Black & White Adventures

We were so thrilled to get our first pictures of the black rhinos which recently moved to our favorite reserve. The pair of black rhinos is on the same reserve as a healthy and growing herd of 18 white rhinos. The habitat is diverse enough to support the distinct species; black rhino are browsers who feed on leafy twigs and shrubs. Their upper lip is used to grasp twigs and shoots which are then snapped off by the teeth. White rhinos are selective grazers of short new grasses. Both species are water dependent and drink up to twice a day and can not go without for more than 4 days.

Black rhino are recovering from a 96% drop in population in the period 1972-1996 while the white rhino is the least endangered rhino species and has responded well to conservation efforts, especially those in South Africa. To learn more about species of rhinos, their plight, and conservation efforts, visits the International Rhino Foundation website: www.rhinos-irf.org

Since rhinos are diurnal and nocturnal with activity peaks in the early morning and evening we look for them on a morning game drive. For the white rhinos we head to a flat open grassy area where our trackers know they like to graze. Bulls are solitary and territorial according to population density and habitat. Cows are non territorial and form nursery groups. We often see a female with a young male and a calf grouped together. They are alert but mostly ignore the vehicle as we get close. The height of the vehicle helps us get some shots over the grass. We also leave the vehicle to get closer. On foot is the best way to get close up shots of eyes and behavior. When threatened a group will stand rump against rump facing outwards or if alone will stare at the intruder. What we have to watch for is if they lower their head and pin their ears back, this is a sign of further aggression and may result in snorting, charging, or mock charging.

Black rhinos are reported to be more aggressive than whites. It is also harder to photograph them since they browse in 1 meter shrubs, but when we found them we were able to get great shots and watch them eating.

It will be wonderful to witness the progress of these black rhino on our frequent visits and see the herd grow as the white rhino herd as over the years.

Equipment Review: Protecting Your LCD Screen

There are many ways to protect your camera gear including insurance and padded camera bags. Sometimes the parts most likely damaged can be protected by the simplest and the least expensive things.

I love how on the Nikon Cameras they have protective covers on their LCD screen that are replaceable, but on the Canon systems there is no protective cover, so if I scratch the LCD screen on a $3,000 canon camera, it will haunt me for the life of the camera. Luckily Invisible Shield makes a comparable protective cover for Canon cameras. I have used this shield on my old canon 5D and it works great. I purchased and installed one on my new canon 5D MKll, which cost about $12.50; cheaper then replacing a the LCD screen if this is even possible. It is invisible and almost invincible: the material was originally designed to protect the leading edges of military helicopter blades.

The product is available for most digital cameras LCD, Mp3 players and phones. They can be purchased at: http://www.BHPhotovideo.com

Invisible shield is a cheap insurance policy and inexpensive product to protect your camera screen. Check Out www.Zagg.com

Post Processing Techniques: Enhancing Through Cropping

Cropping is a crucial aspect of image composition. Shooting out in the field with dangerous or shy animals while possibly enduring some form of physical discomfort might comprise your ability to compose the shot exactly as you would have liked it. Cropping can change the viewer’s point of view for the final image and remove distracting information so your adjustments will be more accurate.

Reasons to crop:

Keep in mind when using a crop tool in whatever image editor you are using that it will most likely permanently delete the cropped pixels. You should develop a technique to crop while still retaining the original file incase you change your mind or want to tweak the composition.

Recomposing the image

The original contained too much foreground and the material on the left did not add to the story. Cropping out empty foreground and some of the sky focused on the action and maintained the panoramic feel of the image.

Less is more

Too much detail can cause the animals to become lost among the busy background. Eliminate just enough of the peripheral items as to show the animal’s environment (context) without losing the story of their camoflag and hiding techniques

Enhancing Perspective

I cropped this simple giraffe image so that the viewer's vantage point appears to be lower making the giraffe's height emphasized as well as the exaggerating the slight angles. The effect is subtle, but it makes gives a standard composition a lttle more impact.

Using Vignette with cropping

Edge vignette compliments good cropping decisions by further focusing the eyes to the subject matter. Large edge burning or lightening can also be a replacement for cropping off edge information by deemphasizing what was there. I also added a vignette to the giraffe image too keep the focus on the long lines.

More safari details on our website www.AfricaWildSafaris.net

Impala: Fast Food and Interesting Viewing

Impalas are a common sighting and I used to ignore them until I started to appreciate the group dynamics and behaviors available to photograph. Most herds of impala are female and juveniles watched over by one dominant male.

One afternoon in Kruger we stopped to admire an unusually large herd with the dominant male pursuing a female and attempting to mate with her. Or so we thought this was the dominant. The harem’s leader was actually across the road behind us and came urgently to run out the interloper. A fight with entangled antlers and some chasing ensued, but the dominant male won out. The challenger ran off across the road with several females following him. Other females paused at the road not sure whether to jump ship or not. The dominant male lost half his harem in the incident. That afternoon as we were returning along the same stretch of road, I noticed that his full harem had rejoined him.

In Africa a pastoral scene can change suddenly to one of panicked flight. To be ready with the right camera settings you need to both read the animal behaviors and be able to quickly set your camera to best capture the moment. Anticipating the action takes practice and patience.

When action is likely, use a fast shutter speed to freeze the action; the higher the better. I really like a minimum of 1/1500, but I prefer over 1/2000, and, if I can get to 1/3000 or more, I’m very happy. Since the best wildlife shooting opportunities are right after sunrise or sunset, having enough light to maintain those shutter speeds is often a challenge. Usually I am lucky to get to 1/250 or 1/400. With my long lenses the accepted wisdom is to not go below a certain level: for example 1/300 on a 300mm lens. In this zone is where I consider Image Stabilization (or Vibration Reduction) to be a must. Since much of my shooting is done hand held with marginal light or in a vibrating vehicle, using IS on my lens in all shooting situations earns me  sharper images as a result.  

read the rest on PhotographAfrica.com

Lodge Completed
Last newsletter we included pictures of the two new treehouses just completed, this time we are proud to announce that the lodge is now completed. The facility has a large lounge, a huge kitchen for use by our self-catering guests, a sunset deck, and a boma for brai cooking and dining under the stars. The lodge is already in use by independent travelers and we are looking forward to entertaining our photography tour guests on our property.

New Convenient Flights
South Africa Airlines has added a new convenient flight to their schedule. Leaving from JFK, the flight leaves JFK at 11:35am and arrives in Johannesburg at 8:30am local time. This arrival time gives you the flexibility to get to your lodge and still have time for sundowners. SAA are also running great specials as part of the excitement leading up to the Soccer World Cup in June.

The next issue of Wild Times will come out in May when we return from our Photography Workshop in Africa with new stories and images.