Funny Face

Found this old guy right next to the road two days ago. He was going about his business and did not really care for us.

Interesting to photograph giraffe from almost underneath and as the title says...

Funny Face!


I am still going to do a book on funny animal faces one day!! :)

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

A Mixed Bag of Images

This week has been a pretty quiet week in Madikwe and I was only out for a few days. Some nice sightings but nothing spectacular photography wise.

Here are two of the images I got in the last few days.

These two males were in the process of fighting (necking) when we found them. Sat watching them for quite some time as the rain clouds moved in. I have a few nice 'action' images of these two which I still need to work through.

We found this little guy and his mom just as the clouds opened for the late afternoon sun to come through. This was a great sighting as the herd was very calm and slowly walked next to our vehicle and into the sunset.

I have a few other wildlife images I have to still check that might work and will get these up onto the Blog and Stock Site as soon as I can. Did get some more pretty nice images though.

Yesterday Grant and I drove to Supingstad, the closest rural community to Madikwe, to collect some of the Tuningi staff. We are taking all the staff to Sun City today for our annual Xmas party. Should make for quite a few 'interesting' images as well!

As we were waiting for the staff outside one of the local schools we were saw a bunch of young boys playing around. These kids love photos and were very happy for us to shoot away! Here are a few of the images I was able to capture.

The impromptu game of football was quite competitive and these little guys showed quite a bit of skill.

One of the older spectators watching the kids. Remembering when he could also run around like that?

The energy and enthusiasm in these little guys were quite amazing. Perhaps it is because the one on the left is carrying his lunch around with him during all the games.

Here Grant is showing the kids some of his images. The excited laughter when they saw their images was amazing to see! I am sure Grant will be posting some of his images as well.

As with the last time I went to Supingstad to photograph the people and their community this was a great afternoon. The people are friendly and I think that the young kids and older folk have so much character which makes them fascinating subjects to photograph. Absolutely love it and will definitely go back again!

I am in the process of expanding Photo-Africa to include more diverse genres of photography and related services such as hospitality and portraits which, I feel, will compliment the wildlife and nature images by showcasing the complete 'African' picture - if you know what I mean! I am loving the challenge of shooting different scenes and subjects but the goal is to still keep all the images 'African'. I would love to get your input on these different images as they get uploaded!

Almost time to go and get ready for the Xmas party! Will hopefully have some images to upload later this week but will be back with the Weekly High Five and more great African wildlife images on Friday! The quality of wildlife images that have been uploadd has been spectacular!

I have played around with slightly larger images in the Blog. Any thoughts on this one?

As always I look forward to hearing from you and leave you with one more image from yesterday.


Until next time!

Gerry

Wild Dog Kill - Video

Please note that the following video is VERY GRAPHIC and not for the feint-hearted!!! Do not play the video if you are easily offended by violence in nature!

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The following video, called Survival of the Fittest - Wild Dog and Kudu Kill, was captured by Neil Steedman who works at Jaci's Safari Lodge in Madikwe, about an hour from where we are based at Tuningi. The video shows three African Wild Dogs pulling down and killing a female Kudu at the edge of a watering hole in Madikwe.

There have been many debates as to who are the more 'humane' killers - cats or dogs? The debate is still open but this video shows how Wild Dogs hunt. The Kudu in this video will probably have gone into shock as soon as the Dogs pulled her down which, if it at all helps, would have made her not feel that much. Still a truly brutal scene but purely nature unfolding as it has for many hundreds of years. (Note: This is purely my view and I know that we cannot project those kind of emotions onto a scene like this but when you get to see things like this for real you cannot help but think about it from a 'human' perspective!!)

Amazing. Shocking. Almost unbelievable! A lot of people come to Africa with the hope of seeing 'a kill'. This video shows but a small part of that reality and when confronted with a scene such as this in the bush many people feel different. Understandably so. Have you ever witnessed a scene like this? What did you think? Feel? Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this one!

While on this amazing video thing - I assume most of you have seen the famous Battle at Kruger video on YouTube. This video has already been viewed more than 38 million times and when you watch it you will see why! Sightings like this also do not happen everyday and this is truly one in a million!!

For those of you who have not see it yet, here goes (and if you understand Afrikaans you will get a good giggle out of the background commentary as well!)

Time to get going. It looks like the sun has finally broken through a week's worth of rain clouds and we might actually get home dry from tonight's drive! I will be back soon with more updated images and whenever possible, a few wildlife videos as well.

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time!

Gerry

Weekly High Five #21

After a break of almost three weeks the Weekly High Five is back!

Wildlife photography is difficult. No. Let's clarify. Creating a striking, memorable and technically good image is difficult. With the direction cameras are going these days anybody can hit a home run every once in a while. Getting quality images on a continuous basis is the real goal. Again... a good camera is not necessarily going to make you take good pictures.

During the last three weeks I have been having an amazing time focusing on various different types of photography and am looking forward to carry some of the rejuvenated excitement and enthusiasm back into the bush to see what I can come up with. By photographing still-standing scenes and landscapes I have had the chance to refresh the way your mind works when I compose an image.

The challenge in wildlife photography is to carry those 'skills' and experience into the field and be able to do everything very quickly. Knowing your equipment is vital. Also, nature does not wait for you to get your camera right and that is why luck plays such a great part in wildlife photography. I reckon I can steal from Gary Player by saying that "the more you practise (and go out in the field), the luckier you will get."

This week's High Five features some amazing images that shows what can happen when great photography meets wildlife. Since the last High Five there have been a great deal of awesome images uploaded to the Photo-Africa Stock Library but I decided to focus on the recently uploaded images. When you have a chance pop in and have a look at all the Newest Images.

You might recall that a few weeks ago I tried to steer away from Africa's largest cat pics as there were just so many being uploaded. Great problem, using the world lightly, to have! Having now been away from Big 5 territory for a while and seeing the amazing images I was very excited to see the big cats again! With the variety of lion images that have been uploaded I almost chose only lion images but at the last minute decided to include a great silhouette and a few rhino as well.

Here goes with my choices for this weeks High Five!

Image 1 - Crash of Rhino by Edmund Fourie

A group of gentle giants. I personally love taking images of Rhino as they offer so many angles and different lines. I like this as the Rhino look like they are having a meeting and putting their heads together. What would have really made this one stand out is if the background, including the back two animals, was slightly out of focus. This would have still let the image retain the same feeling of a group of rhino together but the focal point would have very definitely been on the front Rhino with the long horn. Still not a major worry and a great wildlife image.

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Image 2 - Lion Cubs by Paul Benson

Any image of small animals always have a slight head start due to the 'cute' factor and this is no exception. Beautiful capture of the two cubs. The two things that stand out for me is the fact that they are both staring in the same direction and the background that includes the diagonal lines in the direction they are looking. Almost as if they are looking down a road. DOF in the image is also perfect as the background is just blurred enough to keep the focus on the lions. Nice image!

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Image 3 - Lioness and Cub by Paul Benson

Again - cute! Another thing that this image shows perfectly is the way eye contact can make or break a wildlife image. In this case it happens twice. In the first instance the lioness looks directly at the viewer. Paul was even able to capture the little bit of catch-light in her eye. Secondly, and I believe this is what makes this a winner, is the way the little cub is looking up at it's mother. Perfect! The only thing that you could possibly change would be to have framed the female a little to the centre but this is being overly picky. Great image!!!

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Image 4 - Elephant Silhouette by Paul Benson

This is Africa at it's best. This image, of probably the most recognisable animal on the plant, shows the most beautiful time of the day in Africa - sunset. Capturing the silhouette is one thing but the background in this is filled with different colours which is not always the case in animal silhouettes. This image should be made into a postcard!

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Image 5 - Lion Fight by Paul Benson

Unbelievable image! For me this was an easy pick as my favourite of the week. When two lions fight the intensity is out of this world. This image has captured movement, power and conflict. The angle of this image also makes it work. It seems as if the photographer was almost on ground level which, considering the subjects, is quite an interesting thought. Through the blurred motion shows the speed and combined with the muscles in the lions back shows how brutal these moments can get. This image should get anybody excited about wildlife photography. Fantastic image! O, and the flies around the lions are pretty cool as well!

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A truly great collection of images and an amazing showcase of African wildlife.

With my backlog of images from our recent road trip I have a huge amount of Blog material and hopefully I will be able to get a lot of these images, stories and thoughts onto the Blog during the next two weeks. At the end of the month Adele and I will be going back to Johannesburg for a few days and during that time I will be uploading most of my Namibia shots, along with any new ones I get during the next two weeks, to the Photo-Africa Stock Library.

The Stock Site has been growing steadily over the last few months so just a quick thanks to all the photographers, almost thirty now, who have been continuously uploading their African Wildlife images. I am in the process of making a few upgrades and updates to Photo-Africa and I will keep you guys posted as soon as these get implemented! Quite a few exciting developments in the pipeline.

Also a huge thanks you to all the people who keep on visiting, commenting and supporting Photo-Africa!!

So as the rains pours down in Madikwe, as always, I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

Namibian Landscapes

I will definitely be going back to Namibia! Perhaps I should arrange a Photo-Africa photographic safari during next year sometime. Hmmm... interesting thought...

Anyway, I have slowly been working through the images from our trip a few weeks ago. So many amazing abstract, scenes and wildlife images which I will still get to but for now I have been focusing on the landscapes.

The landscapes in Namibia makes you feel quite small. The size of the place is overwhelming and calming at the same time. I have been playing around with different orientations and a few quite strong crops but I feel this shows the beauty, size and emotion of the landscapes much better. This is all pretty difficult to capture in a single image but here are a few of my initial landscapes from the Namib-Rand Game Reserve.

The contrast of colours and the wide open spaces which are scattered with a few lonely trees are truly spectacular.

The vastness of the landscapes can be seen here as a lone ostrich walks across the open plain.

The long road that leads from Windhoek to the entrance of the Namib-Rand Nature Reserve. This images was taken from the Reserve gate towards the direction you would be approaching if you were to drive to the Wolwedans.

This is the road you drive as as you enter the Namib-Rand Reserve. The rolling dunes and mountains are absolutely spectacular and the only sign of civilization is the red winding road that cuts through the landscape.

The Oryx is the epitome of all dessert mammals and the ambassador for Namibian nature and wildlife. These animals are not always the easiest to photograph but with a bit of luck and perseverance, as with most wildlife images, your patience will be rewarded. We found this lone female early one morning as we were heading out for more views of this amazing place.

During the next few weeks I will add more images from Namibia. The place touches your soul and makes you miss it even before you leave.

Yes. I will go back.

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

Using Lines & Shapes

I am very fond of using lines and shapes when composing my wildlife, nature and all other images.

This can be anything from the various obvious to an imaginary line created by an animals intended direction of movement. I have started working through all my RAW images from our trip to Namibia and two images that showed interesting lines and shapes stood out immediately.

I felt that they both had a little more 'character' in black and white and love the results.

This shot of Adele was taken as the sun was setting in Helmeringshauzen. The outline on her profile was accentuated by the last rays of sun. The curves of her face combined with the horizontal line that splits the frame makes this a striking image.

This image was taken in the St Lucia wetlands. The flowing S-curve and different textures of the shore of the Estuary made for a very interesting black & white image.

You can use lines like this to create striking stand alone images or to help draw your viewer's gaze towards your intended focal subject. In the image below the curving shoreline leads your gaze directly to the crocodile.

A pretty plain and simple image but made just that little more interesting by using the lines that was available.

When you look around you will find that their are lines, shapes and textures everywhere. I captured this last image in the Kwamadwala Game Reserve.

The rolled up Millipede makes for an in interesting shape and different textures.

Lines & shapes can 'make' images out of nothing or make an average image great.

