Weekly High-Five!

This is the first of the Weekly High-Five.

Every Friday, five of the images uploaded to the Photo-Africa Stock Library during the last week will be chosen and discussed briefly on the Blog. This will not only highlight some of the new work added, but also give you the chance to add your input and feedback on the images! Hopefully constructive, but please be honest!

So with that here goes with this weeks High-Five!

Image 1 - Baby Jackal by Bradly Leighton


This shot definitely has the cute factor going for it. Initially I thought that the placement of the youngster in the frame could have been a little bit to the right as one feels he is looking and moving into the open space on the left, but this is not a real worry. The fact that the grass stems on the right of the image almost frames the youngster fixes this very nicely. The highlights in the fur feels a little harsh, but not enough to really cause concern. Overall a great image!

Image 2 - Thorn Abstract by Gerry van der Walt


Nice macro image as it is a very difficult thing to get 'truly' correct. The focus in this image is obviously the thorn, but the little branch on the left of the image almost takes the eye away from the actual image. Nice idea on this image, but background could have been a little more non-intrusive and the main branch tilted slightly to create even more of a diagonal line across the image. Nice attempt.

Image 3 - Kudu Silhouette by Matt Jones


Potentially an unbelievable African image! The Kudu is an amazingly beautiful antelope and by combining this with a great sunset and awesome silhouette this image is definitely on the right track. The main problem, and that is a strong word in this case, is the branches that is 'growing' out of the Kudu's head. If you were to play with this image in Photoshop and get rid of the branches and perhaps push the contrast up just a touch, this image would be even better then it already is! Gotta love African sunsets.

Image 4 - Leopard in Spotlight by Grant Marcus


I really like this. Apart from the fact that an image like this has been taken in Madikwe should be framed immediately (due to the erratic leopard sightings) the overall image is beautifully composed. The diagonal line combined with the leopard staring in that direction makes you wonder what she is looking at and almost creates movement to the right of the frame. The two background colors also compliment the colors on the leopard very well. Great image!

Image 5 - Buffalo Bull by Matt Jones


My favourite. Great composition using the horn and face as part of the frame. Initially I was not sure about the splash of highlights on the ear but it works. Your attention gets drawn to the ear first, almost looking like an abstract, and then the whole picture comes into view and you notice the big guy is looking at you. Just like in the wild! A great image and my Pick of the Week!

Let me know what you thought of the images and which are your favorites! Also make sure to check out these and other images on the Photo-Africa Stock Library. New images are added almost every day so a lot of great African Wildlife & Nature images to browse through!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

What About Us?

I personally do not know how anybody can shoot an elephant. For any reason!

Elephant culling has been a hot topic in South Africa and abroad and is still one of those subjects that when it gets mentioned people get very emotional, very quickly. The fact that this practise, however it may be perceived, is being allowed again after 13 years has now again opened this controversial matter. I read a very interesting article in the latest edition of Getaway Magazine which explored elephant culling and this got me thinking.

Now opinions on this matter will differ greatly between people and I suppose if you ask 100 people their opinion you will get a 100 different answers. We keep on saying that elephants destroy the environment so much that is going to, if it has not already started to influence the future of other species whose habitat gets destroyed. Is this really the case? Can this be proven without a doubt?

There are scientists that believe that it would be very tough to actually prove that elephants have a negative and irreversible impact on the environment and that their populations are too large. We have all read the figures that state that the Kruger National Park can deal with a population of 7000 elephant but currently has more than 15000 but who decided these numbers initially?

Some of the new thoughts from scientists are that 7000 might be an aesthetic carrying capacity rather than an ecologically based number. If this is the case, who are we to start talking about culling elephants who are, let’s be honest, only doing what they are naturally supposed to do and what we will drive for hours to see them do!

Now the major problem with elephant populations in the wild seems to be the following:

- Elephant transform their environment, possibly irreversibly so.

- Elephant populations do not seem to self-regulate. Leave them, they multiply.

For these reasons we, as a collective, are again starting to talk about culling these amazing animals – quite a disturbing thought. Stop for just one second and think of only one other species on the planet that meets the above requirements.

Transforms environment irreversibly.

Does not self-regulate numbers - even with contraception.

Humans...

So what about us?



Quite an interesting and ongoing debate and you can read more in the latest Getaway Magazine. As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Photo-Africa Update

During the last few days I have been able to capture many great images. The game viewing started off pretty slowly but as always, things change. Great sightings and great moments!

