The Telegraph - Published

2 Photo Agencies Interested

Even though it is just a hobby of mine, I am having relative success with my renewed interest in sharing this hobby with those that enjoy, and appreciate some of the images I have captured over the years.

Since starting to post images on a few photographic websites over the last 2 weeks, I have been humbled by the amount of interest being shown, and was floored by reading what some of the established Wildlife Photographers worldwide had to say, and give compliments, about some of the images I managed to capture.

This past week I was approached by two different photographic agencies, both based in Europe, one in London, and the other in Dublin, and asked to become a regular contributor, and featured photographer, supplying stock images to their respective libraries of images.

I now just need to speak to those with more experience than I have, and ask them about the best options to take when considering the different options.

The bottom line for me is, I may start making a bit of pocket money in the future from photographic sales, and get some much needed advertising and exposure, that I got this last week from the UK Based, The Telegraph ( News ).

They selected one of my images as the cover for their featured Photo of the Day :
Please follow the link to see the image, it is admittedly, one that I have posted before.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/9660894/Pictures-of-the-day-7-November-2012.html

Regards

Rudi

Progress is happening - My Website

Good Afternoon Everyone

I have taken the plunge and bought a domain name!!! Yes, correct, so now everyone can simply log into my website, to browse an ever growing selection of some of the images I have been sitting with for years and years. It is still a work under construction, with about 70 images currently, but I am growing the portfolio by about 5 images daily.

Visit it - and tell your friends too - www.big5africansafari.com

I have my site linked with the Website, 500px, and all images displayed on my personal Website, are for sale as different sized Canvas Prints on 500px. ( www.500px.com )

Alternatively, make use of the contact page where you can e-mail me any requests, comments etc.

Hope to get some feedback from everyone, be it both positive, and negative.

Regards

Rudi

Re-Invention

So much time has been spent over the last 2 weeks trying to get a few things in order to start a more structured approach to my blogging and photo sharing.

To give everyone an update, it all started with me opening an account on a Photo Sharing Community Website, called 500px, ( www.500px.com ). Some of the worlds most amazing and talented photographers showcase their work on this site, and I chose this as the springboard platform to reignite my photographic hobby, ( and try make a buck on the side ). For those that choose, this site also makes provision for the sale of images to the general public.

Making a name on a site like this does take patience, and perseverance, and soon enough more and more people get exposed to your work, mine in this case, and your popularity starts to rise, getting more and more followers that show an interest in the published images. It is so rewarding to an amateur photographer, like myself, getting commendations from world renowned photographers, specializing in all manner of photographic categories.

Once I mastered the flow of work on this site, I saw that I could link it to my facebook page, and personal profile on facebook. Some of you may have seen that I have over the last few days been posting links to 500px to my facebook page, I will keep doing this to give everyone a heads up regarding new images being unveiled.

I would strongly suggest to everyone who has an interest in photography, sign up for an account on 500px, and be prepared to be blown away by photo quality coming from people world wide. It is a free sign up, and there is no obligation to make any purchases etc that could be off putting to many individuals. By signing up, you will then have access to be able to view all the stunning work on offer.

In any case, I then went a little further with my pursuit of more exposure, and I have bought a domain name, creating my own website, really just an ever growing portfolio of some of the images I have chosen to start sharing. It is still very very much a work in progress, but over the next few weeks and months, it will grow into a decent showcase of some of my favorite images. If you are already interested, you are free to visit, www.big5africansafari.com a word of warning though, there are still only about 30 images there, but I will grow this site by about 5 images a day. I hope you will enjoy looking at the progress as much as I get pleasure from doing it.

I will be continuing with my planned expansion over the coming weeks, months, and years, and would love you all to join me for this exciting ride, and inform your friends that they too can tag along.

Here is one of the images that has got a great deal of exposure over the last few days, and through the exposure, from the public, has got the attention of a few photographic editors in Europe. Keep your eyes peeled, it will soon be getting printed in a few publications, in Europe initially, but after that, hopefully worldwide.

Thank You
Rudi

Fresh Start

I am feeling rather alive these days.

Unlike this Buffalo

A brief history is needed to try and catch up with those that have followed my posts in the past.
There always seem to be too many excuses not to have been more prominent on my own blog the past few months, this though should soon be changing, as I am making all possible efforts to rectify the neglect over the past months.

It started at Idube, where me and my wife were working as the general managers, when we got the chance to make a move to a privately owned, noncommercial lodge just north of the Sabi Sand, to the Timbavati Game Reserve.

First hopes were that, now, not needing to deal with paying guests daily, would allow me more time to blog in the evenings. That was quickly sidelined, as I discovered there was no mobile phone reception, thus no Internet connection to blog from. I managed to, after 4 months, source an Internet provider in the region. Last week I had them out here at the Lodge installing the dishes and receivers, and VOILA, uncapped wireless in my house, at a price it must be added.

Once my connection had been sorted out, I fired up the trusty laptop, purchased in March, to start moving forward with this blog, only to find that the keyboard had been urinated on by a pesky Squirrel. OH NO, Now I have intermittent use of my Laptop, when it suits the thing it allows me to type, at other times it just provides the house with disco lighting as it flashes every available icon on my desktop. Further delays now, as I wait for a new Keyboard to be shipped to me to replace the faulty one.

Other hopes were that, pictures aplenty would be forthcoming, because part of my job description at the new lodge is to drive and guide the owner, his family and their guests (unlike at Idube where this was not part of my job description). This too has been postponed, because of total lodge refurbishments happening almost from the day we started here in June, which are currently still ongoing. This though will stop soon, and we will again be getting visitors, allowing me access to the magical Timbavati Wildlife.

I have been out on a few occasions though, and have been fortunate enough to get some great new images to add to my library. I just get green with envy listening to the guides on the radio, hearing the sightings they are finding, but never fear, my time will come soon.

I have added just a few of the images captured here over the past few months, I hope you enjoy.
I will be regularly updating the blog, so stay tuned, I am going to love updating you all on the daily goings on in this most wild and pristine wildlife sanctuary.

Till tomorrow night all



Nthombi Female Leopard



Makeppies Male Leopard

Mafikizola Large Male Lion

Rudi Hulshof



 

Mambirri - The end of her Suffering

There is the inevitable sadness that will forever be associated with the loss of an animal that has become familiar to rangers, guests, photographers, and wildlife enthusiasts worldwide. In the Western Sector of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, we feel this emotion at present due to the loss of a true little lady leopard that died earlier this week.

Mambirri, ( TWO - in the Shangaan language spoken by the local Tsonga tribe ) named so because of her 2 spot identification marks above each whisker line, was a leopard that called the area already mentioned above: home for a period of about 10 years.

Born to Makwela, and fathered by the Wallingford male, she was part of a litter of 3 females that all survived to independence, early in 2004. It was at this stage that this leopard became my favourite because of her amazing resilience, and her will and fight for survival.

I cannot remember the exact dates, but around the time of her independence, Mambirri was surprised by a lion pride at a large rocky boulder. She was caught unawares, and given a serious working over, leaving her torn to shreds, and unable to move on all four legs, constantly hobbling around on three paws. How she managed to get out of the clutches of the lions is still a mystery.

For a few weeks, we saw her losing condition rapidly, due to a cigar sized hole bitten right the way through her front right paw, and soon we did not see her at all anymore. The way of the wild was what everyone proclaimed, and we made peace with the fact that she had either died of starvation, or that she had been killed by larger predators.

Mambirri had all but disappeared from everyone’s minds, when one day, 8 months after Mambirri’s disappearance, a leopard was located deep in the south of the traversing feeding on a duiker that had been hoisted in a tree. Much debate followed about the “new” leopard in the area, until we could get a clear view of her spot pattern, and the healed front right paw that still showed the healing scar from her lion bite, and we could positively identify her as Mambirri.

She was slightly more nervous than before, but in a few weeks she had started to relax to the point where she would almost brush past the cars on her travels around her new territory. Her continuous pain was obvious as she walked with a limp for a few years , before normality returned to her gait. Every winter though, we would see her tighten up, and the stiffness return, and with it her limp would worsen. Her front paw had obviously healed, but would never be the same as before, and have weakness associated with it. She had survived by scavenging on the smallest of prey, mongoose, monkeys, rats, birds, etc, etc, until she was again strong enough to catch large prey items, what a fighter, never giving up!

Skipping forward a few years, after successfully raising 2 litters, it was about a month and a half ago that Mambirri was seen mating with the Kashane Male Leopard. These two honeymooners vanished for a while, and a week later a thin, hungry Mambirri was seen again after her marathon bout of mating with Kashane. She had started to spend time in the area left open by the death of Makubela Female in July, and seemed to have donated her old territory to her newly independent daughter Nthlangisa. Her condition was getting rather desperate, and this caused her to take a risk and attempt to catch a warthog in front of Idube Private Game Reserve where I am based.

Sitting in the office I heard the squeals, and went to try and investigate the source of the noise. A known warthog sow ran past me frantically searching for her single piglet, and it became obvious that it had been caught by a predator. Taking a vehicle to the front of the lodge did not help, for as I drew adjacent to the lodge, my staff alerted me to the fact that an injured leopard had just passed through the bar and boma area, into the river bed running in front of the lodge.

Monkey alarm calls over the next two days gave away the presence of the feeding leopard, but the area she was in made finding or seeing her impossible. On the afternoon of the third day she wandered to the lodge water hole, drank, and lay down. I had to take note of the earlier reports about her being injured, and went to investigate, only to see her right front paw in a horrific state, split down the middle, from her wrist, with 2 toes flapping on either side of the separation.

It seemed her earlier injuries, and weakened paw had come back to haunt her, and I could only guess that in an attempt to save her piglet, the warthog sow had charged Mambirri, at which Mambirri had attempted to slap away the advancing mother, which led to her getting a tusk through her paw, which then ripped out between her toes.

She vanished in the time that it took me to return to the lodge to get a vet dispatched via the Sabi Sand Wildtuin management, and no further action could be taken.

The following morning she was again in the lodge grounds, behind the kitchen, and a leopard, especially and injured one, cannot be left to wander around guests or staff. We dispatched the state vet, and wildlife managers to come and dart her to remove her from the Lodge, and would have assessed her condition and made decisions regarding her treatment at that time.

Unfortunately, the dart used to tranquillise her, never plunged, and she vanished before we could get another dart into her. We had hoped that she would survive, and possibly heal, but were rather pessimistic about the odds in her favour.

She was missing for two weeks, with no further sign or chance to get a vet to dart her, when the Local village alerted the reserve that a leopard had been seen outside the boundary fence, and was posing a threat to the lives of the inhabitants and their children. For over 2 weeks she was seen regularly, raiding the chicken coups of the subsistence farmers in the village, decimating their chicken and goat stocks, and being a threat to the inhabitants. Every time a report was received, a team was sent to find her in order for a vet to come and dart her, but alas, she evaded the teams time and time again.

On her last night, she had been seen charging at some people, and the team came to find her. They located her, and whilst waiting for a vet to arrive, she again made an attempt at entering the local village, looking at the severity of her injury a decision was made that she needed to be put down, before injuring, or even killing a person, or further jeopardising their livelihoods by catching any more of their poultry or live stock.

An immediate post mortem was conducted, and the reports were that she had severely dislocated bones in her foot, some broken bones, her foot had, as had been observed, been split in two, with half hanging on each side. The injuries were too severe for her to survive in the wilds, and thus she had resorted to raiding the village at nights to get food to survive.

Had we managed to get her darted the first day, we would not have been able to do much for her as her chances of survival would have been zero, she would have had depleted mobility, no chance of chasing prey, no real chance at protecting herself from competition, and she would have lost the ability and agility to climb trees, or protect her prey by hoisting it into the trees away from hyaenas or lions.

Further damming internal problems were revealed in the post mortem examination, which also supported the theory that she was not going to survive much longer. Her stomach contained only chickens, not sufficient for a wild leopards nutritional needs, but more alarmingly she was in a stage of liver failure, caused by her body producing, and needing to process the large amounts of adrenalin to combat her constant pain, which would have caused her death shortly. Her adrenal glands and kidneys were severely enlarged, and internal organ failure was a immanent.

I would like to think that her suffering was ended mercifully, and find solace in that fact. Her death thus comes as a relief, rather than just loss and sadness to us that knew her.

Rest now Little Lady, you experienced enough suffering in your life.

Hard Drive Absent

Afternoon All

I wanted to continue with the Makwela story today, but realised my hard drive was still at home, and the photos that I had wanted to upload were still on there. So instead of carrying on with the family tree, I will just post an image or two of the female in Question, Makwela, that I had saved on my PC before.

Enjoy, and be sure to look out later for the Makwela Tale.

Rudi Hulshof

Africa Geographic Digital

I was very fortunate to have been asked by Africa Geographic to submit a few images that they wanted to use for their Digital Mag, for January.

Much was my surprise when the images they wanted actually made the cover of the digital magazine. One Image was thus used as the cover, and this same image again on the front page of the Leopard feature. The second image used was on the introductory video interview, its an image I have posted here before, and is the leopard sunset shot.

This obviously pleased me no end, and compliments my Warthog feature in last months ( December ) Africa Geographic Digi Mag wonderfully.

Thanks for the continued interest in my hobby, and passion.

Rudi Hulshof

Makwela My History

Hi all

I have for many many years been asked questions about this legend. Makwela will remain a legend, told and spoken about over and over for many years to come.

In the coming weeks I have decided to focus on the family tree that I am familiar with, and will impart as much history as is possible regarding her and her offspring. At the end of the series I wish to have given everyone a better understanding of her immense impact regarding the continued survival of not only her blood line, but also of her species.

I will start the series in September 2003, the first time that I personally saw Makwela when I started working in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. I will make 1 notable mention though, and that came from 2002, when I was watching a conservation themed magazine show in South Africa called 50/50.

A particular insert called Veld Focus ( Bush Focus ) in which the public can submit photo or video material of interesting fauna and flora featured, a video clip of a leopard mother feeding on an impala that she had caught, with her 3 small cubs also feasting on the antelope. The video focused on the strong motherly instincts displayed by the leopard female, when she defended herself, and her cubs, against a nomadic young male lion that had stumbled upon them and attempted to steal the remains of the kill.

The female leopard hissed, snarled, and had a face off with the Lion, trying to keep him distracted so that her cubs could make a getaway and find suitable branches to clamber up to safety. She even attacked the Lion at stages when he got close to finding, or snatching a cub. Once all were safe she gave up on protecting her kill as the cubs had all reached safety. I cannot remember who shot the footage, but was so impressed to see her determined effort to save her cubs. Imagine my surprise a few months later, when I started working at Leopard Hills, and saw this female leopard for the first time, her name was Makwela. The cubs that she had been protecting were Sindile ( Ravenscourt ) Female, Mambirri Female and their Sister Tsonga Female. All these cubs had been fathered by a male leopard just as legendary: The Wallingford Male Leopard.

My first ever leopard seen here in the Sabi Sand at that stage was one of the then 18 month old youngsters called Sindile, born early 2002, they were about to embark on a journey of independance, that would see alot of trials and tribulations over the next 7 years. I have chosen the first images I took of her on an afternoon drive with the then current ranger at Leopard Hills, me as one of his passengers, still just trying to learn the roads before being allowed to escourt my own guests on drives.

Recap: Makwela gave birth to 3 youngsters, all females, early in 2002. They were called Sindile, Mambirri, and Tsonga. Theses cubs had been fathered by the Wallingford Male. I first got to see them in September 2003.

To be Continued:.........................................

Buffalo, Just as Impressive as Lions

Some of the Buffalo images that I have taken over the years, are of my favorite pictures, and they have more impact for me than many of the cat images I have managed to capture.

What do you all think?

Busy Period Over

I do have to start off with a sincere apology to all the fans that have been checking in to find a blank space over the last few months. The summer period in RSA, and here in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve is the busy period, and subsequently we are almost always running around flat out trying to keep our guests happy. I have thus been really scarce, but my vow for the new year is to continue trying to mesmerize and entertain you with great wildlife shows here from the BUSH.

I have been very busy doing some long overdue scanning also , and will be filling the blog up with many images that I have uncovered over the last month or so.

Today I would like to share some Cub images. There was a period in 2005/2006 that we were truly spoilt in the western sector of the SSW ( Sabi Sand Wildtuin ), with no less than 3 different Lion prides with Litters.

I would love to hear from you all regarding what you would like to see posted here in the days and weeks to come, that I can dig out those particular slides, and get them scanned, this will help serve as extra motivation to me to get the ball rolling again.

Thanks for the continued support

Rudi Hulshof

New Kids on the block

I was fortunate to be able to view two extremely large Leoprards, the Wallingford Male, and his rival the Ottawa Male in the years that I was guiding in the Sabi Sand Western Sector. These 2 were full grown, large adult Leopards that ruled the majority of the West. Now that I have returned to this area in the capacity of manager, and not getting out that often, I was lucky to be on drive for 2 days last week. Wallingford and Ottawa are long gone, but a crop of young males have taken over the area to claim as their own . At present there are 4 Young Males, less than 7 years old, one large skittish male in the South and North respectivly, and a few more nomads. The 2 photos posted are of 2 of the up and comers, named, Lisbon(Kashane) Male, and Xinzele Male. Xinzele is the son of Sindile(Ravenscourt), who co-incidently is a daughter of Makwela and Wallingford. Just a taste for you all, by posting 2 portrait shots of these Males, these guys are hopefully soon going to start developing dewlaps and cementing their territories.

The first image is of Xinzele Male, and the second of Kashane Male.

I will over the coming days post more images that I captured over the last few days here at Idube

See you all soon

Rudi

Photo-Africa Guest Post

The Following Post was published today on Gerry van der Walt's Website: Photo-Africa http://www.photo-africa.com/

Article – Making the most of Composition and Chance

When I was asked by Gerry to be a contributor in his Thursday Guest Post slot, a multitude of ideas and images and went racing through my head. Actually sitting down and choosing the few that may have some value to talk about was probably a harder task than sitting down to write this post. How do you add value to a Site that has had so many established and acclaimed Wildlife Photographers as contributors? How do you choose 10 to 12 images out of tens of thousands?

Initially I had decided to focus on Leopards as my Subject, the main reason being that, currently, I am in the long and laborious process of scanning old slide images to digital files, and I decided to start with the library of Leopard Images that I have accumulated over the years.

Following a mere 2 weeks after Brendon Cremers Leopard Post, I thought it better if I added a few other images to use as examples to highlight certain tips, and ideas when trying to establish how to be creative in composition.

The first two images that came to mind when starting to compose my article were these 2 leopard Images.

The Young Leopard in the Marula Tree was a treasure trove of potential images on this particular day. I snapped away merrily while he was peering across a plain at his retreating Mother, as she was going to hunt for the evening. Such a vulnerable position to be in when you get left on your own to survive the night, with Lions and Hyaenas in the area, was me and my guests thought at the scene presented before us.

Each image that I take, should tell a story, and when I looked up quickly from my camera after adjusting some settings, I had to take 2 looks to see the cub. With the late afternoon setting sun, accentuating rich red colours, he started blending in with the textures created by the Bark of the tree, and I then had the intention of getting an image of the youngster, against the backdrop of the bark, with no profile visible against the sky.

This image to me represents not only the beauty of nature, but the sometimes mind boggling camouflage that is presented where least expected. The texture contrast between the Rosettes of the fur, and the mottled bark of the tree was a goal that I set out to achieve. What makes this an appealing image, further to the above mentioned ideas, was the drooping paw, adding a point of reference, balancing the head out to a certain degree. The youngsters head has also been placed in the left of the frame, giving him space to look into. This space I attempted to accentuate by composing a visually pleasing diagonal line between the Bark and the Sky. The uncluttered blue sky then creates the perception of more empty space, leaving one to guess what the intent of the stare into the distance may hide. Getting more technical, the appeal of the image also has a further, almost hidden composition element. The diagonal of the bark and the sky separation, is almost mirrored by the diagonal of the leg and paw, dividing the image into three portions.

The above image is a similar image to the first, and I have included it, again, to highlight the value of the visible paw in balancing an image. By including the paw, in a Landscape format rather than Portrait, I was also able to include the branch of the Silver Cluster Leaf tree, dividing the frame diagonally. A fairly shallow depth of field also served to blur the back tangle of branches, that could have been distracting to the eye had a aperture of f11 or more been chosen. The most appealing feature to me regarding this image, was the colours and contrast. My style, which is not chosen, but just comes naturally, has been described by many as very “contrasty”. The rich deep colours of the late setting sun were helped by the red tinges on her face and neck, from feeding on a Duiker, that I have not included in this composition. The dark bark, and blue sky behind helped create pleasing vivid colour contrasts. Typical of Velvia 100 Slide Film. Never to be ignored, is the value of the Catchlight in the eye or eyes, as can be seen in both the discussed images so far.

In the previous paragraph I have mentioned Depth of Field. Short of having to write a book explaining DOF to everyone, I will just highlight the value of a shallow Depth Of Field by including the Above image. A shallow depth of field, allows one to capture your intended subject in crisp clear focus, with the focus getting blurred rapidly into the background. No elements are thus distracting to the eye, and a person will thus focus and appreciate more intently the intended subject. Admittedly though, f2.8 lenses are very expensive, and to those who cannot afford one, me included, a photographer needs to be creative in attempting the said shot. This female Leopard was atop a termite mound, and being able to place myself near the bottom, I was able to change the angle of composition, which included the vegetation in the background, a whole valley distant. At f 6.3, the distance to the background vegetation allowed the illusion of using a very shallow DOF to get the shot. The light was perfect, as was the foreground, which was uncluttered, and the final element was the visible catchlights in the eyes of the subject.

Dark Backgrounds help the image POP sometimes, by this I mean, help the image stand out from the rest of the image including both foregrounds and backgrounds. Composing the above Yawning leopard against a very dark backdrop, helped accentuate the now very visible white whiskers. These can sometimes melt into a brighter backdrop, and the impact alot less noted. An almost 3d effect has been created by placing yourself in a position, to capture your subject against a dark background. No catchlight is visible here, but there is enough action to satisfy me, seeing the open mouth, raspy tongue, bared teeth, and the already mentioned whiskers.

Another example, this time with the help of a shaft of early morning rising sunlight, is a female leopard that I was following across a plain one morning. She had been walking through a thick tree forest, on the edge of the plain, when she stopped in the middle of a patch where the sun’s rays fell directly onto her. Trying always to be prepared, I raised the camera and shot away. She stood for about a minute before moving away, but in that Minute I had captured about 20 images. The most pleasing was this one, where my colours were just as I had intended, emphasising her Golden colour in the sun, contrasting with the shadowy fore, and backgrounds. The textures of the long grass also helped in aiding with the concept that she is blending in to her environment, and I specifically chose to exclude more space on the bottom of the image, as I wanted her legs to simply vanish into the darker vegetation.

The last example in this particular series, is the reflection shot of the drinking Male Leopard. Here a Landscape orientation was necessitated by the posture of the drinking leopard, and especially his curling tale. A shaft of early morning light illuminated this subject against the dark areas of the mud, vegetation, and water, making for pleasing colours and contrasts. Thankfully it was a still morning, and capturing a reflection was possible, this is what ultimately makes this image into something worth sharing.

