Hi all…most of you are probably confused today as to what day it is because of the public holiday yesterday so I thought I would help clarify things by keeping to my ‘Black & White Fridays’ photo. Hopefully this will remind you of what day it actually is. I know I lose track of the days all the time up here so blogging also helps me keep track. When this fails then there is always Noa here to keep me on my toes.

Anyway, today is a little sentimental for me because it is a black and white photo of my favourite two brothers (Mufasa and Murtu) in the park. Mufasa is the prettiest of the two. These two often kept me company in and around Rooiputs for my last over-two-year project so I love seeing them and the way the interact so beautifully with each other. It gets a bit lonely being in the park for over 2 years by yourself in a place like Rooiputs so I was really happy with the company. At the end of the day-they are just a couple of really good-looking chaps so here is the photo…take a look and tell me what you think…

Have a great weekend guys and try get yourselves outdoors.

Cheers til Monday.

Hi all…wow thanks for all the nice comments and compliments about my photo from yesterday. I really appreciate it! It is one of my favourites so I am really glad you liked it.

So from all the excitement yesterday, today’s photo is from one if my favourite places in the Kalahari – Polentswa. This tree is one of the ones I love to shoot in my photos as it seems to frame things nicely. As you can see, I think it is also beautiful enough to have it as the subject all by itself. Capturing lightening is not easy to do but I have gotten pretty good at it over my years up here in the Kalahari. This place gives me lots of chances to practice I guess. There are a few different elements going on in this shot which to me makes it interesting and has a feeling captured in it. The illuminated tree in the foreground with the dark purple clouds and lightening strikes in the background make this photo feel eerie and ominous. Thunder storms out in the middle of nowhere tend to have this feeling though.

Take a look and let me know what you think…

I hear that it is a public holiday tomorrow so enjoy it! Do something outdoors if you can!

Cheers til tomorrow…

Hi all…today you are all in for a real treat. I finally was able to capture lions in the rain! I have this list of photographs I want to capture sometime in my career and this was one of them that I can now tick off!!! Very happy about this one! I always wanted lions in the rain and this time I even got a bonus with the sun peeking out briefly. This shot was taken with my new baby-Nikon D3s, 600mm F4. The lionesses look content with just putting up with the downpour for a while as they know, as well as I do, that the showers here in the Kalahari do not last very long. They provide a short relief from the scorching heat usually rolling in around 4-5pm to cool things off.

Enjoy this one and let me know what you think. I am very happy with it.

Cheers til tomorrow.

Hi all…I hope the weekends were good for you. I guess that everyone is in this time of gearing up for Christmas but up here we are totally oblivious to it. We have however noticed that the holiday-makers have started arriving. I just hope that they don’t disturb us too much because the very little amount of sleep we get at night (usually 5 hours) is precious. I will be taking a little time off to go up to Swakopmund to get my vehicle serviced so that will be our little holiday away from the park and campers.

Anyway, to get to the photo I will be sharing with you today…we were sitting watching a few lionesses just relaxing (as lions do best) when I noticed a brown hyena coming strolling down towards us. It did not seem to take notice of us (which is what we want) AND it did not seem to be aware of the lionesses either. As the brown hyena got a little too close, the one lioness decided that he needed to be taught a lesson when approaching them so she got up and chased the hyena away. The image is not very clear (or good) but it was low light and very difficult to capture clearly as it was unexpected like I said. For those of you that are interested, it was taken with my Nikon D3, 600mm lens, F4. You can still get the idea of what was happening though so take a look…

Any stories from you guys of unexpected behaviour in the bush from animals?

Cheers til tomorrow.

Hi all…so I know you can find much much worse on the Internet but I still thought I would warn people about the photo I am sharing with you today. It has some blood and guts in it and I know that not everyone likes this kind if thing.
So…for the rest of you, I found this leopard that had just taken down (all by itself) a gemsbok! I was so impressed as I am sure you all are too. For this cat to bring down one of these antelope is a very big achievement. Well I guess when the reward is that great for the leopard then it is definitely worth it.

