A Final Shot From Sandibe deep in the Okavango Delta

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Another safari comes to a wonderful end. As we gather for our final breakfast at Sandibe in preparation for our bush flight to Maun, I am listening to all of the stories around the table. With everyone recounting their favorite image or event that made the safari special for each of them, I look around and see nothing but smiles on everyone’s face. This tells me that Grant and I did well for them and we hope our paths cross again. We were blessed by great weather, great guides and solid game siting.

Special thanks to Eyes on Africa and the entire &Beyond Staff here at Sandibe and at their main office in Maun. A super big thanks to my co-lead on this trip, Grant Atkinson. I always learn so much about animal behavior when I travel with Grant – what a resource.

So I though noting could be more fitting than a photograph of one of our local Leopards process in a classic timeless style.

Nikon D810, Nikon 400 f/2.8 FL, ISO 400, 1/400 sec at f/6.3

Cheers and happy photo’ing from Botswana

Okavanga Delta – Sandibe

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Another wonderful day in the Okavango Delta on the Eyes on Africa trip I am co-leading with Grant Atkinson. One of our clients, Beth Stewart, captured a unique angle of a male lion, called Blondie. With this quartering head shot, Beth departed from the normal straight-on shot to emphasize the power in his muscles as he glided through the reeds. Upon reviewing this image with Beth, both Grant and I screamed BLACK AND WHITE. So, Beth sat by my side while I walked her through processing this image using Lightroom, Photoshop, and Nik Software. Hats off to Beth for a great capture.

Funny thing about Blondie, he has a very short main and a short tail. As such, the females will have nothing to do with him…..poor guy. I hope his time comes.

A Few Feet Can Make a Huge Difference

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While leading my last photo safari in Botswana we came across a young leopard cub in a tree with her mother just inches away from her. I decided to focus my attention on the young cub. At me pulled up to the sighting, I took the first photograph below. Despite the angle, I like the pose of the cub. I asked GEE, our driver, to pull 2 feet forward and turn the truck slightly to the left. Shooting from the lowest possible angle, I was able to get blue sky and more of a full body shot. Which do you like?

Nikon D810, Nikon 400 f/2.8 FL, ISO 250, 1/250 sec at f/2.8

One of the nice things about being on a private photo safari with me is using guides that know how to get you to the right place at the right time. They are also very eager to help you on positioning the truck for your desired shot. They clearly want to be part of the solution and take pride in being part of the final image. For this event, GEE as our driver and Gates was our tracker. My hat is off to both of you for your tracking skills.

Cheers and happy photo’ing