Out of Africa continued
 

Here are some photos taken with the Nikon

The elephants fighting were part of a herd of 200 which passed us by one evening. The lioness next to the lion is having a rest in the grass. Not far away were several cubs which had feasted on a 'kill', a buffalo. I visited the site of the kill over a period of 48 hours after which all that remained were just the bones. I did take some photos of the kill but those are too gruesome to publish.

The Mara is beautiful but it's territory can be violent and dangerous even for predators.

Nice shots Phil. I don't get that in our fields. How far away were you taking those?

Thanks Paul

The elephant shots varied from about 100 yards to half a mile and the lion photos were much less. We had parked beside a puddle of swamp water and was approached by a lioness who decided to check us out and to have some water. However the other lions were much further away, about half a mile. I did not want to disturb them so kept my distance.

Such beautiful cats! And nice elephants!:)

We camp out in the bush with a good view of Mt. Kilimanjaro close to the River Sand and about a mile from a closed border post with Tanzania. We have a good relationship with the rangers who live at the post. They keep an eye on us at night and on the tents during the day whilst we are out. In return we take them food and medicines. We cook over a camp fire and bath in the river. No 5 star comforts hehehe

Thanks Leopard :} You know how Leopards are normally elusive and hard to photograph. By pure chance I had the opportunity to track one or was it that I was being tracked, more on that when I found the photo

In the meantime here are a few more snaps

:drool4:Fantastic pictures. Much better to see the animals where they belong rather than in a zoo or wildlife park. Keep up the good phtography. See you in September.

That last one is a cracker as is the third one in the post above. I am jealous of your location.

I found this creature coming out of a swamp today. Around here they are called a Hector.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2760/imgp21471.jpg




http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/9360/imgp21482.jpg

Lovely to see Hector looking like he has been having fun making the most of everything :}

One photo I have here was taken with an LG mobile phone and is not very good quality. I did not have a camera with me. It is the Lion shot. From the expression of the Lion, it does not take much imagination to work out what the Lion had achieved! A Lioness had submitted to his wild ways and was directly under him out of sight. I just happened to be close at the time.

Great photos, it must be wonderful to see these animals in the wild. I am afraid they would all smell my fear if I went anywhere near them. They are all a bit too bitey or indeed stampy for me - I think that I am more comfortable with squirrels :D

Loving the photos Phil,
I'm off to Colchester Zoo soon but I know it's not the same.
Keep them coming.

Keep posting the photos Phil, making me home sick.
Regarding the above, I have been around a lot of these bity stampy things most of my life. Strange, the only one that has ever bitten me is the "hector species" mentioned below.:)

Craig

This one is for Mr. Leopard :)

great pics
 

great pics . im off to kenya myself in about 8 weeks . will visit the mara and tsavo etc . will be out 5th time there and i cant wait . il post some pics as well

Great pics. One of mine for Mr leopard of a Jaguar
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4144/5...c8bd8a72aa.jpg
testing the water by Mark McGrady Photography, on Flickr

It should be a good time visit as the rains will have finished and it won't be blistering in the heat. As you know it can reach as high as 50c out in the bush Dec - Feb and the best times to see game is very early in the morning or early evening. I am back in Kenya early July. Do post up your photos.

Were you a Game Keeper or something Craig?

A leopard once circumvented our tent at night and I was terrified. A Jaguar would be awesome to see....

A few more to add from east africa

Some great shots there Phil. I really like the Egrets and Elephants.

Yeah, but they don't half make a mess of your lawn! :D

We spent a lot of time in the kruger, Pilansberg and Etosha pans. Having lived most of my life in Roodepoort near the "Cradle of humankind" and all the game reserves around there a lot of time was spent in reserves.
I also took a lot of school trips to the Eastern Transvaal (pre '95) and went to places not always open to the public. Even spent a week looking after a lion cub. A lot of weekens were spent at a number of game lodges in the Warmbaths area in Mpumalanga.

