Friday, September 10th, 2010
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.
After the passing a dozen or more wildebeest remained in the river, either by drowning or having been trampled to death.
This was undoubtedly the highlight of last week’s trip to the Maasai Mara in Kenya. I’ve witnessed river crossings of some 1,000 wildebeest of ten minutes or so duration, but this one clearly was much more memorable. On top of this there were many of the Mara’s cats, lion, cheetah and leopard which I’ll post here in the next week or so.
Click on the image for a larger view.
Taken using a Nikon D700 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at 70mm, f/9.5, 1/250 and ISO 400.
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
I’m hosting a wildlife photo contest at my Facebook page here where you’ve a chance to win any of these prints up to the value of £200 or $250. You can enter pictures of any wild animal including captive ones. The contest is free to enter, runs until the 12th of September with the winner being be announced on the 4th of October. You will need a Facebook account to enter. Details of entry and rules are here.
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
I am very pleased to announce that in 2011 I will be joining with some of the best wildlife photographers in the world for a new travel company called Oryx Worldwide Photographic Expeditions, a sister company to the renowned Rockjumper Birding Tours and INDRI Ultimate Mammal Voyages. The Oryx website will be live in September.
In 2011, I will be leading scheduled tours to some of the most iconic locations on the planet. As soon as I have more information, you will be the first to know.
These are small photographer-only groups with a maximum of 6 clients or 10 (one zodiac) for polar expeditions. These tours are all designed by photographers for photographers and are designed to give you the maximum tuition and guidance from those experienced in wildlife photography.
In addition to scheduled tours, I’ve also been given license to create my own tours through Oryx. This means, I can create my own expeditions to the regions familiar to myself. Once again, I’ll have more info in the upcoming weeks.
Sunday, August 15th, 2010
This is not meant to be a review, there’s lots of those elsewhere if you were to search for one, but more of my own experience of this lens. Also, this site was never meant to be a gear site, and it never will be, but with this kind of post I’m hoping to add my own experiences to that of my subjects in the field too.
I once hired larger lenses like the Nikon 300 f/2.8 and 200-400 f/4 zoom for my trips, because it was cost effective, but last year I decided to grow up and get one of my own. Whether to get a fast 300, the 200-400 zoom, or a 500 was answered in part given the range of focal lengths the zoom offered, but there was also the nagging doubt associated with it of distant subject performance. But I bought the 200-400mm anyway, and it was not long before I realised that there was nothing to regret with my decision.
Click to continue reading…
Saturday, August 14th, 2010
You can click each of the images above for more info and pricing on that print.
Today I’ve released two more prints for sale, black and white monochromes of Embracing the Wind and First Light, which I photographed last year in the Masai Mara in Kenya.
These fine art quality prints are printed to the highest high quality on heavy art paper in a range of sizes, and ready for framing, and limited to 175 prints of each.
All images are printed via Giclée technique to art gallery standard on high quality Hahnemühle Fine Art 308 gsm heavyweight paper using the latest light-fast ink technology. Each print is printed with a generous white 50 mm border all around with a light keyline and text underneath. Prints are available with sizes upwards of 400 mm (16 inches) wide, the height being dependent on the format of the image.
For more general info go the Fine Art Editions page here.
Framed prints are an option I’ll be offering in the near future.
You can click each of the images above for more info and pricing on that print.
Today I’ve released two more prints for sale, black and white monochromes of face-on portrait and profile views of an African Buffalo I photographed last year in the Masai Mara in Kenya.
These fine art quality prints are printed to the highest high quality on heavy art paper in a range of sizes, and ready for framing, and limited to 175 prints of each.
All images are printed via Giclée technique to art gallery standard on high quality Hahnemühle Fine Art 308 gsm heavyweight paper using the latest light-fast ink technology. Each print is printed with a generous white 50 mm border all around with a light keyline and text underneath. Prints are available with sizes upwards of 400 mm (16 inches) wide, the height being dependent on the format of the image.
For more general info go the Fine Art Editions page here.
Framed prints are an option I’ll be offering in the near future.
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
During dusk at Linyanti in Botswana, we’d already lined up some elephants approaching single file, but given we were likely to see these again, we decided to visit a lone male lion which has just appeared instead. The light had become appealing at five-thirty, and we’d been with the lion for barely ten minutes when a leopard took his place at the base of a nearby termite mound.
As one person has said; this was a gift from the leopard, out in the open, unobscured, and in the early evening sunlight too. And just when we were thinking how nice it would be if he were to sit on top of the mound, he promptly jumped up and sat on top of it. I’d seen a few leopards, but never had the privilege to photograph one in setting such as this.
Click on the image for a larger view.
Taken using a Nikon D700 with a 200-400mm f/4.0 lens at 400mm, f/4.8, 1/125 and ISO 800.
This young male lion has paused and is looking back to check the progress of the rest of his following pride in Moremi, Okavango, in Botswana in May of this year. The compact stance formed by his foreshortened view appealed to me. I think this may lend itself to a black and white variant someday.
Click on the image for a larger view.
Taken using a Nikon D300 with a 200-400mm f/4.0 lens at 400mm, f/5.6, 1/125 and ISO 200.
