow after a day of foraging. We had a few minutes before the setting sun would disappear behind the dune and we used the opportunity to get a few photos of them – in the golden hour of sunlight. The light of the golden hour makes a huge difference to an image!
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Meerkat lookout small
1/250 sec, ISO800, f13 @ 452mm
There were two adults (a few meters away from the rest) keeping watch while the other were resting. One of the little ones decided to join one of the lookout posts but resting in front of him/her.
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Meerkat whats up
1/2500 sec, ISO800, f6.3 @ 547mm
There was one adult next to the family also keeping watch and it looks to me like the other adult is asking him (as in the well-known cartoon): “What’s up, Doc?”
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Leopard Kgal playing
1/640 sec, ISO1000, f6.3 @ 600mm
During our morning drive on Sunday morning, we were driving slowly again up north along the Auob River. At Montrose waterhole we came across two leopards. It might be Miera and her daughter. They were in a playful mood as they were walking south along the riverbed but unfortunately on the other side of the riverbed. After a while they disappeared over the edge of the dune, and they did not re-reappear.
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Leopard drinking Monroe
1/320 sec, ISO1000, f6.3 @ 600mm
Monday morning and it was time to drive back the Bloemfontein. We left our chalet on Monday morning around gate opening time to start your journey back to Bloemfontein. We had some rain during the night and there was still a slight drizzle of rain around us. As we slowed down approaching Monroe waterhole Like we always do when approaching a waterhole), we saw this young leopard male hiding behind the wall of the waterhole. We stopped, switched off the care and waited patiently. And after a while he relaxed and started to drink some water while keeping a watchful eye on us.
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Leopard tongue
1/800 sec, ISO1000, f6.3 @ 600mm
After drinking, he stood up, looked around and moved away from the waterhole. He started walking towards to opposite side of the riverbed and we decided to leave him because it was still a long way back to Bloemfontein.
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And that was our long weekend visit to our favourite park. In Part 2 of this trip report I’ll focus and post some of my bird photos taken during the trip.

Message to take home:

Go back and look at my photos posted in this post – specifically look at the light effects. Some of the photos were taken in overcast conditions while others were taken during the golden hour period. You can see that the lighting situation is a major component of photography to consider. If you are a serious photographer, keep in mind that the light can actually make or break your images.  As you can see from my photos above, good-quality light is a solid starting point to get that WOW photo. However, good light is only the start point because you also need to pay attention to the direction of light (which is evident in my last meerkat image). That specific meerkat photo was taken in excellent light, but the meerkats were facing away from the sun and therefore not a good photo.

Nevertheless, keep on shooting!!!

Orms and Canon photography Competition 2022: Outcome of my images summitted

Orms and Canon launched a photography competition late in 2022 called “Orms and Canon takes you places”. The organisers requested photographers to enter some of “their most beautiful images of South Africa” – taken anywhere in South Africa.

Because we traveled a lot in and around South Africa, I’ve entered a few photos in the competition which I’ve taken during some of the trips around South Africa. Apparently, the organisers received a few thousand photos, and I was lucky – one of my images was selected amongst the top 20 to be displayed at the Sea Point Promenade and Cape Town.

Here is the link to all the images that were on display:

Orms x Canon Takes You Places: And The Winners Are…

My image that was selected to be displayed:

Hole and pebbles
Hole in the Wall, Eastern Cape, South Africa
(Nikon D800, 13 seconds, f16, ISO100, 17mm)
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The actual display at the Sea Point Promenade:

Just a few other images that I’ve entered but did not impress the judges:

Church in fire
Barkley pass, South Africa
(Nikon D800, 1/5 sec, f16, ISO100, 17mm)
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Moon rise
Outside Bloemfontein, South Africa
(Nikon D800, 13 sec, f16, ISO400, 48mm)
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Tree above
Magoebaskloof, South Africa
(Nikon D800, 1.3 sec, f11, ISO100, 17mm)
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Tree on R hill
Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, South Africa
(Nikon D800, 1/6 sec, f11, ISO100, 19mm)
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Message to take home:

As you can see, all these photos of mine posted above are landscape related photos. I quickly learn ed from one the best – proper planning is needed when doing landscape photography. Do not think for a minute you can just go to a certain scene or place and you will get great photos. Yes, maybe if you are lucky. You need to know the place and approach the scene with a specific purpose in mind. Only then would you be able to have an image in your mind that you want to capture. Now you need to work according to the mentioned purpose and image. As a result, it is then easy to develop specific expectations – especially if you’ve seen similar photos of other photographers of the same scene. Therefore, just be careful and keeping in mind that these expectations can lead to stress, and frustration because many factors (like the weather) do not always play along. Do not get upset about it but rather go back to the scene again and again until all the elements are aligned. Only then will you get that WOW image!