We have been charged by elaphants, Rhino and Hippo's, seen Rhino's fighting and our fair share of "kills".
I still use some of my photos of The Kruger and Namibia to teach geography here in the UK.


Thanks for all the lovely photos.:)

Some lovely shots there Phil, not jealous at all of the wildlife you have there;)

A beautiful cat!
 

mombasa
 

im off to mombasa tomorrow afternoon and ive just got a new camera . im now in the digital age lol just an entry level nikon d3100 . its seems like a good camera so il be taking plenty of shots in tsavo of the wonderfull animals

That Nikon should do fine. Did you get just the kit lens with it?

lens kit
 

i got the 55 lens plus i got a 55 200 lens . im afraid i know nada about this but im wanting to learn . i got it all together with an 8 gig card and a nice bag all for £499 wich i think was quite good .

That's just what the doctor ordered for starting out. It's a good entry level DSLR with a couple of lenses to cover for most occassons. If you just want to take a few snaps it will be fine for years and if you get keen you can add to it. If I remember that one has good video also.

video
 

yes its full hd video seems like a nice camera i just gotta get brave and take it off of auto and start experimenting . well il post plenty of pics on here and no dought be asking advice etc . thanks for the interest

Have a great trip! For difficult shots of game if you use the the HD video you can capture the images frame by frame for photo editing when you get back. For Internet go for a local safaricom sim card as safaricom is tied into Vodafone and gives the best coverage.

How did you get on in Mombasa?

I took a few photos of these from the bedroom window as I caught site of a couple of Hadada Ibis visiting :)

African alarm clock! This is one of the things about home (South Africa) that I love. Its amazing how the small things like Hadeda's, even the smell of the air is what reminds me I'm home when I get off the plane.

Hi Felix, I am flying to Cape Town on Sunday all being well and will keep post up a few more photos of farm life in the western cape, the people, the wildlife :} anything really ;) It is not yet summer and where we are on the Helderberg, the overlook is towards Cape Storm. Weather wise it is variable with cold, wind and storms for this time of the year. I am hoping it will warm up soon. I am looking forward to off road driving but am already missing the old V6.

I'm originally from Durban, where its either hot & muggy, or warm & muggy, nothing else :D

Planning a trip home in March next year. Took the (irish) missus in January a couple of years ago and she nearly died! This time there is a toddler in tow too so have to take it easy...

Of all the things I miss about SA and Jo'burg the hadeda's are defenitely not one of them-my cars would not miss them either.:)

Enjoy the mountain (yours and the flat one ) Gatekeeper.

Another thing I guess you won't miss are the baboons. We are having a problem on the mountain as they have been coming down to the house at night and early morning. The big one is the aggressor and he has about 20 smaller ones with him. So far they have not managed to get through the electric fence/perimeter around the house. As you know they are a protected species so I am not able to shoot them! The nature reserve wardens next to us have been contacted and they are not interested, which is fine until a visitor gets hurt or worse. I am sure the baboons also visit the reserve on the higher pastures. Any suggestions anyone?

In the meantime here are a few more wildlife photos

Great shots there Phil, I had some wildlife of my own deposited in my study the other day by one of my 'big cats'

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...6A50F7906A.jpg

The bird was a Dove I think, very young but I managed to let it out and it flew away so hopefully lived to fight another day!

It was really very kind of you Jeff to help the bird out and and on its way :)

I am just catching up on some wildlife photos. I took these recently out in the bush, up country

A mix of Weavers and Cordon-bleu's

A garden visitor
 

A male Blue Headed Agama bopped its head up on Sunday. The head bopping is part of the courtship ritual for all to see :)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...38A7C0CA26.jpg

Hi Phil,

Great shot Sir:bowdown:

A fine looking lizard and nice to see in its natural habitat rather than a recycled fish tank in someone's lounge:eek:

Red Dawn
 

Red Dawn welcomes in the day :)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...E3DAE09119.jpg

Stunning sunrise Phil, certainly worth getting up for early doors:bowdown:

Nice pic Phil. This is a special time of day.

