1/400, f5.6, ISO 100
http://jennifersawicky.smugmug.com/buy/46618456_2F2nvX/3850479316_hqHzd6c/
Brown Hooded Kingfisher – B&W Conversion
1/400, f5.6, ISO 100
1/400, f5.6, ISO 100
Striped Kingfisher
Like the giant kingfisher I posted a couple days ago, this is the token photo that I have of a striped kingfisher. And actually, I didn’t even realize I had it until I started going through all my kingfisher photos and rating them; going back and forth between a couple photos, I finally spotted the difference between this and the brown hooded kingfisher (photos to follow on the weekend). I don’t mind admitting a bit of a “duh” moment, and that it took me ages to spot the different species amongst my photos. Honestly, I am just grateful I came home with so many photos, as at the start of my trip, it seemed the only kingfisher sightings I was going to have was as they flew away from me down a drainage line or up into the trees beyond the reach of my camera.
1/400sec, f5.6, ISO160
Giant Kingfisher
I spent some time going through my kingfisher photos today, and am very happy that I will have lots of shots of both the brown hooded kingfisher and the pygmy kingfisher to come in the following days and weeks. Unfortunately, I only managed a single photo of the giant kingfisher, and while it isn’t a fantastic shot, I thought I would post it anyways, as I think the variety in size and colouration of the kingfishers is phenomenal, and it seemed wrong to leave this one out.
We spotted this kingfisher when we were crossing from the north to the south side of the river. We briefly parked on the bridge to take some photos, but the kingfisher was at a fair distance to begin with, and after I managed only two photos, flew away.
1/250sec, f5.6, ISO 1800
Lesser Striped Swallows
I had a wonderful time watching the lesser striped swallows while staying at the Zimanga volunteer house. There really wasn’t a time at home when they weren’t keeping us company, as they had established two nests inside the house, and one on the front porch where we typically had our meals.
I got used to them calling and chattering from the window when I checked my email (I wish I could find a link to post of their calls; they make such wonderful sounds) or swooping above my head while I had lunch or dinner outside. My vantage point was usually not great to take photos of the swallows (lots of shadows), but spending the time watching them build their nests and interacting with each other was such a treat.
Since I don’t have a lot of variety in my swallow photos, I decided to take my favourites, and edit each of them in different ways. Adding things like a vintage film effect isn’t part of my normal editing process; this has been a fun post to get ready.
1/640 sec, f8.0, ISO 720
1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400
1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400
1/1600sec, f6.3, ISO 400
Scarlet Chested Sunbirds
I decided to work through the last of the sunbird photos I had flagged off, so that I could start on something new in the coming week. Hopefully 4 posts in a row dedicated to just one bird type isn’t too boring. I had hoped that I could include the white fronted sunbird I captured as well, but those photos were taken from the hide and the bird was in a tree quite far away. Sadly, they are completely lacking.
1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 180
1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 500
1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400
1/100sec, f5.6, ISO 800
1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 800
http://jennifersawicky.smugmug.com/buy/46618501_HZ72M2/3829450432_86z3RG7/
Scarlet chested sunbird – dirty look
1/640sec, f8.0, ISO400
http://jennifersawicky.smugmug.com/buy/46618501_HZ72M2/3820604648_qsLxrxb/
Female Scarlet Chested Sunbird
While at the Zimanga volunteer house, I had a great time in the garden on a few afternoons, taking pictures of whatever birds happened to be hanging around. A pair of scarlet chested sunbirds allowed me to hover around them for close to an hour while they had a meal at an aloe plant. Unfortunately, getting a photo of both of them together was not in the cards, but I do have lots more photos of them to go through and post in the near future.
Find this photo on Smugmug:
http://jennifersawicky.smugmug.com/buy/46618501_HZ72M2/3820604785_ZVHvJcQ/
Zebra on the move
Black Bellied Bustard
I saw both male and female black bellied bustards while at Zimanga Reserve, but only managed to capture a few photos of the male, on a couple of different days. Each time, it was on the ground looking for food, and took off after being startled by the approaching vehicle.
Like most bird species, the female is far drabber in appearance, and lacks the black belly. Unfortunately the only photo I have of a female is completely out of focus as it was shot from the moving vehicle.
Vervet Monkeys
While at Zimanga Game Reserve with Wildlife Act, our group was fortunate enough to have two sessions in their fantastic bird hides. The first was an afternoon session in the Bhejane birdbath hide, and the second, where these photos were taken, were from a morning session at the Mkhombe birdbath hide. The morning session provided over 900 photos, and not just of birds; warthogs and the vervet monkeys came from a drink as well.
While the vervet monkeys can be incredibly cheeky around a lodge or camp, snatching food and wrecking havoc should they decide to go inside, I find them fascinating to watch and love seeing their antics. Around the birdbath, they were more concerned with each member getting a drink than getting into any mischief (although there was one snacking on the scattered birdseed). I especially loved to see the moms with the tiny babies clinging to their stomachs, and I believe there were either two or three babies in the troop.
1/1600sec, f7.1, ISO1600
1/1600sec, f9.0, ISO1600
1/1600sec, f9.0, ISO1600
1/1600sec, f9.0, ISO1600
1/1600sec, f7.1, ISO1250
1/1600sec, f7.1, ISO1250