From the monthly archives:

October 2009

Elephant calf crossing

October 31, 2009
Elephant calf crossing, Amboseli

There was a lioness lying just to our right as we watched this elephant family approach from our left on the way to the swamp one morning in Amboseli, Kenya. Once the family were near the lioness and ourselves, the single file formation became an ambling group where the adults surrounded and enclosed this youngster.

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Just hanging on

October 31, 2009
Infant mountain gorilla hanging on to a branch

There were several mountain gorillas infants in Group Thirteen and I took this opportunity to get closer with some detail pictures. This guy was slipping all over the place and occasionally losing his grip. I took this one just before he fell with a thud to the earth.

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A stag in silhouette

October 29, 2009
Red Deer in silhouette at Richmond Park

A relatively obliging male – sans harem – was willing to throw a few poses for me for about thirty or forty minutes. It’s from one morning last week, once again in Richmond Park, near London. It’s a kind of semi-silhouette, and again I was without a tripod, finding bits of trunk and deadwood to press my lens up against.

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Lion on Serengeti kopje

October 24, 2009
A Lion on a Serengeti kopje

Our guide was old and crusty. He honked our vehicle’s horn to try to get this lion’s attention, but the king didn’t bat an ear. Pretty bad practice by the guide we had. It’s a two year old picture of a male lion on a kopje in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, which I took in November 2007. It was right on midday when I took this picture.

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A stag in the golden sun

October 23, 2009
Richmond Park stag in the golden sun

At about eight, we saw this stag chase off a rival leaving behind this golden sunlit scene. Thinking he’d eventually return to his harem, we waited under the canopy until he walked back into the path of sunlight, then he roared and I took the picture.

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Mountain gorillas gallery

October 20, 2009
Infant Mountain Gorilla

This is the start of a gallery of mountain gorillas taken in 2008-2009 – just eight right now, but it will soon have more. Visiting the mountain gorillas is something of an addiction, not only are the gorilla treks a unique experience, but the countries of Uganda and Rwanda are two of my favourite places.

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Red deer and bracken

October 17, 2009
Red deer and bracken at Richmond Park

This is one more from Richmond Park from last Wednesday morning.
By this time, just after ten, the light was better and hand-holding became more conducive, taking this freestanding with a non-VR lens and 1/180th of a second. Happily the sharpness came through :)

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Red deer at Richmond

October 14, 2009
Red deer at Richmond

Richmond Park this morning had none of it’s usual picturesque fog, it was overcast at daybreak, and the light was quite dull. All the deer that I could see were under the tree canopy where it’s even duller. My tripod was not with me on this occasion, and so missed a few because of that, so serve me right I guess.

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