crocodile – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

May 14, 2017

2017-05-14: Masai Mara

The wildlife in the Masai Mara was just as amazing as it looks in all the nature programs that I watch. Here is a selection of images from my time there.

DSC_9893-Edit — The chaos of a river crossing.

migration — Waiting somewhat patiently for the chance to move up the steep slope.

migration-2 — As more an more animals moved up the banks, the ones that had slipped and fallen were stepped on.

migration-3 — A sad group of wildebeest too weak or injured to get up the banks. We left shortly after this, so I don;t know if any of them found the strength to continue, or if they ended up as food for the crocs.

20170212_WISTW-3 — A gazelle attempts the crossing.

DSC_9712-Edit — These are what were waiting for the gazelle…

DSC_9766-Edit — Thankfully this one made it back out alive. Of the five I saw try, only two made it out.

DSC_9708-Edit — Clean up crew on the plains.

DSC_9705-Edit — A topi with two little ones. They are a very stately looking antelope.

DSC_9649-Edit — A lone wildebeest grazing.

DSC_9645-Edit — A group of mongoose that took over a termite mound.

DSC_9612-Edit — A rare photo (for me) of a wildebeest where you can actually see it’s eyes.

DSC_9609-Edit — A lone set of stripes amongst the wildebeest.

DSC_9584-Edit — Animals as far as the eye (and camera) could see.

DSC_9562-Edit — A kori bustard looking for breakfast.

A pair of elephants checking out the vehicle.

DSC_9090-Edit — A beautiful Mara sunrise.

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and

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April 1, 2017

2017-04-01: WPC Dense

The WordPress prompt for this week is Dense. Rather than post a selfie (ha ha ha), here are some photos from East Africa that fit in with the theme.

DSC_9802-Edit — A crocodile ensures that a group of wildebeest crossing the Mara River stick very close together in the rush to get out of the water.

DSC_9757-Edit — A portion of the wildebeest herd tightly packed, waiting to cross the river.

A pod of hippos sunning themselves in a quieter spot along the Mara River.

DSC_9595-Edit — Wildebeest as far as the eye could see.

DSC_7819-Edit — A large group of flamingos take flight over the Amboseli Swamp.

DSC_6366-Edit — A chimpanzee swings through the lush vegetation of the Kibale Forest.

DSC_5996-Edit — A squacco heron almost disappears amongst the dense vegetation at the side of the Kazinga Channel.

Please visit:

www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

WPC: Dense

January 17, 2017

It may seem a little strange to post photos from a Masai Mara wildebeest river crossing for a post on ambience, but honestly, the ambience was a very integral part of the experience for me. When you are watching a nature program, they presenters do an excellent job of making a river crossing seem like an amazing spectacle – which is absolutely is!!! They also do an amazing job at making it seem like a secluded experience, which it absolutely is not!

We left our camp at 6am for a 2+ hour drive to the potential crossing point, in the hopes of getting a good parking spot to watch the action. On route we passed wildebeest in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, some marching the direction we were headed, and others, heading in the direction we had come from.

dsc_9640-edit — Wildebeest as far as the eye can see.

I had never anticipated being the only person there, but I also didn’t expect to find quite so many other people there. But, the atmosphere was a lot of fun. I spent time chatting with my guides and with the people in the vehicle next to us while waiting to see if possibly the wildebeest might make a move. They were certainly taking there time, and a good number of people gave up as the afternoon wore on.

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The view from our vehicle at the crossing point. Land cruisers, jeeps, minibuses and land rovers, packed in like sardines and even double parked, all in an attempt to see the action.

When the gazelles approached the water and the crocodiles practically licked their lips, we collectively tried to will the little antelope back from their gruesome fate.

dsc_9763-edit — People in the vehicles were saying things like “Don’t go in the water, it isn’t safe!” If only they would have listened.

dsc_9764-edit — I saw five gazelle attempt to cross the river, and only two made it out.

And when at 3:15 the wildebeest started crashing through the water, those that were left were all uttering the same things “amazing”, “mind-blowing”, “unbelievable”.

The atmosphere surrounding that stretch of river on that day in late September, really made the experience that much more special.

A surge of wildebeest crossing the Mara River in the Masai Mara, Kenya. There were plenty more vehicles on the opposite bank!

WPC: Ambience

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

Tag: crocodile

2017-05-14: Masai Mara

2017-04-01: WPC Dense

2017-01-17: WPC Ambience