This is the young Etali male. We found them on the dam wall at Tlou Dam. The sky was quite dark and very dramatic so we circled the small pride a few times to get as many different angles as possible. Going to be a very good looking lion when he grows up!

These two Tree Squirrels were sunning themselves early in the morning. They were stretching in every conceivable direction and I was able to capture this one stretching and sticking his tongue out at the same time... just like my dog at home! Very cute creatures!

Always great to see the Wild Dogs. They were pretty static this time around, but the light was good which gave us plenty of opportunities to get some great images and we truly took advantage of the opportunity. A LOT of great images!

The Photo-Africa Stock site has been growing pretty fast over the last few weeks with new photographers joining and many new images being added on a daily basis! You can view the newest images by clicking on the Newest Photos tab on the front page.

As I am currently in a part of Madikwe where the cellphone reception is not the best, I will be adding a lot of my own images when I get back to Johannesburg next weekend but I will continue to update the Blog on a regular basis!

I have also been doing a lot of additions and changes to the Photo-Africa site which will be uploaded then. Once these changes are in place you will be able to jump to and view each individual photographers work on the Stock Site. All from one page. I am also working on various Payment Gateways so that images can be purchased in different currencies as well as subscriptions which will allow you to download many of your favourite photographer's images within a given time period. Again, watch this space!

A special thanks to Grant Marcus who has been adding many new pictures as well as contributing to the Blog! Make sure to stop by the Stock Site and have a look at his work!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Ellies in Musth

Meeting an elephant in musth......

I am back from holiday so now my real holiday can start again. It is always good to get back to the bush. Driving one afternoon to Tloudam we met with an elephant bull in full musth. Normaly they are quite aggresive.

We do see it quite a lot, but does everybody knows what it means ?

I t is also mispronounced as "musk" Musth is when males have a high testosterone level, normaly makes them aggresive.

Musth is a Hindi word meaning" mischievous" describing the condition in indian elephants. It only starts when the males are in their early twenties.

Musth can last up to 4 months a time. They are normaly searching for mates during that time. The back legs are stained at the inside and a fluid is running from the temporal gland on the face. When they are in musth they loose foraging time because they are tracking down females the whole time. When they meet up with the females the female may take up to 2 weeks before excepting the suitor...................poor guy !!

Just a bit of background on musth.. Luckily the male we saw was chillled. He walked right up to the vehicle and made us all realise how big they realy are and that they deserve more respect than we think they deserve.

Not far from there we got a big group of females. We spend some time with them and our friend rocked up. He immidiately chased the other males of, but the females were very stuborn............................

Thats all for now, hope you enjoyed that!

Grant Marcus

A Cold and Wet Winter Morning

When I got down to the lodge today the sunrise over Tswene Tswene was magnificent. We do not normally get clouds like this in winter, but it made for a great sight over the hills in the middle of Madikwe.


It started raining a few minutes later, which again is very strange for this time of year so our Game Drive was delayed just slightly. While we were waiting I took few images around the deck of Nkurru lodge.

After a few minutes the rain let up, at least for a little while. There were some pretty dramatic landscapes as we made out way through the Inselbergs. Things got VERY wet and VERY cold a little while later but we did get grat sightings of elephant,rhino and lions. The general game wa also out in full force which made our decision to brave the elements a pretty good one!

Very strange weather for this time of year but the drives are, as always, still amazing!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Gizmo Update!

As you can see from the image above, Gizmo has lost the 'bucket' the vet put around his head and his eye has haled very nicely! We still have to put drops in for another week or so to keep the eye moist, but other than that he is all good! :)

The image above is Gizmo playng with Roddy's dogs at Nkurru, where we are currently freelancing. Giz was the only boy and I reckon even if his eye was stil sore, he would have forgotten about it very quickly... He only had one thing on his mind!! :)

Until next time!

Gerry

Sightings at Nkurru Game Lodge

I am currently freelancing at Nkurru Game Lodge in Madikwe and even though the week started off very slowly, to put it mildly, things started picking up this morning - which cannot be said about the weather... it is getting VERY cold!!

Here are a few of the images from this morning's drive.

Found two big male rhinos just after leaving the lodge. The light was perfect and we all got pretty excited about the photo opportunities but these two gentle giants did not feel like a photo-shoot so early on a winter's morning. Got a few shots but the best part was that we actually started seeing animals again... yesterday nothing!!

We get to see quite a lot of Kudus in Madikwe. Nothing strange about that. This particular guy had us quite confused and worried though. From this angle, he looked perfect. Big guy, very healthy and apparently just another beautiful antelope. When he turned around we got quite a fright...