Until next time – keep on shooting!!!

Willem’s Bird Photography blog (#15)

Interesting variation of African mourning dove (Rooioog tortelduif)( Streptopelia decipiens)

I’ve decided to “resuscitate” my bird photography blog but with a twist. I will not continue with a weekly blog but rather post some interesting and sometimes not so interesting (simple portraits) photos of different birds in the environment. To start the “new” approach to the blog series – I recently photographed this interesting colour variation of an African mourning dove at Tshokwane picnic spot in the Kruger National Park in South Africa. There were three of these doves around the picnic spot. It is the first time I saw such a colour morph of this dove – very interesting.

Sony A1 with Sony 200-600mm lens with 1.4 convertor = 840mm, ISO 1000, f9, 1/2500.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
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A few minutes later a “normal” African mourning dove landed on one of the “braaiers” in the picnic spot – just to compare the two doves, the same type of dove.

Sony A1 with Sony 200-600mm lens with 1.4 convertor = 840mm, ISO 1000, f9, 1/2500.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
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This is another photo I took on the Chobe River of two African mourning doves a few years ago (10 years if I am not mistaken)

Nikon D3S, Nikkor 600mmf4 fixed lens & Nikon 1.4 convertor = 850mm, ISO 1600, f8, 1/6400.
Chobe Nature Reserve, Botswana
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Interesting facts:

Note the red-eye and the yellow eye of the dove. Confusing species are the Red-eyed dove and Ring-necked dove.

The distribution map of the bird in Southern Africa:

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.info/birds/columbidae/streptopelia_decipiens.htm

Until next week – keep an eye on the birds and keep on shooting.

South Africa Photographer of the Year Competition (SAPOTY) 2023: Outcome of my photos submitted

South Africa launched the first ever South Africa Photographer of the Year competition late in 2022. There were several categories for photographers to enter their photos – a separate competition for amateurs and professionals. The competition was mainly for nature related photos. I’ve entered photos (in the Amateur competition) in the Bird category, the Monochrome category, the Animal in the Environment as well as the Mammal category. Apparently, they received almost 5000 photos for this competition.

Last month I was invited to attend the prize giving function of this 1^st South Africa Photographer of the Year competition because I won the Animal in the Environment competition for amateurs. This is my second most important competition outcome. The first being the fact that one of my photos was selected as a finalist in the international National History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPOTY)(Previously known as the BBC WPOTY) in 2016. The WPOTY competition is considered to be the Oscar awards for international wildlife photographers and photos with around 50 000 photos entered every year from photographers all over the world. 

Back to the SAPOTY – 6 of my images made it into the final round of judging. Let’s have a look the photo of the wining images as well as the other 5: 

The winner of the mentioned category:

Mouse in tree
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa
(Sony A1, 1/100 sec, f6.3, ISO800, 600mm)

The following images made it into the final round of judging but did not win a prize:

Monochrome category:

Bulbul over weaver mono
My backyard in Bloemfontein, South Africa
(Sony A1, 1/6400 sec, f8, ISO800, 511mm)

Leopard twtbw
Sabi Sands Private Nature Reserve, South Africa
(Nikon Z6, 1/1000 sec, f4, ISO1250, 300mm)

Mammal category:

Hyena Zebra head
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon Z6, 1/2500 sec, f4, ISO800, 600mm)

Jackal king
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa
(Nikon Z6, 1/4000 sec, f8, ISO1250, 600mm)

Leopard jump mating
Sabi Sands Private Nature Reserve, South Africa
(Nikon Z6, 1/1600 sec, f4, ISO1250, 300mm)

Message to take home:

Entering photography competitions could and should be lot a fun but for some photographers, it could also be frustrating. The outcome of such competitions could put doubt in one’s mind about the quality of your images. However, it is important not to take the “negative” outcome of a photography competition personally. If you have some spare cash to spend, I would strongly recommend that you enter some of the big competitions – even as a beginner. Do not doubt yourself but have confidence in your photos. I’ve won my first medal in an international salon (photography competition) within about 6 months after I started entering the competitions – see the link for more detail: (https://willemkruger.wordpress.com/2021/08/29/medals-in-international-photography-salons-exhibition/) . And it was within two years after I’ve picked up a camera for the first time. I made it into the finals of the WPOTY in 2016 as mentioned in my introduction above (6 years being an amateur photographers) and there are more experienced photographers who are trying for years without success. Therefore, remember – you wouldn’t be the first to won a major prize shortly after you’ve started with your photography journey.

Until next time – keep on shooting!!!

N3TC Photography Competition 2022: Outcome of my images summitted

The N3TC launched a photography competition late last year. The rules of the competition indicated that any photos that were taken in KZN, Mpumalanga, Free state and Gauteng can be entered – preferably close to the N3 highway. I thought about some pictures I taken in that vicinity some years ago and decided to enter the competition.

Let’s have a look at the outcome of the four images that I’ve entered for this competition: 

I was quite surprised to receive an e-mail telling me that the following image of mine has won the competition:

wildlife-1-winnerDownload

The Vultures and the Jackal
Giant’s Castle, South Africa
(Nikon D700, 1/1600 sec, f8, ISO1000, 600mm)

The following image of mine was also the runner up in this competition:

wildlife-2-runnerupDownload

How about a kiss
Giant’s Castle, South Africa
(Nikon D3S, 1/4000 sec, f5.6, ISO500, 600mm)

And this image received a merit award in the competition:

wildlife-3-meritDownload

Southern bald ibis flying
Giant’s Castle, South Africa
(Nikon D3S, 1/6400 sec, f5.6, ISO800, 850mm)

The other image that I’ve entered was:

Raven attacking vulture
Giant’s Castle, South Africa
(Nikon D4, 1/4000 sec, 8, ISO1000, 600mm)
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As part of the entry process, they provided us with a list of organisations and you had to select one of the mentioned organisations that you would like to benefit should one of your photos win a price. As a result, I’ve identified Birdlife SA as my organisation. Therefore, they would now receive a substantial amount of money as a result of the outcome of my entries.

Message to take home:

As you’ve seen from my photos, three of the four photos were taken at the very familiar Giants Castle in the Drakensberg and the other one the Golden Gate National Park.  Photographers are sometimes not keen on going to places where many other photographers been and where unique images are very difficult to be captured. Photographers are usually concerned about the originality of their photos. They are worried about how over-photographed the world and wildlife at that specific area/point seems. Furthermore, they are worried that they won’t have anything unique to show and to contribute going to such places. Also because they thought many photographers captured so many photos in that area in the past and that it’s all been done before. I think it is wrong. Nature and wildlife are never the same and by finding specific sightings to photograph, you’re capturing the unique moment in time to show people what the areas and sighting look like at that specific point in time. 

Until next time – keep on shooting and go place!!!

Wild Art Photographer of the Year Competition July 2022: Theme Human Nature – outcome of my images summitted

The 7^th theme for this year’s Wild Art Photographer of the Year competition was “Human nature” – yet another challenging theme for me. As a result, I had some trouble finding some wildlife images of mine where there is a human element in the photo. However, I’ve scanned through my files looking for wildlife phots with some human elements in it. I found about eight photos.

This time around I was not successful with my entries because the judges did not even request one RAW file and therefore none on my 8 images was even selected to be under the Top 100.