I seem to get more sunsets that sunrises. May be due to getting up early:}.

I remember a good while ago I used to go fishing at 4.00 in the morning. The sunrise, mist on the water and dawn chorus are still in my memory.

Thanks Paul. I do not know if it is now too late or not in the season for you to revisit the sunrise shots with the early morning mist by the river or in the country side. Wonderful to see. Yes please ;)

We are + 2 hours GMT. I was awake from 4 a.m as it had been a hot night :}
We overlook the Cape of Storms, a 20 minute drive away....the beach is reminiscent of the Costa Del Sol with its high risers and not very pretty. To the west of us 14 miles away, is Table Mountain.

The sun sets at 7p.m and tonight I said to Jessica, 'I am just off out to take a photo - Table Mountain was silhouetted in black against an orange sky across the bay, but by the time I got to where I wanted to go, the shot had been lost. Better luck next time. This mornings Red Dawn was taken with an iPhone ....

Sunset shots-
 

I took these between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, it was a series of 20 shots as the sun was setting over one of the many wrecks along the coastline.

There is just something about an African sunset.:}

Lovely shots as well there, got to love a sunset:bowdown:

Good stuff,. Very dramatic.

Thanks for posting these dramatic photos up Craig. Would the coast be known as the skeleton coast? Years ago I had to go into the bush up north in Namibia to carry out a bush rescue of a young Brit who had got into trouble. What was striking was how beautiful the bush was and how pure the air felt. The young man had acquired Malaria. Ultimately we got him the right treatment in the nick of time and back to the UK. He made a complete recovery.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...E64DF1D559.jpg

Africa's a bit big innit, Julia Bradbury can't do a coast to coast walk in a month!... :}:}:}

I read all the Wilbur Smith novels (makes me an expert. ;)), amazing history to it all innit... :bowdown:
...

[QUOTE=Gate Keeper;1837041]Thanks for posting these dramatic photos up Craig. Would the coast be known as the skeleton coast? Years ago I had to go into the bush up north in Namibia to carry out a bush rescue of a young Brit who had got into trouble. What was striking was how beautiful the bush was and how pure the air felt. The young man had acquired Malaria. Ultimately we got him the right treatment in the nick of time and back to the UK. He made a complete recovery.[QUOTE]

Yes part of the skeleton coast, a really beautiful part of the sub-continent. We did 6000km in two weeks on that trip in a T5 Kombi with lots of water and spares.:} I spent a bit of time up there in the 80's and um North of the country as well-not on holiday though.;)

Beautiful but very unforgiving.

A difficult photo
 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...0Bee-Eater.jpg

A Southern Carmine Bee-Eater in flight, taken 03 Feb recently in a creek off the Indian Ocean.

Nikon D5000
1/2000 sec
ISO 400
auto exposure
300 mm lens
no tripod

This was a difficult photo, as it was over water and the little bird moved very fast. Ideally, if I had a more powerful lens, I could have got closer and picked up more details.

Sunbird and garden butterfly
 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...erfly-0038.jpg

Another difficult photo to get both subjects in sharp focus, whilst the butterfly was moving and the Sunbird was about to move off.

Great pics, thanks for sharing all these and part of your experiences.

Wow Phil,I'm speechless, superb can't ever really say enough, wish I could take shots like that, many thanks for showing, more please, take care my Friend, hope to catch up with you at POL next Month.

Best Regards.

John.

Stunning photos Phil, run out of thanks but will do it later:bowdown::}

Phil you'r at it again! I will have to start cleaning the car as your photography is totally brilliant !
Hope your well and keeping safe!
Regards John.

