PhotoShare: Close to Calves

If you follow me on social media you would have seen that I was fortunate to spend some time recently at a secluded research waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia.

I have a bunch of photos to process, but wanted to share a quick image here from the experience. One of the things I was amazed by (and relished) was spending time in an underground bunker hide right by the edge of a waterhole frequented by hordes of elephants.

This should give you an idea - the image below was photographed at a focal length of 135mm...and is only very slightly cropped for compositional aesthetics, taken with a "full frame" sensor camera.

Nikon D800  |  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 135mm  |  f8.0  |  1/800 SS  |  ISO-640

I will try and share some more images as time permits. Be sure to follow along on my Facebook page or Google+ profile as I share images with more regularity there.

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: Mana Dreaming

I can't believe how time has flied. It's now almost a year since I made the epic journey up to Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. What excites me is that I'll be going back in about 8 weeks' time with Marlon du Toit on the first official WILD EYE MANA POOLS PHOTO SAFARI.

After my mind-blowing experience in Mana last year, I vowed to introduce more like-minded photographers to the magic of Mana...and this safari is the result. It should run annually, and it seems like there is already enough interest for a back-to-back double safari next year. This year's trip is fully booked, as you can imagine...

For more info on joining me next year, and to sign up on the waiting list (which is growing by the day) click HERE.

I am still working through some images captured there last year. Here's one I thought you would enjoy. It was taken at sunset on our first afternoon in the Zambezi riverbed. I was sitting on the river bank photographing some elephants foraging in the sandy riverbed. There are few things that compare to the light of an African hazy sunset combined with dust and an iconic animal. 

Enjoy!

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: Kissed by the Sun

It's been a while since I shared a photo outright on my blog for the sake of just sharing a photo. Here's one I processed last night from a 2012 trip to the Kalahari. The first rays of sunlight were just enveloping this lone giraffe and I loved the mood. What do you think??

The key to a good rim-light photo is proper exposure. If you have time, play around until the histogram looks good and you have good shadow and highlight detail...

Until next time!

Morkel Erasmus

A reason for every season in the Kgalagadi

Those who follow my photography will know that I tend to visit the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park…a lot.

I cannot think of a single naturalist or wildlife photography fanatic in South Africa who doesn’t have a passion for the Kgalagadi. It’s got so much going for it: wide open terrain, big skies, intense predator action, diverse wildlife and some of the best photographic light that you can find.

I often get asked when is the best time to go.

The answer? Any time…

Seriously, though, I thought of a few of the pros and cons of every season in the Kalahari...and wrote them down. You'll have to click through to the actual article on the Wild Eye blog HERE. 

Happy snapping!

Morkel Erasmus