Now let’s have a look at my 8 images entered for this theme: 

The eight images that I’ve entered but that did not make it through the first round of judging:

Elephant and car
Addo National Park, South Africa
(Sony A1, 1/2000 sec, f5.6, ISO1600, 200mm)
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Hyena cub pickup
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D500, 1/200 sec, f8, ISO125, 300mm)
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Hyena cub running
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D5, 1/1000 sec, f8, ISO640, 600mm)
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Leopard gents
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D4, 1/1000 sec, f8, ISO640, 300mm)
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Leopard GP number
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D5, 1/3200 sec, f4, ISO250, 300mm)
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Lion take away cafe
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D800, 1/1000 sec, f8, ISO3200, 350mm)
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Lion take away
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D800, 1/1000 sec, f8, ISO3200, 350mm)
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Lioness biting car
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D800, 1/200 sec, f4, ISO100, 200mm)
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Message to take home:

As you’ve seen from my camera setting just below each image – not one image has the same camera setting. It is important that you are in control of your camera and camera setting. And you can only be in control and feel comfortable with the camera setting if you do experiment/explore with various settings in a sighting (take note – only after you’ve captured the image you want). 

If you are in control, your photos will definitely improve. Do not just rely on one setting and just on the Auto mode like you do with your cell phone. 

Try and get the camera setting spot-on so that you can get the photo right in-camera and that you do not need to do much post-processing in Photoshop.

Until next time – keep on shooting and experiment with the camera settings!!!

Wild Art Photographer of the Year Competition June 2022: Theme Space – outcome of my images summitted

The 6^th theme for this year’s Wild Art Photographer of the Year competition was “Space”. A very interesting theme because the tendency is to zoom in with your camera/lens and focus on the detail and/or behaviour of animals. As a result, I had some trouble finding some wildlife images of mine that would fit this theme. Nevertheless, I’ve selected and submitted 10 images that I thought might be appropriate for the theme. Well, it seems to me I was wrong because only 1 of the 10 images was selected to be under the Top 100 and it did not make into the prize categories. I am sure you would agree – more space around the subject is necessary and the subject should be smaller in the photo. More of the environment must be visible in the photo.

However, let’s have a look at my 10 images entered for this theme – some of the images were also used in the previous months’ competitions as well, so there might be some repetition.

The one images that were selected to be under the Top 100 images in the Behaviour category:

Chameleon moon
Mashatu Nature Reserve, /Botswana
(Nikon D800, 1/60 sec, f2.8, ISO1000, 200mm)

The other nine images that I’ve entered but that did not make it through the first round of judging:

Baboon baby scared
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon Z6, 1/4000 sec, f4, ISO400, 600mm)
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Buffalo double
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D5, 1/2000 sec, f8, ISO320, 600mm)
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Baboon half
Karongwe Private Nature Reserve, South Africa
(Nikon D4 1/2000 sec, f8, ISO800, 600mm)
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Brown hyena landscape
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana 
(Nikon D3S, 1/800 sec, f4, ISO2000, 600mm)
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Dwarf mongoose around
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D4, 1/3200 sec, f8, ISO3200, 1200mm)
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Impala backlight
Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D3S, 1/5000 sec, f5.6, ISO320, 600mm)
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Leopard grass 
Savuti nature reserve, Botswana
(Nikon Z6, 1/1000 sec, f8, ISO125, 600mm)
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Jackal in grass
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon Z6, 1/3200 sec, f4, ISO1250, 600mm)
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Lazy leopard
Lake Nakuru nature reserve, Kenya 
(Nikon D3S, 1/500 sec, f6.3, ISO5000, 600mm)
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Message to take home:

Like I’ve mentioned in the first paragraph – this theme (Space) was challenging for me. But maybe not for other photographers because the wildlife world is heavily photographed, with unique photos everywhere. However, wildlife in its purest form is not static because it is ever-changing, with nothing that stays the same. Therefore, the opportunities are plenty to get some unique and original photos.

But the question you need to ask yourself: What kind of photographer are you? Remember that photography is an expression of who you are. Initially I started by capturing the usual wildlife photos. But the more I played around with my photos while in a sighting, the more I’ve created photos that is an indication of what I enjoy and what I want to show the world about me, my photography and what wildlife is all about. If my photos do not fit into a theme of a competition – so be it. Why change who I am and how I photograph wildlife? It would be just a frustration on my part. 

I just remind myself constantly to be myself while spending time in nature and that would be enough for me to create the unique and interesting photographs I want the world to see.

Until next time – keep on shooting!!!