John, I will be keeping a look out for Roger and yourself at the POL, if I don't see you before and it will be sorted. I been going through the photos of the trip to the coast. We went to 5 public beaches and each one was deserted, not a soul in sight. The hotels all closed down but nice and quiet for us to explore and see the bird life :)

Good evening John, I am just in awe of those amazing photo you tease us with and look forward to seeing more of the sea and landscapes. Thank you John for your very kind words. It will be fun to see you at the POL and the hotel :)

Keep the photos coming Phil......it makes you dream of warmer times ahead :}

Please Jeff don't worry about thanking me. Honestly you have done more than enough. Thanks for the encouragement. I could do with a Big Ma;)

Thank you sir! It is time I posted up some more photos from Africa. I certainly appreciate you taking the time to write.

Too late:D

I sold the Bigma some while ago Phil.
Whilst it had great reach it wasn't a fast enough lens at 5.6 to 6.3.

My Sigma 120-300 is a fixed 2.8 and with the teleconvertor on it it's still only two stops down and has 600mm to play with:drool4:

Boy is it heavy though:eek:

Phil

have they been drinking at the Lion Inn

Stu

Now that Stu would be a sight for sore eyes :D

Oh no! Jeff what are you like? ;)

I have a tamron 300mm, a Jessops converter taking it to 600mm
I had to get a monopod to emulate the professionals like yourself at Brands Hatch, but the photos kept coming out wrong - dark? Any tips Jeff?

Professional......lol!
Your photos were pretty damn good for a first time at a race track!
I daren't post my first attempts ;)

What's the lens spec Phil?
You'll lose two stops of aperture with a 2xconvertor and if the lens isn't very fast it may struggle for AF lock as well.

Maybe keeping the aperture wide open and pushing the ISO up will allow you a fast shutter and reasonable light entering the lens:}

Sometimes it's better to not use the teleconvertor and just crop the photo in editing software afterwards.

Using the EV adjustment may sort the problem Phil. I agrre with Jeff about losing some light so you may have to compensate by adjusting the EV setting. I get a similar problem with a few of my old lenses that look a little under exposed. Some of them them auto focus goes off a title on the distance, and I have to compensate for that also.

The obvious answer is to sell your house and buy a genuine 600mm full auto lens ;)

Edit:: It is possible to get some vignetting also.

The old 'wife' divorcing method of photography.....like it:bowdown::D

Some day, someone will invent a 10 to 1000 1.4 constant aperture lens that is small enough to fit in your pocket and will suffer from no lens distortion :bowdown:
A guy can dream can't he;)

Tamron 70-300mm Di AF MF 1:4-5.6 Tele-Macro 0.95-00

I will go for the EVF settings Paul, thanks for suggesting it. I try not to go above ISO 400. Having said that I took some recently at 1600 of the fishermen bringing in their catch in their dug-outs. I will try almost anything Jeff ;)

Another question? Are you a hood or a filter man?

Not wild life , but two of my favourite photos of the man, who went to the Serengeti in 1978




http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...psrhicxssa.jpg






http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...psurhh7egx.jpg

Both;)

Always have a UV filter on the front of my lens purely for protection:D
Hood cuts down lens flare so always useful and I pack a range of Nd's, Grads and circular polariser:}

Good morning David, I have emailed a photo, taken of the great man whilst he was on holiday with the chief and an elder of the Masai tribe in March 1978. Due to copyright I could not take a chance of sharing the photo with everyone here.
Regards
Phil

Like yourself Jeff, I use filters mostly to protect the lens from damage. The polariser is useful for picking up the cloud and the greens in the sea :) For the sunbird photo, I removed the UV filter to improve clarity.

A lot of debate on the photography forum re : hoods/filters ...

The Nikon body is protected by a custom made armour rubber jacket from Amazon, as the camera leads a hard life and has been dropped several times...eek! I need a good hood as the one I have, produces a vignette around the edges lol

Morning Phil,

There's always been a debate on sticking another bit of glass in front of your optics but I'd far rather scratch a £20.00 filter than ruin an expensive lens:eek:

All the hoods on my lenses are the manufactured supplied ones specifically for the lens in question so don't really suffer from vignetting ;)

You are of course right Jeff about protecting the lens with a glass filter, given how expensive the lenses are. I am going to crack on with the converter and will try ISO 800-1000 as suggested by Woof25. Mike suggests I use these settings to compensate. Thanks Mike for your pm ...

