Weekly High Five #19

It seems that the rain has finally arrived in Madikwe.

Last night we watched as the clouds built up, winds started picking up speed and then finally, after a long dry winter, the rain fell. It was not as much as we had hoped for but at least the dust has been settled and we can now look forward to the next major shower that will bring new life to the plains.

This week has seen a lot of new images being uploaded to the Photo-Africa Stock Library. The diversity is amazing and it makes me again how special the growing collection of images truly is. Some amazing images ranging from lions to birds and landscapes. There has also been quite a few wildlife art images uploaded which is a great new angle to the database of African Wildlife and Nature images.

Here goes with this weeks' High Five.

Image 1 - Lightning by Matt Jones

This was not taken last night, when the first rains fell, but captures the drama perfectly. I still want to take a shot at photographing lightning one day. This image shows the power of an African thunderstorm. Drama, colour, action. In a perfect world I would have liked to see the power lines erased from the image but not a major issue. Powerful image.

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Image 2 - Lion King by Gerry van der Walt

I was initially worried that the background in this image would be too burnt out. In a way I still think so but then again it highlights Africa's largest cat beautifully. Their is intent in his eyes and the background adds to the drama of the image. Perhaps a little more contrast in his face would have added more detail to the image but still a great lion image.

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Image 3 - Wild Dog Art by Grant Marcus

The original image was already a winner and I quite like the 'treatment' this one received. The dog's body creates a perfect diagonal line down to where he is drinking. The frame, which gives it that 'old' feeling also helps you to look towards the centre of the image. The frame in the bottom left corner could perhaps have been lightened just a touch to make the circles in the water more clear but still a nice attempt at create art from a wildlife image.

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Image 4 - Giraffe by Gerry van der Walt

One of the challenges in wildlife photography is to create images that stand out. Images that use different angles to showcase the animal or scene. This image is slightly different to your 'standard' giraffe image in that it is taken from the back yet still shows the animal's eye. What is he looking at? The branches in the left of the frame gives the image a little texture and places the giraffe in a more natural habitat than if it was just the animal's head. Interesting angle - interesting image.

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Image 5 - Leopard Rock by Matt Jones

Simple yet powerful. The leopard could not have been placed more perfectly in the image and the direction she is looking in also works perfectly. The rocks that fill the frame gives great texture and color to the scene while at the same time shows the animal's natural habitat. This is definitely not something you see everyday and is a very special sighting. Great image and was originally my first choice my pick for the week.

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Image 6 - Namibia Dune by Will Knight

Absolutely perfect! I was in the process of uploading the High Five when this image was uploaded to the Stock Site. It shows the dunes in Sossusvlei in Naimibia. The lines and colors capture the beauty of Namibia, 'the land God created in anger', to perfection. I might feel a little biased towards this image as this is where I will be getting married in two weeks but I still feel this image is truly amazing. A late entry but my pick for this week. (This also happened to have been the 2500th image added to the Stock Site!!)

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Another great collection of images. As always I look forward to your comments and feedback! To view these and other image you can visit the Photo-Africa Stock Library.

I am sitting on a LOT of images from the last few weeks and am dying to work through them. The sightings have just been that good that we have been getting home with at least 50 workable images after each drive. I am going to to my best to get these images onto the Stock Site and Blog during the week so make sure to check back soon!

Almost time to head out again.

Until next time!

Gerry