Creating a mood, and capturing the essence of an animal does not always mean photographing the animal itself. Leopards are by reputation, shy, secretive, elusive. Sometimes described as Phantoms. After the Sand River had flowed, and the water receded, the canvass of sand was left pristine. Stopping to track a male leopard, I noticed the tracks heading down the river bed. The above image is an attempt to highlight the nature of the animal that I have already described. Visible tracks, in typical environment that leopards tend to be found in. The tracks lead to a central point, the water, getting more and more out of focus as they proceed further away. No visible track lead away from the water, and it would appear that the Leopard had simply vanished into thin air after quenching his thirst at the water pool. This mystical property is what I have attempted to impart on the subject, even though no Leopard features in the frame itself.

Sometimes we get so side tracked by trying to place ourselves with the sun behind us, in order to have great light on our subjects, that we tend to miss great chances. The composition of the following 2 images are an attempt by me to convince you all that you have to be receptive to a variety of different environmental factors when attempting to get great shots. I had been taking pictures of this leopard cub high up in a tree, with 3 Hyaenas beneath him, when I turned to the sun to see how much light I had left to take pictures. That’s when it struck me, the light was so low because the sun was dull from all the smoke and dust in the air. Knowing that lens flare would not be a problem, I repositioned to include a silhouette of the tree, Leopard Cub, and the Setting Sun behind the Drakensberg Mountain Range in the distance. Taking a light reading from the brightest part of the sun, and then setting the automatic exposure lock, I took the above moody image. I moved a long way away from the subject to get the right composition, but in the end, when the developed slides were returned I was overjoyed at the result. To me it again told a story, of a long and lonely night that awaited the Leopard, perched atop his isolated and Lonely tree stump. A metaphor to the state of Nature and the Natural world can also be created, with the sun setting, the end coming, unless us as humans can change our ways and do the necessary work to conserve.

Another example of breaking the rules and taking photos into the sun, as a further example, is the image of the rhinos, with the setting sun directly behind them. The sun’s rays and colours really helped a usually mundane subject, be transformed into a visually pleasing image, simply with the addition of great light. We need to think out of the box, and go against the grain when attempting to create art.

Light is one of the most important factors when taking photos in the natural environment. I must stress however that Light is by no means essential to taking great images. The Warthog in its Burrow is a prime example. Here, in a steep valley in the Waterberg, I came across this old boar waiting for things to heat up before he emerged to forage for the day. The sun had not yet crept over the ridge above us, and light was not going to be an element in capturing his portrait. Sometimes shadows or a lack of light, help improve your image by making more detail visible in the subject and its surrounds. This Warthog has been framed nicely by the round hole of the burrow in which it is located, and this adds a pleasing visual element to the final image.
LUCK

After all I have said already, we need to remember that ultimately, the greatest treat is often based on luck. These are the opportunities and chances that do not come along too often, and to get a chance to take unusual images, that may not have been photographed before, is the holy grail of Wildlife Photography. I think at this stage, of a series of Images I saw of Gerry’s a week or so ago, of mud covered Lions, pitch black in appearance, with only the eyes really still natural in colour. You need to be ready at all times to capture these strange scenes.
The unusual subject matter, or environment, will often get the awe filled response that you as a Wildlife Photographer crave when showcase your images, or simply when you treat yourself to your own slide show.

2 Examples of the above are portrayed in the attached images of the Python swallowing a Wildebeest Calf, and the Leopard Cubs hiding away in a storm water drain running under a road in the Manyeleti Game Reserve.

What makes these images, is nothing regarding the: technical ability of the photographer, the composition, the colours or the light. Their appeal, is from the unusual circumstances at the time of taking the photos. Capturing, and saving a point in time that will not be repeated let alone captured too often in the future.

As Gary Player said “ The harder I practice, the luckier I get.”

We can apply that to our journey as Wildlife Photographers, and continue to strive for something different, something unique, the trick is to keep at it, and never be unprepared for the shot.

Lions Feeding on Buffalo

Morning all

Following on from my previous post, with regards to light, imagine my joy a week ago when I got a call on the radio saying that a pride of Lions were feeding on a Buffalo, not too far from the lodge.

Anticipating great pictures in rich red winter afternoon light, me and Melinda, my wife, went out late afternoon to try and get some images. You cannot ask for more I was thinking, wow, 4 adult Males, 5 adult females, and 2 cubs all feeding on a huge Buffalo.

How wrong I was, the kill was hidden in thick bush, and there was no clear view, or sun on the subjects. No photographs here I thought. Thats when I started looking around, and saw some vultures waiting for their turn at the carcass. Positioning myself in such a way as to get the sun setting behind them, these are 2 of the shots that I managed to capture, in a batch of a few hundred.

You have to be creative, and think about many things when going out, I went to capture images of Lions feeding, and returned home with the vulture images that I must say I am very happy with.

Regards

Rudi

Light and its Effects

I subscribe to a Photo Sharing community website, that has over the years been a stepping stone for many of todays published Wildlife Photographers to get exposure in this very competitive industry. There are so many talented individuals out there, and not one is better than the other, just their individual marketing strategies differ and some are more succesful than the rest.

But I digress, let me get back to the point I would like to make.

The photographs of wildlife posted there, are really fantastic. With the digital era, and adjustable ISO sensitivity, we are inclined to snap away at will. I have been noticing, that the photographs that I have been posting there most recently, are all Scanned images from my Slide Collection.

Using Slide film, where you were limited to your chosen ISO, more often than not 50 or 100 ISO, because of the superior light and colour qualities, and the elimination of grain and noise, the Photographer was also fairly limited in his window periods of snapping away. With the expense of purchasing film rolls, the mounting and development, costs were astronomical. You were also limited to take your pictures only in good light, as if there was low light conditions, the image would have to have been taken at such a slow shutter speed, that in all likelihood, the subject would have been out of focus slightly, or just a blur.

I have been noticing how selective I used to be when taking pictures based on the available good light conditions, something often refered to as the Golden Hour. This is the hour before sunset, and the hour after sunrise, when the sun is not yet too bright to overexpose the beautiful colours on display in Nature.

Digital has allowed for a far greater period of taking quality images, but we as photographers certainly never underestimate the value of those magical hours just as the sun is near the horizon.

Keep this in mind when next you go out for a photographic trip, look for subjects to capture at the times I have spoken about, make the effort, however mundane the subject may be to you, and see for yourselves the great rich colours that you are going to be capturing. It really does make a difference.

I have included 3 Leopard Images all taken with the great light I have been speaking about.

Rudi

Mixed Bag

Just 2 of the images that I wanted to share with you all today.

The first is of a Zebra drinking in a pond in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. This was taken many years ago, but remains one of my favorites because of the great light I had available.

The second is an Image of a female Leopard we called the Dayone Female. She died many years ago, how, we still do not know. What was a real treat with her was her choice of a den site over many many years. Instead of the usual thickly vegetated area, this Lady used an outcrop of huge boulders which gave us the chance to view her and Cubs, in an unobstructed environment.

Whiteback on Red

For the life of me I cannot remember when this was taken, I am usually quite good at remembering each and every sighting. Last Night I tried to find a few Bird Slides, but I just came upon this one, and decided to share it with everybody. It was a Whitebacked Vulture roosting for the evening, taken against the backdrop of a Smokey, Hazy, Late winters afternoon Sunset.

Where are the Photographs

Morning Everyone

Over the next few days I am going to be doing a bit of streamlining of the Blog. Many of the photographs that have been displayed along with the posts I have been sharing, are going to be minimised. This is because I am going to be removing them from the posts, and replacing them with smaller thumbnail versions. This is to try and ensure an easier, smoother experience for everyone trying to access my Blog.

Please enjoy browsing the images in the various different pages that I have made available, I will be adding some and removing others.

It must be remembered that you can click on the thumbnail images to open the image in a larger window that will provide you with a better and bigger view of the subject.

Regards
Rudi

Abscence

Hi everyone.

It has been a tough week out in the bush, not from the big and hairies, but from the unseen.

I have been ill with Pneumonia, but am happy to inform everyone that I have all but recovered.

So, here goes the next attempt at keeping the Blog going. Hope I do not get struck down with some other illness soon, It has been a bad 3 months from a health perspective, but now I got to concentrate on getting better, and out doing myself with regards to Blog input and progress.

Keep watching this space.

Rudi

Mating Hyaena

Good Evening Everyone

Although tonights Photographs are by no means stunning as far as Colours, Light, Depth of Field, etc etc.. are concerned. They are photographs that are so rare, that they are sometimes the only tick that is missing in the portfolios of Wildlife Photographers and and tourists alike.

Don't get me wrong, these photos are out there, but I would happily swop a thousand of my Leopard and Lion images for some of rare sightings, like Cheetahs mating, Pangolins in the day time, or in this case, Hyaenas Mating.

I was fortunate enough to have found these in 2004 in the Western Sector of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. We were watching a female leopard walking down a dry river bed, when up on the bank I noticed Hyaenas watching her. Expecting them to follow her, as they normally do in anticipation of a free meal should she make a kill, I continued following the Leopard sauntering down the dry river bed. Thankfully for me she stopped, and ascended into a large Sausage Tree and sniffed around. Putting 2 and 2 together it was obvious that she had had a kill, that had in all likelihood been dropped by one of her cubs, into the waiting jaws of the Hyaenas at the base of the tree. Thus their presence at 3pm. ( Usually quite nocturnal. )

Whilst watching the Leopard searching for meat scraps, we heard the sounds of aggression coming from behind us on the river bank. Expecting to find the Hyaenas to be feeding on the stolen kill, we went to investigate, and we were by no means dissapointed.

Getting to the sighting was quite difficult, as the steep, under cut banks were almost impossible to get up, and we had to drive about a kilometer down the river bed to find an exit point to get up the bank. Crashing through the scrub, I was only too happy to manage to find the Hyaena pair in the same spot, But, where was the meat they were fighting over, it was gone. Had we missed all the action, had we taken too long to get to them? These were all the questions that flashed through my head while trying to figure out what to tell my clients on the vehicle.

It was not long before the Hyaenas gave me something to talk about, but talk, no not in this sighting. I grabbed my camera when I saw the smaller male mount the large female (normal for those that do not know Hyaenas)and start mating with her in front of us in broad daylight. Pure bliss. The euphoria was short lived, as some of my guests saw the Leopard descend the tree, and insisted that we follow her as she was more beautiful than the "horrid" Hyaenas. Needing to put my interests last, and those of the paying customers first, I reluctantly left the sighting after only 5 minutes of seeing the Hyaenas mate. They had been in the scrub most of the sighting, and photography was limited.

The sun was still high, and the light very harsh, too harsh to expect beautiful images, but when I did get them back from being developed I was exstatic. Here I now reveal to you 2 of the images captured that day, seeing a process not often viewed, let alone photographed. in the wild. I hope you enjoy them, as much as I enjoyed watching them.

P.S. While I write this, the absolute splendour of the African Bush is overwhelming. Barely 200m from my house, down at the lodge, the 3 Mapogo males are roaring and advertising their presence. For the second night in a row we can hear Rhinos mating down in the river bed infront of the lodge. This sounds just like a fight between Lions, only 10 times louder and more powerful in their growls, and all around the house I can hear the snapping of trees and branches, as the Elephant herd numbering around 30 that I saw befor dark feed in the vicinity.

I am Blessed.

Regards

Rudi

Underground Pipe Dreams

What a story to go with these images.

Evening again everybody.

This sighting presented itself to me in 2007, when I was working in the Manyeleti Game Reserve just to the North of Sabi Sands. It honestly rates as one of my all time favorite Leopard sightings.

I was guiding a group of English Guests, and it was their last afternoon drive. We had been struggling to find Rhinos, and decided to take the long trek to the southern part of the reserve where we thought our chances would be greater, than where we had already looked. This particular afternoon the mercury was pushing high, and it was about 40 degrees celcius when we left the lodge at 3pm.

My tracker, Alphie, spotted some Rhino Tracks and the 2 of us got out of the car to get an idea of where they went. While we were walking down the road, a ranger from a neighbouring lodge passed me, and mentioned she was also heading South.

Our Rhino tracks vanished into the Kruger National Park, and 5 minutes later we joined our guests on the car again and continued our trek South. 2 kilometers down the road we found the previously mentioned ranger stopped in the road. I had heard no radio communication from her and approached to see what she was watching.

She informed me that she had been watching Leopard Cubs, but upon my approach they ran in under the road, and with that she started up her car and left. Scratching my head as to why she would leave so fast, I had an idea she was trying to fool me to get a further head start to the south. I looked at Alfie, and decided to investigate after we had sat motionless for about 5 minutes. I jumped out of the vehicle, and lay flat on my stomach to peer into a storm drain pipe under the road. No luck, I just saw Black. We positioned the car closer to the roads edge, and I took the spotlight and tried again.

WOW there they were, 2 relaxed young Leopard cubs looking back at me. I was over the moon to have found the pipe to be their den, and in such an unusual setting I had to simply get some Photographs. We positioned the vehicle where we were eye level with the pipe opening, and at full zoom with my 500mm lens I could get some images. Holding a spotlight in one hand, and trying to hold the camera steady shooting at 1/30, 1/45 and 1/60 seconds was really physically taxing as I was bending my body in ways only gymnasts are trained.

Shooting with Velvia 100 slide film, I left the sighting with few hopes of getting any great images of the sighting. I had to wait a full 6 weeks till I got into the City, to get my rolls of film developed, and boy did these shots make my day when I saw them. I would never have expected to see Leopard cubs using a storm drain as a den site, I had seen Hyaenas do this before, but not Leopards.

Returning the next morning we found the mother had returned to collect her cubs as she had made an Impala kill during the night, and she had led her cubs to the waiting feast. They never returned after that, getting too big to fit into the pipe anymore.

I was fortunate enough to have seen this, and certainly do not expect to see this again.

Rudi

Leopards Leopards

It was quite a long afternoon of working on my Photographs today. Straight after work I decided to start scanning some of my Leopard Images. Boy are there alot! After a few hours I had only managed to scan about 40 into my PC. Added to that, the editing that needed to be done by cropping out the black frames created by the frame mounts took up most of my evening, Thus only now am I posting some of those shots. I took 9 Images and worked on them a bit, getting them resized that they can be uploaded easier.