Dec
31
As is the end of year thing for many photographers, a top pictures of the year is in order. 2011 bought much success for me, in particular that of the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year award and its book cover, but that photo was taken in 2010 even if in some sense it belonged to 2011. But my top five’s criteria is that they were taken in 2011. So here, in no particular order, are my five for 2011.
Zebra Pair
In August I took seven other keen photographers down to the Mara, and those who shared our truck were taken by this zebra pair. It is not uncommon to see zebra pairs like this, it partly acts as a defense mechanism (and it’s been suggested that their opposing tails keep their faces free of flies). But what made this one special was the clear and clean background they were set in. The three of us picked up on this, and this is my take. This one is available as a print here, and you can see a colour version here too.
Read More»Oct
01
Well there we are. My picture A Flick of the Tail graces the cover of this year’s rather prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year annual. After twenty years of collecting and admiring the books, I now find that I’m on one. Needless to say, I am quite delighted.
Read More»Sep
03
Last week, myself and seven others visited the Masai Mara to photograph and experience the annual wildebeest migration and none of us were disappointed. Within minutes (literally) upon arriving at camp we found ourselves running to the river to see our first wildebeest crossing. In the next few days, we witnessed two more, even though we were aware of others still.
One morning we were down by the river first thing – just after 6:00am – and found ourself using ISO settings of 6400 and even 12800 sometimes to catch a crossing. A little later, when the light was a little brighter there was a part two of the crossing, and on this occasion I noticed a steady stream of vultures and maribu storks flying over the top of the assembling wildebeest which had gathered down at the riverside. I managed a couple, and this is one of them.
This was a week long tour organised by myself at last a minutes’ notice (well, two months’ notice anyway) and we were all delighted with the experience we had, very much exceeding everyone’s expectations. It is a precursor for more to follow, and I will certainly have more lined up for next year. Keep an eye out here if you’re interested in one, or subscribe to my newsletter here if you want to be the first to know.
For more updates, news and pictures, you’re welcome to join up with my Facebook wildlife photography page here.
Aug
06
One point five million wildebeest cross the Mara River every year on the way to or from Kenya and Tanzania. On this occasion, some 10,000-15,000 traversed at this point in the river, taking almost an hour and a half to pass. What a photograph cannot capture is the sound, and I also think any photo would find it difficult to catch the mayhem involved as well.
This one small part of the crossing last September featured one wildebeest who found himself facing the wrong way while trying to make it to the other side. The surge of his fellow wildebeest made it near impossible to turn. I watched for a while but eventually lost sight, so I did not know what became of him.
It is one of three images that reached the final round of the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year for me this year. Which was a good bonus because I entered this quite literally at the last minute, because I felt I had nothing to lose by doing so.
Taken using a Nikon D700 with 70-200 zoom lens at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/350th, and ISO 400.
Aug
03
Elephants, Kwando, Botswana.
Today I’ve posted another free desktop wallpaper of an elephant family available for download at my Facebook page. It’s a high quality full resolution image, suitable for all monitor sizes. But to download the images you’ll have to join my page by liking it first which gives you free access to the download links.
This one is of an Elephant family traversing a waterhole in Kwando Botswana. The sun was setting, providing the wonderful light that Africa is well known for at that time of day.
This download is available for a limited time only, so be quick and get it from my Facebook Wildlife Photography page while you can. It’s under the Freebies tab to the left of my page there.
Links:
My Wildlife Photography Page on Facebook
Click here to download a free desktop wallpaper of this elephant family.
Jun
25
Pride of Place, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, 2007.
I put my photos up at 500px.com/davidlloyd these days which has shown in recent months to threaten to become the premiere photo-sharing website on the internet, usurping even firmly established sites such as flickr and Photobucket in more ways than one.
My Five Top Wildlife Photographers on 500px
Following on from Trey Ratcliffe’s recent Favourite Five 500px Photographers post at Stuck in Customs, I’ve decided too to cobble together a top five such list myself, under the Wildlife genre.
I’m sure there are many I’ve not had the priviledge to discover yet, but these are the top five I have found so far. For wildlife photography, I am defining that as photography of animals in the wild – untamed and free, so while there are very good captive animal photographers (i.e Marina Cano and Wolf Ademeit), I’ve decided to keep my selection to just that – exclusively that of photographers of free roaming wildlife.
So, in no established order, my current favourite wildlife photographers on 500px are:
Read More»Jun
18
This is my link to a site called 500px, a photo sharing site which has been around since 2003 but came to more prominence recently when everyone began talking about on Twitter and elsewhere.
The attraction to it appears to be down to its aesthetics and layout, support, the recent stagnation of flickr, and the high level of photography that 500px seems to attract. It’s easy to use, costs nothing (unless you’d like a few extras) and offers near instantaneous support from its staff of actual humans. The site is also progressing and expanding more in light of its new found popularity and audience.
Read More»Jun
05
A seven day Masai Mara annual migration photo tour for only $3,300 (or £2,000).
I am offering an exclusive photo tour to the Masai Mara in Kenya during the last week of August for seven days for a price that I think would be very hard to beat. The price is good because I am organising this as a strictly one-off non-profitable tour.
We’ll be staying in a private luxury mobile camp, set aside especially for our group in what I believe to be one of the best locations within the Masai Mara itself. You’ll also have access to exclusive vehicles of no more than two photographers per 4×4 vehicle, just perfect for wildlife photography.
And we will be photographing the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, the annual migration in the Masai Mara in Kenya. We can photograph the great river crossings where crocodiles lie in wait for the wildebeest to cross, and we will also see elephant, leopard, lion and cheetah and even, if we’re lucky, black rhino.
For more about the tour, the dates and cost, read the details at the Masai Mara Photo Tour page where you can also find more about camp and vehicles and the full tour itinerary.
