2024-05-26: Southern Africa 2024

It’s been a while since I have posted any images; between preparing for a trip, the time spent away and then the return to normal life, the blog fell by the wayside for a bit. I’m slowly working on cataloging and rating images from my time away; and while I have a long way to go before that is complete, I don’t want to wait to share images until all that background work is done.

Today I decided to pick one image from each location I stayed at. It seemed like as good a starting place as any.

Leopard mother and son, sharing an affectionate moment. The cub is on the left, and at basically the same size as his mom, his days enjoying her company and her providing for him are numbered. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.
This was a first for me; watching a hyena stash its impala kill in a small waterhole. Klaserie Sands, South Africa. April, 2024.
This trip was the trip of lions, with many sightings over the different areas I stayed in. This lioness was seen in Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
The other standout for sheer volume of animals were zebra, seen in vast numbers in Savute. Our trip timed it just right to encounter some of the zebra migration. Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.
A once in a lifetime sighting in Moremi Game Reserve. An endangered Pel’s fishing owl. We were fortunate enough to see the mother and offspring that were nesting at the camp next door to where we were staying. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
Elephants racing for the water on a hot afternoon. The areas where I traveled were experiencing significant drought, and it will likely be very, very hard on many animals come September and October, before the start of the next rainy season. For now, there was still decent amounts of water and vegetation to be found, and the animals we saw were still in good condition. Makgadikgadi Pan National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.

2021-05-10: Monochrome Monday

I missed posting yesterday, but since I thankfully had the opportunity to spend Mother’s Day with my Mom, that was far more important then spending my free time editing some images.

I’m still hoping to get out and capture some of the birds that are now is residence (or passing through). I’ve seen a few different species of warblers recently, but they are pretty crafty, flitting away the moment I get close enough to capture an image.

For now, this lion seemed just right for Monochrome Monday. It was part of a rather large pride that spent the better part of two days doing nothing (maybe next spring I’ll get a chance to know what that feels like!)

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!

2021-03-15: Monochrome Monday

A bit of a different view of a lioness.

She was part of the pride lounging the the roadway that I shared yesterday. They were fairly easy to find on day one, and even more so on day two, as they hadn’t moved at all, much to the surprise of our ranger.

Lions are incredible to spend time with, as long as you are aware ahead of time that more often than not, you’ll see them doing not much more than sleeping and yawning (though when you do catch them active and on the go, it is incredibly thrilling!)

2021-03-14: Lion around

With 5 weeks left in term, there are a lot of different tasks to do – papers to research and write, projects to complete, exams to revise for. Yet, today especially, I have found myself daydreaming of what I’m most looking forward to during the two weeks I’ll have off between winter term and the start of spring semester, and right now, it’s having a nap! I’m looking forward to having a weekend where I spend some time like these lions 🙂

Have a great week everyone!

2021-02-01: Monochrome Monday

As noted yesterday, my computer is dismantled for the time being while I work through some office reconfigurations, so today I’m sharing a few images that I have shared before. It’s just what caught my eye when looking through my media library, rather than a specific theme.

Enjoy, and have a great day!

2021-01-03: More time with Capture One

I found a few more images that were similar to do some side by side editing between Lightroom and Capture One Express for raw processing. I continue to be impressed with the colour and detail that Capture One brings out of my Fuji files.

The first is a leopard image from Lion Sands River Lodge, edited with Lightroom.
And here is the same leopard using Capture One.

I edited these photos on different days and didn’t cross check to try to make them look the same, but just to bring out the best in them. I think the colour rendering is nicer on the Capture One version as it has less of a magenta cast, and generally it feels to me a bit richer with more depth.

This was shot at Chitwa Chitwa, when the Torchwood pride moved through the property early one morning. This was done with Lightroom.
This is a single lioness from the same pride, edited using Capture One. Again, I prefer the Capture One edit for the richness of colour.
Finally, a sunrise image shot while at Lion Sands Tinga Lodge. This first image is the Lightroom edit.
The same sunrise edited using Capture One. And three for three, I prefer the colour and depth in this image to the Lightroom edited image.

Because I need to keep the file sizes manageable for the webpage, some of the differences that I see when looking at the images within the editing programs doesn’t reflect in the versions I post online, but, I think these give a good example of what I am experiencing with this new (to me ) software.

Have a great week everyone!

2020-11-09: Monochrome Monday

Such a majestic creature!!! Words really can’t describe how it feels to be close to a big lion like this, or to have them walk by the vehicle so close you could reach out and touch their mane (but you don’t of course, because that would be amazingly foolish!)

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!

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