For me it was great to spend the last few weeks with Glen and Pieter who are also both quite 'obsessed' photographers. By shooting the same landscapes and scenes we were able to share ideas and different ways of approaching a scene or subject. It is great to share ideas and learn from each other and I find it quite sad that there are people who do not want to share their work, ideas and goals. Surely we can all learn from each other?

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

The Land God Created in Anger

'One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.'

~ Henry Miller, 1957

The San people calls it 'the land God created in anger' - Namibia.

You cannot help but be in awe of this land of sand, mountains and vast open spaces. It took my breath away. It made me stop and take notice. I fell in love with it.

Perhaps in a way my feelings are linked to the fact that Adele and I had our wedding at Wolwedans in the Namib-Rand Game Reserve but when I look at some of the images and think back to the emotions and feelings that we all experienced during our time there I am convinced that it was more than this.

From the moment we entered Namibia at the Nakop border it felt like we have entered a place that held a beautiful mystery. It is a place that feels familiar and brand new all at the same time. A place with landscapes so vast that you get lost in your own thoughts.

We spent our first night at the Hotel in Helmeringshauzen. This town, and no jokes here, consists of the hotel, a petrol station and about 200 meters of tar road - that's it! Even in this isolated spot of Namibia we were blown away by the beauty of the surrounding landscapes.

We had the most amazing afternoon up on the hills behind the hotel taking pictures and just soaking up the beauty of this very different natural landscapes. The next morning Pieter, our wedding photographer, and I were up early to get a few images of the hotel and surrounding area.

This is pretty much half of the town of Helmeringshauzen. Just behind the funky looking guy is a petrol station and that is about it. I quite liked the look of this Toy Story looking fellow and it just goes to show that there are picture opportunities everywhere!

This old car and dead tree was located within the grounds of the hotel and must have been photographed many times in the past. We had a great deal of fun playing around and shooting this scene. Many different times of day and different kinds of light gave us a lot of chances to 'work the scene'.

After leaving Helmeringshauzen, and stopping a few times along the way to take pictures, we arrived at Wolwedans.

Once we entered the Namib-Rand Game Reserve we were met with some of the most amazingly simple and beautiful scenes I could ever have imagined. The first image in this post was the first one I took as we entered the gates to the reserve - and that was just the start of it.

Later that day we went on a drive with the guides from Wolwedans. This foreign world offered so many images it was almost as if it was designed by a photographer, for photographers.

The lines and shapes in this world of red sand, yellow grass and blue skies was almost too good to be true. Between Pieter, Glen and myself we were like kids let loose in a candy store. Images waiting to be captured - everywhere!!

The next morning we left on an early morning game drive and again the natural scenes of Namibia did not disappoint.

The morning light gave us many different ways in which to shoot this amazing landscapes and with the rolling hills and vast open plains I am quite keen to see what Pieter comes up with when we receive our official wedding photographs from him.

As the morning slowly matured into another scorching hot day in the Namib dessert I got some of the most amazing shots of Oryx - something I have not been able to get in Madikwe. These majestic antelope specialize in this harsh environment and in a way look very natural in this harsh and unforgiving dessert.

The images I got of these Oryx along with a few Springbok is pretty much the total sum of wildlife images for my trip to Namibia. Landscapes, lines, shapes and abstracts. This is what kept me occupied, excited and made me think about my own photography in a whole new way.

Think about your own 'style' in a new way and be forced to look at things differently. This has opened up a whole new, or at least a long forgotten, world to me. I have started looking at landscapes differently. Abstracts have a new appeal. Great feeling.

Apart from my wedding, which was everything we hoped for and more, I have had the most unbelievable photographic time in Namibia. The passion has been rekindled. The creativity has been awakened and the comfort zone has been shifted which will (hopefully) make way for a new growth in my own work.

If you ever feel the need to visit a place of endless beauty which will spark your photographic spirit let me know and we can head up to Namibia for the photographic trip of a lifetime! The country is massive and is begging to be photographed! IAfter our 4 days in Namibia I have more than 1000 RAW files I am slowly working through - the place is unreal!!

Make no mistake, wildlife photography which I enjoy and would like to think I am quite good at is still something that gets me excited and makes me want to get up and out into the field every day but there is more. Much more and during the next few months I will be looking at expanding my focus (excuse the pun) and venture into different genres of photography.

I will be updating my own page on Photo-Africa which will be featuring various new galleries, images and services I will be looking at exploring. I will be posting some of these images, along with all the regular posts, on the Blog and would love to get your feedback.

Adele and I will be heading back to Madikwe on Wednesday but I will be back with the Weekly High Five on Friday.

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

New Wildlife Photography Book - Now Available!!!

My latest book "Wildlife. Photography. And everything in between." is now available! I have finally received my first copy and I am extrmely proud and pleased with the result!

The 192 page coffee table book is a visual journey through African Wildlife Photography with the first section including more than 200 African Wildlife images including all the African Icons such as Lions, Leopard, Zebra and Giraffe.

The second section looks at various composition guidelines, tips and tricks to help you improve your own wildlife photographs!

Here are a few images from the book.

Cover Page

Index Page

The Wildlife Section of the book features images and information on the following:

- African Sunrise

- African Icons (Including the Big 5, Wild Dog, Cheetah, Zebra)

- General Game

- Birds

- African Sunsets

- Africa is a Dark Place

The Photography Section is aimed specifically at Wildlife Photography and features basic text and many sample images to highlight the following:

- Introduction

- Shutter Speed

- ISO

- Exposure (Including Back Light, Side Lighting, etc.)

- Composition (Shapes, Lines, Rule of Thirds, etc.)

Wildlife

African Icons - Leopard

Information and Interesting Facts.

Each animal featured as an African Icon includes general information and interesting facts.

Composition in Wildlife Photography

Exposure in Wildlife Photography

This book is now available online as the following three version:

• Soft Cover - $60
• Hard Cover with Dust Jacket - $70
• Hard Cover with Image Wrap - $75

To see a preview of the book or to purchase your own copy now - click here! The book currently ships from the US and can be posted to anywhere in the world. If you are in South Africa and would like to order a copy let me know as I will be doing a bulk order in the next few weeks. If you already have a copy I would love to hear your thoughts!!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

PS: I have just uploaded a few images of Adele and my wedding to an album on Photo-Africa. You can view these images by clicking here. G.

What a Ride!

After a road trip of just under 4,400km we are back in Johannesburg!

Not quite sure where to start as we have had the most unbelievable two weeks. Since leaving Namibia on 2 November we have pretty much driven across the whole of South Africa - to the St Lucia Wetlands, up to the Lowveld and back to Johannesburg. And the strangest thing of all is that I would get in the car and do it again in an instant!

The wedding feels like it happened months ago. We have done so much and seen so many amazing things that it is in a way quite nice to be home in Johannesburg for two days before heading back to Madikwe on Wednesday.

I have so many images that I want to work through and so many stories to tell so in the next few days expect quite a few posts on this blog! Just the various places we stayed at is enough to keep me going for a while so I will also be uploading my own reviews and images as soon as I get a chance!

For now I have to unpack and settle at home but I just had to upload this image that Glen took in Swaziland.

Keep in mind this was on a main road, highway if you will. Not fenced or in a game reserve or anything like that. I have seen a lot of 'interesting' signs in Africa but this one in Swaziland definitely caused a few laughs in our vehicle!

This is the real Africa!! :)

Will be back soon with a LOT of new images and updates!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time!

Gerry

First Images from Namibia

What a ride!! Adele and I have just arrived home from Namibia for a very quick stop before heading on to the St Lucia Wetlands and then to the Kwamadwala Game Reserve.

Our trip to Namibia was out of this world! Absolutely everything was perfect and we had the most amazing time. While we are getting ready to leave on a well deserved break at first light, I am busy downloading my own images from the trip. The scenery, landscapes and general photo opportunities was almost too much to contend with but I cannot wait to work through my images.

