Tag: Elephants

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2023-06-25: Elephants at Hwange

I’m in the process of making some changes to my cataloguing of photos. After a few years of trying to work with Capture One exclusively, I’m moving back to Lightroom for cataloguing and basic edits. Given how hectic life was during the time I was trying to use Capture One, I probably didn’t put enough effort into learning the program, but Lightroom feels easier to use, and right now, that’s enough of a pull to make the switch. In all honesty, it’s nice to have so many different choices of software to use, and my choice may change again in the future.

It’s a little tedious transferring over my star ratings, since there isn’t an automated way to do things, but at least it means I am going through all the photos again to decide if I do want to work on them in the future.

As for today’s image, it should be no surprise that I gravitated towards elephants. This sighting was right after lunch when we arrived at our camp in Hwange, and everyone enjoyed the antics of this group rolling in the mud and dust bathing.

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2023-05-21: Elephants at play

Midday is generally not considered the best time for photos, with harsh glare and intense shadows. But a group of elephants, happily frolicking in a muddy puddle, is too good not to shoot, regardless of the conditions outside.

I know I’ve said it many times before, but spending time amongst elephants makes my heart happy.

Elephants at play, Chobe National park, Botswana. November, 2022.
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2022-12-04: Returning after a long hiatus

An elephant seen in Madikwe, South Africa. November, 2022.

It’s a challenge to get back into old routines when they’ve been allowed to slip away. This seems to be true for a variety of things, from health and fitness routines to participating in hobbies. The last post I shared was back in January, almost a full year ago. At that time, I needed to let photography and posting slide as I was trying to deal with my final semester of school (plus raising a new puppy and dealing with other life challenges). Once school ended in May, I thought I would be able to easily jump back in to doing all the things, but that wasn’t my reality. Instead, I eventually came to the realization that I was burnt out, and needed to give myself some time and space to add things back into my schedule.

At the start of November, I embarked on the first trip I’d taken since 2019. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to focus on things that I enjoy, and pick my camera up again. While I still have lots of different places I want to visit, heading back to Africa felt like the right thing to do. I wanted to be back amongst elephants.

It didn’t take long before creating images felt natural again, and I am hoping I will be able to find the same with editing in due course. I’ve played around with a few different types of software over the years, but have decided to try Capture One for cataloging and editing. Right now, it feels like a steep learning curve, however, I think returning to Lightroom would likely feel the same after being vacant from editing for almost a year.

I’m looking forward to working through my images and sharing some of the experiences I had on my trip over the next while. I’m hopeful I can get back into a routine of creating and posting.

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2020-10-25: Elephants

I’ve come to the end of the photos I flagged from Kenya to revisit, and finish things off with a few of my very favourite animal.

The tree in the background was a favourite of the elephants passing through. They were all stopping to have a good scratch, and if any individual stayed too long, they were given a little to shove to get going from the next one in line, which is what had just happened here.
An evening drinks stop in Selenkay Conservancy, glass of wine in one hand, camera in the other, and a lone elephant having a drink at the waterhole. Of course the time of day and lack of tripod created some challenges, but the image bring back happy memories and that’s all that really matters.
A small family group, part of a much larger herd moving through the conservancy.

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2020-09-21: Monochrome Monday

Elephants are such a wonderful subject for monochrome images. I know I have shared dozens before, but what’s three more?

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

This bull spent each afternoon around our camp, browsing among the tents and enjoying the waterhole.
A youngster in Amboseli marsh, on the move to catch up to the rest of the herd.
A small family group, part of a larger herd of around 30 individuals, seen at Amboseli National Park.
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