We have to go to a memorial service for Jeremy Beadle, as it is 8 years since he passed away. There will be a small finger buffet, then the manager of the local cinema popped off. His service is at 2:30pm 5:00pm and 8:00pm :)

I was out driving today and started thinking about Phil's dark images when using a tele converter. My advice on altering the EV will only work if you have a constant under exposure of a constant value when using certain equipment combinations.

It would be interesting Phil, to know if using iso 800-1000 and tele-convertor produces a better image than just using the lens on it's own and cropping the picture more. Using the word "better" may be a mistake as I can see pros and cons for both methods.

I would add that I do not shoot at long focal lengths (over 200mm) and have never used a tele-converter so I am interested in your conundrum.

To answer my own question -

I found this http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/38001694


Seems most people say cropping is least desirable.

I'm Hi Paul,

I have a 1.4 and 2.0 Sigma teleconvertor and use them on either my 70-200 or 120-300 2.8 Sigma lenses.
If you pixel peep you can notice a drop off in sharpness when using them, more so with the 2.0.
Still give very useable results though .

I'm lucky in that both my telephoto lenses are fast so I don't get any of the focus problems that can occur .
I can just about get away with stacking both convertors to give me a monster reach but the quality of image does start to suffer quite significantly and autofocus starts hunting to make it impracticable, manual focus time only really.

I think with some of the extremely high megapixel Dslr bodies such as the new Eos 5Ds then cropping into the photo in editing may be a more worthwhile exercise.
The cost of those bodies is rather daunting at the moment though:eek:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...8953E447BA.jpg

A photo I took of this beautiful Eurasian Roller was badly criticised for being cropped, lacking artifacts and detailing by the photography forum. I can now get away with some cropping by telling them about it beforehand be in the write up that a photo has been cropped. Oh well, I am always learning :)

Lovely bird that Phil. I hope you are enjoying your forum and your photography. As you say, always learning.

The thing is Phil,

Sometimes you have no choice 'to bag' the shot.
It looks a little soft but none the less it is a lovely framed shot of a lovely subject and I would be pleased to have taken it:}:bowdown:

Thanks Jeff, how true about bagging the shot. I experimented this evening, trying out the different settings using the converter. ISO ranged from 500-640-800-1000, EVF off, EVF + O.75. Shutter 500-2000, Apertures 5.6-8. Cropped and un cropped. I will post up comparisons, as soon as I have uploaded to photo bucket :)

Looking forward to seeing how you got on Phil,
That's part of the fun, experimenting with different ways to effect the final result:}

Vervet monkey Canon Powershot 40HS SX

ISO 100 f5.8 1/250 sec 150.5mm

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...0.5mm-2469.jpg

Bronze Sunbird

With x2 converter 300mm Tamron
ISO 500 F8 1000s

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...1000s-0011.jpg

Tree frog

ISO 800 f8 1000s
with x2 converter

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...1000s-0007.jpg

Tree frog

same settings, but edited in Lightroom

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...1000s-0006.jpg

Sunbird

ISO 1000 f8 1500s
with x2 converter

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...00s-0001_1.jpg

Now your just showing off Phil:bowdown::D

Great photos Sir,

I don't get to shoot anything quite so exotic over here;)

It really is very kind of you to say Jeff. I count my blessing being able to take photos of the birds and the bees in warmer surroundings. I was going through some of the photos earlier, which you took at the BTCC last March and I remain in awe :bowdown:

Whilst we are on that subject, Steve is asking if we fancy a mini chill out zone meet at the BTCC at Snetterton in August:}

Dusk flight over Laikipia Bush, Kenya

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...ia%20jpeg.jpeg

Great shot Phil. I do not remember seeing one of those on my bird feeder.:bowdown:

SWMBO really likes the look of Hector ! :}

We went out early evening Paul with the Nikon and the Canon. We took over 200 photos of the birds and the animals. We didn't see any lions or elephants. The people we were staying with had a bird feeder. I got some nice photos of Doves, Speckled Pigeons, Weavers visiting the feeder and of some humped backed cattle down the road.