On his right side, this Kudu had some very serious looking injuries. From what we could see it looked like he had an open wound on his cheek area and his eye was also wounded very badly. This is not the kind of images I would normally post, but seeing this guys in this state got me thinking. Even though he was obviously very badly hurt, he carried on regardless. No feeling sorry for himself, no blaming the other kudu, just carry on with his everyday activities. I reckon these injuries were sustained in a fight with another male and this little tussle has left this guy in quite a bad state. His vision might now be compromised on the one side, but all over he was healthy, alert and hopefully will be around for quite some time.

After the kudu we finally found them...

The Etali female and her two youngsters. The cats have been making things quite difficult the last few days but this was one of those great 'surprise-moments'. We came around the corner, just about to stop for our morning coffee, when the three of them came strolling down the road. Nothing like being met head on by a couple of lions early in the morning! We followed them for a while and as they decided to cut back into the thick bushes around the Inselbergs, we stopped for our coffee break. Great sighting, great coffee!! :)

We are heading out this afternoon to hopefully get a look at the Batia brothers. These two legends in Madikwe are around 14 years old and still quite a site! (Should perhaps do a bit of a history on them at some point... Hmmm...) Hopefully I will be able to post some some images of the 'old boys' soon!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Moments...

"By whose command
were the animals
through groping fingers,
one for each hand,
reduced to the big and little five?

Have we forgotten
that wilderness
is not a place,
but a season and that we are in
it's final hour?"

Even though we might not always think of it in so many words, we all know it. The above words from a poem by Ian McCallum captures what I think is one of the things that draws us to Africa. There are moments when you are watching nature's story unfold where you forget everything. No matter where you are from or what life has taught you, for those few moments when you are watching a lion sleeping peacefully in the afternoon sun everything is forgotten. Nothing else matters!

And it is not just the lions or any of the Big 5 for that matter. Watching even the smallest Dung Beetle on his endless quest makes everybody stop and watch. We do not judge. We do not offer advise. We do not think of a way in which we could do it better. We just watch and for that moment we are at peace. With ourselves. With each other. With nature.

Is it because we know that the words from the poem are correct? Does it take the hidden knowledge that the single moment you are sharing with nature might not occur again and that future generations might not be able to share that same moment? Having the privilege to share in nature's continuing story transcends differences. We have a shared vision. A common interest. At least for a short moment in time.

Is it possible for us to actually take these shared moments and learn from them? Can nature teach us something and at the same time make us aware of the fragile world that we have the privilege of sharing? Using the old cliche - Guess only time will tell!

For those of you who were wondering - Yes. We did find lions the next day and that is what got me thinking about this whole thing. For a few moments everybody was still and just watched. Completely absorbed. Absolute magic!

I am heading back to Madikwe today and for the next two weeks Adele and I will be based at Nkurru. Hopefully some more great moments and after having fought through all the settings, I will now be able to add Blogs on a more regular basis!

You can also now sign up to have each new Blog delivered straight to your email address. All major image updates will be made on the Blog so make sure you sign up by using the link at the top right of the screen!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

African Road Rage!

And I don't think anybody is going to argue with him!! :)


These images were taken in the Kwandwe Game Reserve. (Photographer unknown)

Until next time!

Gerry

Not a Lion in Sight...

Unbelievable...

We have been driving for almost two full days now and there has not even been the smallest sign of a lion. Not a track - nothing! Actually, we have not seen ANY predators in two days.

The Wild Dogs were at Tlou Dam yesterday, but when we were still about 10 minutes out they go mobile and the 'vehicle circus' moved east away from the Dam.

Decided, with the guests, that we are not going to wait around for a maybe and kept moving. Had the most amazing sunset with a pair of very in love giraffe and then made out way back to the lodge. This morning we had awesome sightings of elephant, rhino and buffalo but still nothing that eats meat.

So in about 45 minutes we will be heading south to, hopefully, find something with lots of teeth and large claws!

As always I look forward to hearing from you and check back tomorrow to get the update on our predator hunt this aftrenoon!

Gerry

The Photo-Africa Stock Library is Up and Running!

We have just launched the Photo-Africa Stock Library! To visit this exciting new addition to Photo-Africa visit www.photo-africa-stock.com

Gerry

An African Township - A Morning in Supingstad

Visiting a township in South Africa. The thought of doing this unfortunately still conjures up feelings of poverty, racism, crime and other such negative connotations.

Every time we have driven to or from Madikwe, I have noticed that in almost every township and community there are graves that have a little canvas roof built over them. Not all together, but every grave, without a tombstone, has it's own canvas roof. After asking some of the staff at Royal Madikwe about this I decided I want to go into the closest township to find out more.

So early this morning Dinamosi, Amos and myself headed off west away from Madikwe towards Supingstad, the closest community to the Game Reserve.

What an amazing experience it turned out to be!!

As we left the Wonderboom Gate we bumped into Chris, one of the rangers from Impodimo Game Lodge. He was heading to Zeerust to go and try his luck at the Licensing Department again. Hope the fourth time was lucky!! We continued west from the gate on the road which, 14 kilometers later, would take us into the heart of Supingstad.

My two 'tour guides', Dinamosi and Amos, knows Supingstad quite well. Even though neither from them are originally from this area, quite a large number of the staff in Madikwe live there so they know the small community very well and it is also where the go to 'party'! We even stopped by the tavern that they reckon is the best in the North-West Province but more on that later.

When we arrived I realized - this is African living. These people lived a life that few of us, who have grown up in cities and with every conceivable luxury, can imagine. It was amazing!

When we arrived in Supingstad just after 06h30 am the whole place was just busy waking up. Children everywhere getting ready to walk to school. Chickens, goats and pigs scratching around in search of their breakfast. The early morning light was perfect on the self-made houses where you would struggle to find two that look even close to similar. Here are just a few of the houses we passed.

Every shape and size imaginable! For me the best thing was to see that no matter how small or simple a person's house was, it was very well looked after. Fenced. Clean. Beautiful in it's own way. There was however no structure to where a house was built. No formalized numbering that I could pick up.

Dinamosi and Amos said that apparently if you want to build a house in Supingstad, you need to go and speak to the Chief, a Victor Suping. His ancestors started the community and through this he now has the right to 'charge' for the plot where you want to build. The price is also not set, but dependant on how wealthy you are. Kinda makes sense in an African way!

On our way to the school, we stopped by the tavern where Dinamosi and the guys hang out and have a couple of beers (too many probably!) From the outside it did not look like much.

To be honest, even form the inside it did not look like much but the African way of reasoning saved the day again!

The guys reckon that the tavern which we passed on the way into Supingstad, which I thought looked pretty nice, is too close to the main road. If the party gets going and the people have a few beers too many, which I am sure happens every now and then, the road is too close and they might "fall into the road". Hey... you can't argue with that!! The people apparently also come from Botswana because of this 'clever design'!

As we continued, we passed quite a number of churches, shops and even hair salons.

The local shop. Here you can buy anything from Lotto tickets to milk and bread!

Two of the churches in the middle of Supingstad.

This is the ZCC (Zion Christian Church) which is situated just outside of Supingstad. Does not look like much, but is very well supported.

One of the 'work-from-home' business!


Another one but judging by the amount of broken cars in this guys yard, I am not so sure I would let him work on my Land Rover!

Now this is what started this whole story.

You can see that the graves each has a small green canvas roof constructed over it. Now after chatting to quite a few people I finally found out why they do this. If a family has enough money to buy and construct tombstone, there is no green roof. The roof, which is also called a 'bathla', doubles as a tombstone and contains all the details that would normally be written on the tombstone. Apart from this, it is also a sign of respect for the deceased to give them shade on their journey. There were a few differences in some of the stories, but this seemed to be the most commonly told version. Very interesting and it is only in the North West Province that I have ever seen this done.

Anyway, as we continued on our morning tour of Supingstad I kept on being amazed at how friendly the people were. Young and old alike, no matter what they were doing, were always quick to wave or greet us as we drove by. More than you can say for any city I have every visited!

Husband and wife discussing the day before they both set off on their seperate ways.


Walking to school.

Always time for fun. They loved the camera!!

All the high school children walking to school. This is the main road that goes to Madikwe.

There seems to building projects everywhere. New buildings like this one is less common, but alterations to already exciting houses is very common.

This old lady was putting in a lot of effort pushing this wheelbarrow. When we passed her she was very friendly and did not looked phased about her efforts at all. Cannot even begin to think what some older ladies I know would say (or do) if they had to do this kind of chores every day!!

Fetching water. A lot of the houses do not have running water and this forms a part of your every day routine. Kinda makes you thankful for what you have hey?

There is a simplicity to the lives these people lead. No rushing after cell phones. No worrying about power shortages. No 'difficult' decisions we face like what fast food to go and fetch tonight. None of that!