It gobbled as much of this kill as it could as it was too big for the leopard to drag and store up a tree. Soon the other scavengers (hyenas, jackals and vultures) would come along and it wouldn’t have much chance after that.

Take a look and let me know what you think…

Cheers til tomorrow.

Hi all…another scorcher of a day here in the Kalahari, about 40 degrees in the shade so bring your swimming costumes if any of you are coming up here anytime soon. Today I thought I would give you all a glimpse into my world and how I do my job with Noa here beside me. The first photo is of us practicing our thunder-storm and lightning capturing skills. She is using the video camera and me with my usual cameras. This is one of the great things about this place where we get really frequent thunder storms that make for great photographs and footage. Take a look at the dramatic sky we get to capture as well that gives us the most amazing backdrops. 

The next I am showing you is of the inside of my mobile office. My photography vehicle enables me to do SO much more than my previous bakkie. Don’t get me wrong, it served me well, but with this new vehicle I have the advantage of an almost 320 degree view of the bush whilst staying in my car. I have to obey the rules just like all of you! This is where all the hard work gets done and where I spend the majority of my time so take a look…

That’s all from me today. At least you now have an idea of where I am most of the time and what I work with. Cheers til tomorrow.

Hi all…sorry for my lack of post yesterday. I was in the field the whole day. That is the reality of my job here in the kalahari so I hope you all understand. My connectivity is bad today so here is just a short one to show you that not everyone was happy to see me back here…this is just a funny from me to brighten your day.

Have a good one, cheers till tomorrow.

Hi all…I am sure you are all relieved because it’s Friday and the weekend soon!

My black and white photo for you today is a pretty eerie one I think. This cheetah is busy trying to take down a Springbok while it is trying madly to get away. The cheetah seemed to be able to latch on while it was mid-pronk. You can see the run-around that happened by all of the dust that was kicked up by them which is still lingering in the air around them. It almost looks like mist when in black and white which I guess for the Kalahari, the dust is the equivalent.  [For the more sensitive viewers, we could just say that the cheetah is busy giving the Springbok a little love-bite and they ‘lived happily ever after’]. But, this is the bush and nature in its raw form so this is what happens…animals get killed to feed others.

Take a look and let me know what you think…

On another note…I am looking forward to my colleagues coming to visit me next week and bringing me supplies! Fresh fruit and veggies-happy days. Have a good weekend all and don’t forget to do something outdoors.

Cheers.

Hi all…almost the weekend for those of you that are in offices and waiting to be free. I must say, I do find it difficult to keep track of what day it is here but this blog helps. Since it is almost lunchtime when I am writing this, I decided to share this photo with you guys today of a yellow-billed hornbill catching a locust to munch and crunch on. These birds always remind me of Zazu from the Lion King. I was impressed by this one in managing to catch a locust as they mainly feed from the ground on spiders, scorpions and other small insects. I think it was probably proud if itself too as this locust is quite a substantial meal for it.

Take a look and let me know what you think…

Enjoy your lunchtimes, whatever you do and Cheers until tomorrow.

Hi all…today’s photo is just a fun one. I came across these 2 yellow mongooses having a little play-fighting session. They are both males and having some fun playing with each other in the always-striking orange/red Kalahari sand. These guys are cute with their triangle-shaped faces and pointy noses. What makes them more distinctive is their reddish-yellow coat and white-tipped brushy tails that they seem to drag along the ground behind them when running around. The one on the ground actually seems to have quite a snarl on him but I assure you that they were only play-fighting, I hope. I love trying to capture that moment when two small animals are playing where one is in the air somehow and the other underneath. This is tricky to do as the timing has to be spot on but it is so worth it as the ‘facial’ expressions of them are usually really great. They either look like they are really enjoying themselves, or bracing for the impact of the other.

Take a look at the fun being had…

Just a little thank you from me for all the comments from you guys. I really enjoy reading them. I can’t always reply so forgive me for that but after all, I am in the middle of the bush so connectivity is not that easy. Also I get sent the Facebook ones from my team at home if I don’t physically see them myself so thanks to all of you for those too!

Cheers ’til tomorrow.