As the UK weather warms up, the Ospreys will be returning from Africa. You could be lucky :)

Rutland Water has Ospreys tagged with a GPS and for the past 3 years Paul, they have been tracked to and from Senegal and Seirra Leone from December till the end of March. Interestingly, the Osprey has been tracked to fly 120-300 miles of flight in a day. To have one of those in your garden would be awesome and so very special:)

Cheers Steve, I like SWMBO's style ;)

I do have 2 groups of Buzzards at the far end of our fields. I love to see em circling on the warmer days but my lens selection is to short in focal length to be of use. Maybe I should chuck out some raw sausages.:}

That's worthy of hanging on a wall Phil, stunning photo Sir:bowdown:

And I thought I was doing alright getting a butterfly laying eggs on my finger - made difficult with me using a SLR and it sitting on my trigger finger.......
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/f...psctnewd2z.jpg

Great shot as usual Phil, I feel sorry for whatever it had its eagle eye on !!:D clearly marked down as supper fot itself and family most likely are eagles protected in Kenyah

A rare opportunity, being in the right place at the right time for such a beautiful photo. Amazingly, we get these same butterflies in Kenya :)

2 years imprisonment and, or a fine of $11,527 for hunting any mamal, bird or handling sea shells without a permit is a serious offence. Poaching of Elephants, black or White Rhinos is punishable with a life sentence and or a fine of $264,000 if caught. Other endangered wild animals, birds and butterflies are similarly protected :)

Can you see?
 

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...2AF55B835.jpeg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...5120BD8187.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...22AD822B3C.jpg

Chameleon :) the female, no horns and 3 horned generally are male. Both were chance encounters, seen crossing the grassy drive. Taken using an iPhone 4s, the first 2 yesterday and the third, recently :)

Thank you Steve :) Both these Chameleons hardly stopped for me, as they crossed the drive and I kept my distance, because I did not want to frighten them. In courtship male to female, the male will change its camouflage many times over using vivid colors to impress and seduce :)

Thanks for sharing those Phil:bowdown:

Sounds like a useful party trick the male has :D

They are indeed tricky to see. Thanks for posting Phil. Most interesting.

Thanks Jeff, the photos were taken using the iPhone you sold onto me last summer. It is perfect for these unplanned moments, also my first crack at wild life in ages.

The best camera in the world is the one you've got with you to allow you to get a shot :}

Thanks Paul :) The chameleon lives in east Africa, Hawaii and was imported into Florida in 1970. In captivity they can live up to 5 years. Fully grown, they reach 9-12 inches in length.

Catch a bird!
 

Alley cat breakfast!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...1714087B7F.jpg

Wonderful photos, Phil. I think living there I would suffer from ophidiophobia thinking there's a cobra, puff adder or mamba at every turn. Camping out would definately be a big no, no for me (unless the tent was 10 feet off the ground).:eek::eek::eek:

Will

I would love to experience a proper African Safari. :}

Thank you Will :)

Fully understandable. The most commonly seen here are the green snake and the brown snake - both harmless. The other is not so nice and that is the King Cobra. The Cobra likes watery places such as the stream in the forest or lays in wait by the pond for the frogs at dusk. As a rule, the Cobra will give a warning if I was to accidentally get too close. The trick is to keep very still and allow it to carry on with its journey. If it raises up and opens its hood, that is dangerous. We also get the Python and they like to hang around the branches of the trees by the stream and where the bananas are.

When I go into the forest for a walk or to take photos of the bird life, I wear long trousers and carry a long stick to beat the grass ahead :)

I have only ever seen a Black Mamba once and that was when I found 2 of our farm workers trying to lift a rock with an iron bar in which the Mamba had retreated to. They had both been trying to chase, beat and stone it, as there is a lot of ignorance and superstition about snakes. I had to come down hard on the workers about the Mamba. How lucky they were that it did not turn on them.