I am sure that some of you might disagree with me on this, but to a certain extent I envy the life that these people have. Make no mistake, I love having satelite television, pc's that can do pretty much anything and water when I open my tap but these people know who they are. They believe in their culture. Where they come from. Respect for your elders.

Some of the things I think we have lost through all the technology and the hectic lifestyles we lead.

It is strange that a lot of these people, especially the younger ones, want what we have. I believe that deep down we also feel the same... There is something in the way that they live their lives that we want.

Simplicity. Respect. Knowing yourself.

It was an amazing experience to, at least for a short time, be able to share in their story and it is something I will definitely do again!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

A Snake in the Grass!

Yesterday at around 8:00 am I got a slightly hysterical call from Amos, the Chef at Royal Madikwe.

Now to say that Amos is a little scared of snakes is the same as saying the elections in Zimbabwe was a little unfair.

Amos woke up from the Arrow Marked Babblers going mad outside his window. As Amos opened his curtains to shout at the noisy birds, he found himself staring straight into the reason for the birds ongoing alarm calls...

A young Black Mamba!

This young elapid was sitting in the Bushwillow just outside his window and Amos found himself looking into the beady little eyes of Africa’s most venomous snakes. Due to it’s speed, lethal venom and, when they are threatened, highly aggressive nature they have attained almost legendary status in Africa and worldwide.

So we took the snake catching tongs and a cooler box to try and capture this youngster who did not have an escape route as he was ‘stuck’ in the branches of the tree. Mamba’s will normally try and escape rather than attack but unfortunately this guy did not have a choice. As I caught him with the things, he kept on striking at the steel tongs! Real nasty piece of work!

After catching him and safely getting him into the cooler box, we moved away from the confined area between the houses where Amos stayed towards the large lawn outside the pool where I was able to get a few images before we put him back in his cooler box.

We never kill snakes. Never. After all, we are in their ‘home’. Once you have them safely in the box, we drive them a few kilometres away from the lodge and drop them off in the bush. Hopefully they find a new home and don’t come back to the tree next to the chef’s house.

A few facts on the Black Mamba:
Average Life Span: Up to 10 years
Size: Up to 4 meters
Weight: Up to 1.6 kg
Max Speed: 20 km/h

Never a dull moment when you live in the ‘bush’!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

The Magic that is Africa!

"Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all!" ~ Brian Jackman.

What is it about Africa that captures us so? Keeps us going back for more? Affects us so deeply?

Anyone who has ever visited wild Africa will know the feeling. It is not always something you can explain but you know it's there. The vast landscapes make you remember a long lost era of simplicity. Beauty. Nature.

When watching a sunset, there is a moment when everything else seems to fade away. You forget problems. Time. Yourself. There is magic in the simplicity of the moment that stays with you long after the golden colors have faded away.

Even though we don't have guests right now, Adele and I went for a short drive. The idea was just to get out for some fresh air.

Even though we did not even see the tracks of the Big 5, the smaller things made it special. the sunset from the mountain overlooking the plains. The innocence of the young kudu who watched us with suspision.

The abstract beauty of a Lilac Breasted Roller watching you from a dead Leadwood.

There is so much more to wild Africa than meets the eye, if you only allow yourself to see it. Experience it. A lot of these moments don't last too long, but you remember them for a long time!

I have not been out on drive for quite a while, and it was great to be out there. Seeing, smelling, hearing, being.

I look forward to the end of the week when I will be going out again to experience the magic that is Africa!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Weather, Dogs, Ellies, Holiday!

It is the 4th of May, 4:50 am and it just started raining again with lots of wind. I called my guests and told them the game drive was cancelled. Since yesterday conditions was just to bad to go out.

Last night we braved the wind and the rain, we saw one elephant sleeping. All of a sudden we saw wild dog tracks on the main road and they were heading east towards Vleipan. We were determined to find them... I mean we came all the way in this bad weather.

Some of the guys checked the power line track and saw the tracks turned North towards the road we were on. As luck would have it, a few hundred meters ahead they popped out in front of us. We were very pleased as this made it worth braving the weather! The best of all was when they started hunting impala right next to us.

The 30th of April on the afternoon drive we followed the dogs through one of the blocks with really tall buffalo grass. They did move in hunting formation the whole time, all of a sudden all hell broke lose . They killed and took apart an adult steenbok and finished it in 3 min. After all, they are 16 dogs. When steenbok feels threatened the rely on keeping dead still with their ears flattened against their head. Unfortunately, this time the wild dog’s senses got the better of the steenbok.

After this eventful drive the animals turned the tables and just disappeared - probably because of the cold.

The afternoon of the 2nd of May we bumped into a breeding herd of ellies, what a show they put on for us, even the newlyborns and one young female. I am sure the weather affects their behaviour as well. We had such fun watching them play with everything, branches, pipes and sand. After about 20 minutes they moved North in search of water. What a sighting!!!

Hope you enjoyed that. I am going on holiday on the 5th of May for 2 weeks. See you when I get back!

Written by Grant Marcus

The Lion's Share

The three lions feeding together on the wildebeest are from the Tshaba pride in the Madikwe Game Reserve. When we saw them this morning they were very hungry and made several hunting attempts on impala and kudu, but no luck.

As usual the youngsters are over eager.

They decided to take rest close to a water hole, with the wind in their favour. When we went to see them again in the afternoon they were busy feasting on a wildebeest or gnu. It looked like they haven’t eaten in years. What a sight it was.

As you can see in the top picture, at one stage 4 lions wanted to eat on the same piece of meat. Surprisingly, the mother was very tolerant towards the young male. One could see the big female did not have her fill, probably because she was still tired of the hunt.

The next morning they were gone. There was loads of hyena tracks around the area of the kill and no carcass. We suspect that the lions were chased of the kill by the spotties as unluckily for the lions they killed the wildebeest quite close to where there there is a spottie den - bad luck for them!

About 4 days later we found another pride that killed a wildebeest right on the Western Airstrip - This time it was the Dipelos. One female and three youngsters. The two big males weren’t there, probably on patrol. (I’ll post a photo of theses legends in Madikwe, the Batia Brothers, that will do them proud!)

I am sure the planes that came in had a interesting landing and view. One could see this wildebeest when we first got there the neck was snapped in two. It is then I only realized again the strength of lions. One tends to become blaze when walking in the bush... :)

Until next time!

Written by Grant Marcus

(To view more of Grant's images or to contact him, visit his page on Photo-Africa!)

The Bright Dots in the Sky!

Last night the stars in Madikwe were AMAZING!! This time of year is spectacular because you get to see the constellations of Orion and Scorpio at the same time which is quite unusual.

You see, according to African legend the Hunter (Orion) came to earth and announced to Mother Earth, Gaia, that to prove his skills as a hunter he is going to hunt and kill all the animals on the planet. Obviously not happy with this, Gaia said that she will send one of her animals to kill him before he could go ahead with his evil plan. As Orion was standing upright and proud Scorpion, sent by Gaia, came along the ground, stung him on the foot and killed the mighty hunter.

This is the reason, if legend is to be believed, that the two constellations do not share the same sky. As soon as Scorpio rises in the East, Orion dies and sets in the West! It is only at this time of year that you get to see both Scorpio and Orion in the same sky.

Anyway, my original idea was to do some star trails but unfortunately the remote control that I have for my old D50 does not work on my new D300. Until then I will have to just try and capture the constellations. The high ISO settings on the Nikon D300 makes this surprisingly easy!!

Here are the two I got last night.

The constellation of Scorpio around 20h00 (CAT) last night.

And just in case you cannot see the picture...

That is what you are looking for! :)

The Southern Cross and it's two pointers. And just in case...

That is what you were looking for! If you are every lost in the bush you can use this constellation to find celestial South but more on that some other time!

Well, will be posting more constellations, and hopefully star trails, soon!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Now What??

Something different / funny / strange / scarey for a Friday!!

Not my image and not sure where it was taken but.. .DAMN!!!

Until next time!

Gerry

Old Black & White Images

I was busy going through my 2007 Galleries when I found some of these old B&W images. Always interesting to look over some of your older work!

On one of my very first drives in Madikwe, we found this old Black Rhino. Normally you don't get to see them for too long but this one was very relaxed. He had no issues which allowed us to get a lot of great images of this rare animal! Never would have thought so but this is still one of my best selling images. :)

The Mika female from the Madikwe Game Reserve. Captured this image just as her pride was finishing a Wildebeest on the airstrip. I quite like the dark and light contrasts in this image.

One of the Morwetla males. This lion and his brother was moved from Madikwe early in 2007. Great looking lions. On this occasion he was very lazy in the afternoon sun but managed to at least give me one eye (half) open!

This herd of buffalo was about 100 strong. We were sitting in the office at Royal Madikwe when I got up to go and make coffee. As soon as I noticed them we all went outside at which point they decided to run for it! Still managed to get a few images before they disappeared completely!

Ditaba. One of the dominant makes in the Madikwe Game Reserve. He was not into posing for photos on this day, but even from the back you can see his is an impressive animal!

Anyway, I will add more of my older images as I come across them! Look forward to hearing your thoughts

Until next time!

Gerry

Photo-Africa Sponsorship!!

Very exciting news!

Singer Photographic has a 27 year history of distributing a range of premium brands to the consumer electronic and imaging industries in South Africa.
Some of their product ranges include:

• Manfrotto
• Lowepro
• National Geographic
• Storm Cases

It is with great pleasure that I can announce that all the Photo-Africa Photographers have been sponsored by Singer Photographic! We are extremely proud to be associated with the company and the various brands that they distribute.

Each photographer will be utilizing various pieces of equipment supplied by Singer Photographic and in a few weeks time we will be giving our thoughts and constructive feedback on how the equipment performed in the field.

The Photo-Africa photographers currently spend anywhere between 4 and 10 hours in the field each day. As you all probably know the African environment can be harsh at the best of times and we are all very keen to 'test-drive' the various pieces of equipment on Game Drives and Bush Walks. Judging by the name these products have in the industry we are going to have a blast and the feedback is bound to be great! As they say - Watch This Space!

Singer Photographic has supplied the Photo-Africa Photographers with the following products:

Lowepro - Primus AW

The Primus AW (All Weather) is the first ever Photo Backpack made from 51% recycled materials. It is a perfect combination of fast access and all weather protection which will be a great help in the African Bush!

Lowepro - Flipside 300

The compact, lightweight design of this backpack lets you carry your camera without worry. The unique back compartment entry gives you safe, easy access to camera gear when you’re setting up plus extra security when you’re on the move. Perfect for an African Safari!!

Lowepro - Vertex 200 AW

This is one of Lowepro's latest products. A premium backpack for the serious adventure bound photographer. The Vertex range is made for the outdoors. Rugged, construction with water-resistant zippers and a seam-sealed AW cover protects gear from dust, water and anything else nature might throw at you!

National Geographic 'Earth Explorer' BackPack (NG 5162)

The Earth Explorer Photo Bag collection reflects National Geographic's dedication to exploration and conservation. The bags are an ideal blend of protection and the 'original' explorer look and feel. The design provides an optimal solution for photographic equipment storage while you are out in the wild!

If you would like more information on any of these products, you can visit the various websites by using the links on the right hand side of the page.

A big thanks to the guys at Singer Photographic for having the faith in Photo-Africa and we look forward to a long mutually beneficial working relationship!

Make sure to visit again soon for feedback and more product reviews!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!
Gerry

Gerry Has Added New Images!

I have been out of the reserve for a few days! I have just uploaded about 30 new images from the last few weeks in Madikwe. You can find these images in the Photo-Africa Galleries. Here are a few of the new images.

Fork-Tailed Drongo silhouette.

White Rhino Close Up

Lanner Falcon Taking Flight

Impala Jump

I have just completed a major revamp of the Photo-Africa front page to include our new sponsor's logo. More on this exciting development a little later but in the meantime you can visit http://www.photo-africa.com/ to see the new front page! During the next few days I will be modifying most of the pages on Photo-Africa as well so make sure to check back soon!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Idwala - Zulu for 'Rock' or 'Stone'

I spent the last few days in Johannesburg photographing Idwala Guest House in the quiet suburb of Darrenwood. Idwala means Rock or Stone in Zulu and this can be seen in the architecture and interior design of the venue.

This 5-star Guest House is situated in a quiet road and is truly an amazing getaway for people wishing to stay a night or for business purposes. With the weather being rainy and overcast on the first few days, light proved to be quiet challenging but I feel the final images show the beauty and character of this gem in the city.

From the entrance, the main building is focused around the dining area which is built around the lounge area which is furnished with beautiful dark couches and the fireplace adds a great ambiance!

The outside area has plenty of outside seating available with a small pool which features a waterfall that draws a lot of birds into the garden.

There are many different rooms with everything you might need to make your stay more comfortable. This of course includes a big screen television!

All the finishing touches have been taken care of to make this a definite 5-star experience!

If you ever need a place to stay in the Randburg / Sandton area of South Africa I can most definitely recommend Idwala Guest House. For more information you can visit their website (which will be updated with new images shortly) - www.idwala.com

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

The Saddest Dog in the World!!

Not quite wildlife, but felt I had to add this. My boy Gizmo - the saddest Boston Terrier in the World!!


Gizmo, had a tussle with my sister's cat and now sports a punctured cornea! He now has more eye drops, lotions and tablets then I knew existed but vet says everything should be fine if we stick to the schedule of drops, tablets, pills, lotions, creams, etc!!


One more visit to the vet on Thursday and another week or so with the plastic cup around his head, which he is not at all impressed with and then he should be back to normal!

Anyway, I am heading back to Madikwe tomorrow after a short stop in Johannesburg and will hopefully be adding new wildlife images soon! Adele and Gizmo will be joining me on Friday once all his visits to the vet is done!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Gerry

Wildebeest - A Different Angle

Wildebeest are one of the more common game species that you will find when going on safari. I am not sure how many people (if any) will actually go out looking for images of Wildebeest, but I tried a slightly different angle and quite liked the results!

A close up of a young Wildebeest's eye.

This young guy was ruminating and I focused on his 'elbows' and mouth.

Half a profile of the youngster still laying down.

As I mentioned in a previous Blog - It's not what you look at, but what you see!!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Written by Gerry van der Walt

A Crazy Afternoon with the Dwarsberg Pack

Two days ago, myself and Grant decided that we were going to look for the wild dogs down in the south of the reserve where they had been spending quite a lot of time, possibly looking for a den site.

As you might or might not know, is that to look for wild dogs is not as easy as it might seem…..

The first tracks of them going from Makanyane road going south was what we had expected. Then more tracks going east from the airstrip, then going south west from Diperoro.

This could only mean one thing, they are HUNTING!

After much searching around and chasing after “the fresh tracks”, I finally found them in an open clearing engaging into what seemed to be some wildebeest. With there ears flat and determined look on their faces,they started the chase.

Or was it the other way around? The wildebeest then all ganged up on them, and a battle of stares ensued with the victors being the wildebeest, who now drove their advantage home with the dominating male chasing all that looked like a wild dog into the distance. The dogs then gave up ,and with one voice they all suddenly took off in a different direction with huge speed.

To witness the interaction between the predator and prey, with the prey winning the battle is always amazing.

Darkness fell, and we couldn’t follow them any longer. To be continued...

Written by Gavin Tonkinson

(To view more of Gavin's images or to contact him, visit his page on Photo-Africa!)

Leopard at Royal Madikwe

Good Day, everybody….

I have been somewhat delayed on my article for the blog about the leopard sighting that we had the fortunate luck of experiencing at Royal Madikwe, so as they say…Better late than never.

Our safari had just begun, when the news broke of a leopard in a tree on an impala kill.

Immediately my ears turned to attention with excitement as we don’t see leopards all that often in the Madikwe (possibly due to the old farming regime), this was when we responded to the sighting.

Within ten minutes we were in to the sighting, and were treated to this beautiful cat in her most well known of antics…up the tree !!


There were lots of AHS, and oohs, and the cameras started going bezerk as she came down the tree to pose for a few shots.

Apparently, prior to us arriving on the scene, the Dwarsberg Pack (one of the two Wild Dog packs in Madikwe) chased her up the tree, so there was this situation of two high profile species in the same location interacting with each other, which is really something that is unheard of. It goes to show, that you can never tell what will happen next around the next Marula Tree.


Anyway, I have included some of the shots I managed to get out of that sighting….ENJOY !!!

Written by Gavin Tonkinson

(To view more of Gavin's images or to contact him, visit his page on Photo-Africa!)

Nature's Way

One morning when we came back from another exhilarating drive I saw a female zebra that couldn’t get up on her own. She must have had some kind of a disease. Normally when that happens to animals it is when they were chased over a long distance especially by came capture helicopters. Even when they are kept for too long in captivity they get 'capture myopathy'. Normally that is fur to a shortage of Vitamin B12.

Well back to the zebra………. I told my guests that the zebra won’t make it through the day with the wild dogs and lions in the area.

As it turned out, that afternoon the dogs got her.

This is nature’s way of taking care of the weak and sick. It was amazing to see how all the dogs were eating on the carcass without fighting. That’s because of the hierarchy level in the pack. We sat with them for more than 20 min. This is one of the awesome things about Madikwe. We can really get close to the important species like lions, buffalo, wild dogs, leopard, rhino and elephants.

Sorry losing track again………

The next morning the dogs were still there. During the night we could hear hyena activity and the dogs went crazy, unfortunately we couldn’t view them with the spotlight because they are diurnal animals. There was nothing left only a view ribs. The dogs hanged around for the day before moving off.

Never a dull moment in the African bush!

Until next time.

Written by Grant Marcus

(To view more of Grant's images or to contact him, visit his page on Photo-Africa!)