In between all the drinks, laughter and driving Pieter, our photographer, and Glen also took images all the time and from what we could see on the camera screens there were some awesome images!

Pieter will be editing the official wedding photographs and I will upload some of these when I receive it from him but in the meantime I have added a few of Glen's images from our Namibian adventure.

Adele and I at the old car at the Helmeringshauzen Hotel. The town is made up of the hotel and a petrol station but it blew us away with it's quaint charm.

Glen caught me 'hard at work' on the hill behind our hotel. Great landscapes and great light!

Skip forward a few days - Adele, Pieter and I play around with some images at Wolwedans where we stayed for the duration of our wedding.

Glen joining in on the action.

This was the setting for breakfast on 1 November, the morning of our wedding.

Jump forward to that afternoon. Glen shot this while Adele and I were on our way to the ceremony venue on the dune.

Adele and I after the wedding ceremony. The setting was out of this world!!

As soon as we return from Kwamadwala I will go through Glen's images and upload more images from the wedding. At first glance there are some great ones!! I will also be working on processing and uploading all the landscape, abstract and wildlife images I was able to capture during our trip. Some truly amazing scenes!!

Thanks for all the well-wishes and messages. It is greatly appreciated!! Will get back to you all as soon as the world stops turning this fast!

As always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time.

Gerry

Good Times

Normally I would be uploading the Weekly High Five on a Friday. Today is slightly different.

It would have been very easy to do a High Five as it has been another great week on the Photo-Africa Stock Library with a huge amount of new images being added to the various African Wildlife and Nature categories. For this week you can visit the Stock Site and have a look through the various new images that have been added.

As you are reading this I will be at Sossusvlei, Namibia getting ready to get married tomorrow. Adele and I decided to keep it nice and small and we will only have our parents, sisters and one friend sharing the day with us. After quite an 'interesting' year we are looking forward to finally completing the next step that has been coming for a long time.

Instead of the High Five I have decided to include a few random 'people' images of the last few days.

Adele and I the evening that Glen arrived from Australia. This is the third time that Glen has visited us in SA and is this time joining us as our best man / bridesmaid!

Gavin and I sharing a drink after seeing a leopard on drive last week, followed by another three (3!) leopards at Tuningi's waterhole!

Adele, Gavin, Heidi and I at the bar at Tuningi.

Adele and I a few years ago at one of the viewpoints in Madikwe. We have been together for almost five years and have worked together for almost all of that time. Many great memories and many more to come!

I will be back in Johannesburg for a quick stop on Monday before we head off on a short trip to the St Lucia wetlands and KwaMadwala Game Reserve. I have no doubt that in between everything else I will be getting quite a few images and I will upload these as soon as I find the chance!

In the meantime, here are a few of our 'wedding-links' that you can go and check out:

• A Rieviera Garden B&B (Stopover in Upington)
• Helmeringhausen Hotel (Stopover in Namibia: VERY tiny so should be interesting!)
• Wolwedans Dune Camp (Our Wedding Accommodation & Venue)
• Pieter Roos (Our Photographer)
• Manyatta Rock Lodge (After the wedding)

Once I am back I will get back to everybody's emails and comments! Thanks a lot for all the support and as always I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time!

Gerry

The Most Beautiful Cat

Whenever you get back from a drive after a leopard sighting there is always a great vibe at the lodge and when you look at some of these images that Gavin recently uploaded to the Photo-Africa Stock Library you can see why.


Absolutely stunning image of a female leopard up on a rocky ledge. If I am not mistaken I think he got this image the day after Adele and I left Madikwe. The day before we had a very brief visual of her and to find a leopard like this is always magic!


If you look at the leopard's body you can see how well their coat camouflages in the bush. If they do not want to be seen you can go for days without even the slightest visual.


I love this image in black & white - it makes the cat stand out against the rocky background. Awesome!

For more leopard images you can click here. Amazingly beautiful cats!

As always I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time!

Gerry