Nature TTL Photographer of the Year Competition 2022– outcome of my images submitted

This year (2022) I’ve entered this annual nature related competition for the second time and the results were released recently. There were several themes/categories to enter and I’ve submitted 5 images in the Behaviour category and 5 images in the portrait category. Two of my images made it to the final round of judging  – both in the Behaviour category. As a result, the RAW and high resolution images of the two entries were requested. Competitions usually requested the RAW (negative as it was called in the olden days) image just to make sure that I did not make any changes to my image (add or remove anything from the image – in wildlife and photo journalism photographers are not allowed to alter any images, it should be a true reflection of the scene). Unfortunately none of the images ended up amongst the prizes Let’s have a look at my 10 images entered – some of the images were also used in the previous competitions:

The two images that went through to the final round or judging in the Behaviour category:

Honey badger on carcass 
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D4, 1/3200 sec, f4, ISO2000, 300mm)

Jackal queen
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon Z6, 1/3200 sec, f8, ISO1250, 600mm)

Portrait category – the five images that I’ve entered but that did not make it through the first round of judging:

Agama death wish
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana 
(Nikon Z6, 1/2500 sec, f11, ISO400, 600mm)
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Baboon baby
Chobe National Park, Botswana
(Nikon D3S, 1/400 sec, f4, ISO1000, 600mm)
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Impala twins
Karongwe Private Nature Reserve, South Africa
(Nikon D4, 1/640 sec, f8, ISO800, 300mm)
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Leopard c all eyes
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Sony A9ii, 1/800 sec, f6.3, ISO3200, 600mm)
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Leopard mom cub t
Londolozi private reserve, Sabi Sands, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa 
(Nikon Z6, 1/3200 sec, f8, ISO5000, 600mm)
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Behaviour category – the other three images that I’ve entered but that did not make it through the first round of judging:

Weaver feather grap
My own backyard, Bloemfontein, South Africa 
(Nikon D4, 1/6400 sec, f7.1, ISO640, 600mm)
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Heron before Zebras
Etosha National Park, Namibia
(Sony A9ii, 1/2500 sec, f9, ISO640, 840mm)
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Wildebeest chased in water
Etosha National Park, Namibia
(Sony A9ii, 1/3200 sec, f9, ISO640, 708mm)
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Message to take home:

Today is a very short message that I read somewhere and the statement is:

“First compose, then expose”

They say composition is king in photography. It does not matter what you are shooting or what type of camera equipment you are using. First make sure that you do have the correct/optimal composition for the photo. There are various rules that you can apply and one that is used most frequently is the Rule of Third.  With this approach, you divide the viewfinder of your camera into three horizontal and three vertical zones with three lines. Usually you can put your subject on where two of of the outer lines cross.  

Just one last thing to remember when it come to composition – one of the first “rules” I’ve learned but I do not use it very often – just because with wildlife photography you sometimes do not have the time do it:

“Do frequent ‘border patrol’ of your viewfinder before pulling the trigger (pressing the shutter). 

This means that you need to look for any distracting elements around the edges of the frame of the camera. If there any, try to re-compose the image in order not to capture it or to minimise the effect of the distracting elements.

Until next time – keep on shooting!!!

Wild Art Photographer of the Year Competition May 2022: Theme Behaviour – outcome of my images summitted

The results for the 5^th theme Wild Art Photographer of the Year competition this year for the month of May were released recently. And the theme was “Behaviour”. As usual, I’ve submitted 10 images and this time around 4 of my images were selected to be under the Top 100. Unfortunately none of the images ended up amongst the prize categories. Let’s have a look at my 10 images entered for the month of May – some of the images were also used in the previous months’ competitions:

The four images that were selected to be under the Top 100 images in the Behaviour category:

Almost
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D3S, 1/5000 sec, f18, ISO1250, 600mm)
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Jackal king
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon Z6, 1/4000 sec, f8, ISO1250, 600mm)
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Mongoose bar
Karongwe Private Nature Reserve, South Africa
(Nikon D5 1/60 sec, f8, ISO2000, 600mm)
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Leopard jump mating
Londolozi private reserve, Sabi Sands, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon Z6, 1/1600 sec, f4, ISO1250, 300mm)
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The other six images that I’ve entered but that did not make it through the first round of judging:

Goshawk challenge
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana 
(Nikon 4, 1/5000 sec, f11, ISO1600, 600mm)
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Heron dove neck
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D500, 1/3200 sec, f5.6, ISO640, 900mm)
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Leopard impala kill
Londolozi private reserve, Sabi Sands, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon D4, 1/8000 sec, f4, ISO1000, 300mm)
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Weaver vs sparrow
My own backyard, Bloemfontein, South Africa
(Nikon D4, 1/6400 sec, f8, ISO1600, 600mm)
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Lioness pulls eland
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon Z6, 1/4000 sec, f8, ISO500, 600mm)
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Weaver spectators
My own backyard, Bloemfontein, South Africa 
(Nikon D4, 1/6400 sec, f4, ISO1000, 600mm)
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Message to take home:

One of my favourite themes and approaches when it comes to wildlife photography – Behaviour. I just love to watch and capture the behaviour of animals in the wild. And that requires a lot of patience. Not all people have the necessary patience when it comes to wildlife photography. Some people find it difficult to stay and wait patiently in one place for more than a few minutes or even seconds. I do see it a lot of times in the parks as cars entered a sighting – just to leave it without evaluating the sighting. Once in a sighting or just sitting next to a waterhole, I keep telling myself that a good sighting might just happen and I just need to be ready when it does. Also remember that when you continually gaze at one area for some time, you become very familiar with it. Interesting enough you would start noticing things in your surrounding that you didn’t initially see, and you start to understand what makes that specific location special. If time is not on your side for that specific moment for example you need to get back into camp before gate closing time, you may even decide to come back a second or third time or even more. Nature is definitely not always the same, especially when it comes to wildlife and light – it could result in different conditions, and you might use different compositions in the same location for your photo.

Until next time – keep on shooting!!!

Wild Art Photographer of the Year Competition April 2022: Theme “Eyes” – outcome of my images submitted

The results for the 4^th theme of the Wild Art Photographer of the Year competition this year (for the month of April) were released some time ago. And the theme was “Eyes”. As usual, I’ve submitted 10 images and this time 2 images were selected to be under the Top 100. Unfortunately none of the two images ended up amongst the prize categories. Let’s have a look at my 10 images entered for the month of April – some of the images were also used in the previous months’ competitions:

The two images that were selected to be under the Top 100 images in the “Eyes” category:

Eagle eyes 2
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D500, 1/5000 sec, f18, ISO5000, 1275mm)

Wildebeest help me
Masai Mara, Kenya
(Nikon D3S, 1/2500 sec, f5.6, ISO400, 600mm)

The other eight images that I’ve entered but that did not make it through the first round of judging:

Curious young jackal 
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D3S 1/125 sec, f4, ISO400, 600mm)

Leopard c all eyes
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Sony A9ii, 1/800 sec, f6.3, ISO3200, 600mm)

Leopard protective mom 
The Masaba female and Ximungwe Female (when she as still a cub)
Londolozi private reserve, Sabi Sands, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa
(Nikon 4, 1/640 sec, f8, ISO4000, 600mm)

Lion portrait
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D3S, 1/5000 sec, f4, ISO640, 600mm)

Lion rain eyes (Yes, it does rain in the Kgalagadi)
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Sony A9ii 1/80 sec, f10, ISO1250, 287mm)

Martial eagle Fortuner
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana 
(Nikon D3S, 1/2500 sec, f5.6, ISO500, 850mm)

Owl small eyes
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D500, 1/1000 sec, f4, ISO2000, 900mm)

Owlet housekeeping s
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana
(Nikon D500, 1/1250 sec, f18, ISO2000, 570mm)

Message to take home:

Eyes! Certainly one of the most important component of a wildlife photo. It is said that everything can be out of focus except the eyes of your subject. The following is usually quoted when you read articles: “if your main subject has eyes, focus on them.” Sometimes one eye of your subject is closer to you than the other eye – like my Lion portrait photo above. In such cases, it is recommended that you should focus on the eye closest to you and your camera. As a general rule of thumb and you can have a look at all wildlife photos that are winners in photographic competitions – if the eyes of the subjects in your photo are out of focus, it does not really look good. Try and find a wildlife competition winning photo that where the eyes of the subject are out of focus – you will need a lot of time to find such a photo.

Until next time – keep on shooting!!!