Good morning Ravinder,

A proper safari in Kenya is a must do for a photographer. The organized tours of flight out, hotel and tour bus crammed in with tourists, will give a flavour but are tame in comparison to camping out in the bush and are very expensive: £2000-£3000 for 1-2 weeks, possibly more if you prefer 5 star flights and accommodation. With that one loses the spirit of adventure. Camping out in the bush, cooking over a camp fire and then sharing songs and stories around it at night, with the sounds of the hyena or the Lion in the distance, really is an unforgettable experience.

We do our safari's on the cheap. One or more 4x4's in convoy down into the Massai Mara to Sand River close to a defunct unused border crossing into Tanzania. We have built up a good relationship with the park rangers over the years. They keep an eye on us and in return, we take them medicines to their out post and plenty of baked beans, as that is what they really love.

Camping out is not everyone's cuppa, as it involves roughing it a bit. Bathing in the river, digging out for a poo and being so close to the game and wild life. I am hoping to get back to it when I am back to my old self :)

Your young and fit when I saw you at Gretna....you would be fine :)

Cheap flights to Nairobi start at about £450 return via Paris or Amsterdam. Direct about £750 :)

Baby Ibis
 

I had a few difficulties with this Ibis nest in the garden:

Not to get too close to the baby chick, now 3 weeks old. still growing and forming, learning to fly.

I used a GoPro cam on the end of a branch, disguised as a leaf, set to time lapse, as the remote was not working. The field of view was narrowed from fish eye down to medium and 7MB, hence the poor quality.

The photos taken from below the nest and about 15m away, were with the Canon 40HS SX.

The mum Ibis leaves the nest during the day, searching for food and returns early evening.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...20Ibis%203.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...0Ibis%2016.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...e/IMG_4187.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...G_4170%201.jpg

Great set of photos Phil:bowdown:

keep 'em coming :}

Thank you Jeff, I will do my best, thanks for the encouragement :} :bowdown:

What I want to know is how you got up that tree to plant the camera :eek::bowdown:

Great shots Phil. Nice to see some unusual content from what we get in the UK.

Thank you Paul, praise from a master wild life photographer like yourself is appreciated :bowdown:

Superb wildlife action shot's Phil,many thanks,take care of yourself.

Regards.....John.

Hi Phil.

I hope you are continuing to make a good and full recovery from the traumatic surgery you received no so long ago.. :} After all, having a good pair of running legs must be essential where you live!! :D

Personally running is not one of my strengths, and I doubt a hungry lion would be kind enough to sit and listen to me explaining that I came to Africa just look at him and admire how wonderfull he was... :eek: :duh: LOL.. So I will settle for re-reading Wilbur Smith... :}

The photos you take are about as near to Africa as I am ever likely to get, so thank you for posting them here for us to see.. :bowdown:
...

Cheers John, most kind :)

The little Ibis is not frightened of human contact and seemed quite happy for me to be there. I was mindful not to get too close, placing the camera on the end of a long straight branch and disguising it with leaves. The rest was guess work, trial and error. I will keep a look out for the mum and dad Ibis. They sometimes visit the ponds, so I might be lucky in getting a photo of them. They love to announce their presence with a loud Haaa-deee-daaa shriek!

Elephants, Zebra, Lioness, Gazelle, Wild Buffalo, etc are due out from editing.

Thank you for your support.

Phil

Good morning James,

You would be surprised at how the human mind can tap into 'Fright and Flight' when it is needed, casting off the stick and gingerly making a rapid exit :D

Wilber Smith is still very popular for the youngsters as essential reading. We keep his books :)

I am not yet 100% after the op, but am doing my best. The past few days have been a struggle, I think due to the humidity and altitude. I am looking forward to my return to the UK in August and the summer :drool4: