This Week At Angama #91

This week has seen heavy downpours almost every afternoon. As a result, most vehicles have been back in the lodges early to avoid the rain, but in doing so, missed out on some glorious photography opportunities. We managed to catch up with this female cheetah as she climbed on top of the termite mounds to scan for potential prey. With the heavy afternoon storm clouds, I opted to go for a wide-angle shot to set the scene. [f 5.0, 1/2000, ISO 400] 

A fiery sunrise. The dust from a vehicle that had passed by created an interesting smoky look to the shot. [f 5.6, 1/2500, ISO 200]

Zebra basking in the limelight as an elephant walks in the shadows. [f 20.0, 1/640, ISO 400 -1.67 ]

With some nice framing and a bit of a retouch on Photoshop, I was able to create this printworthy elephant portrait. [f 6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400  -0.67]

Black rhino are rare so to see a pair so close by was quite a treat. I loved how the heavy shadows created some interesting contrasts, with a monochrome retouch to top it all off. [f 6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400 -0.67]

As heavy storm clouds gather, a lone bull elephant grazes gracefully. The wide-angle perspective shows how small the elephant looks in comparison to the stormy sky. [f 5.0, 1/1600, ISO 320  +0.33]

Pure elegance. [f 5.0, 1/2000, ISO 400]

We came across this black faced monkey resting on a tree branch. There was not a cloud in sight at this time of the day, so the background was very clear. I processed it in Lightroom to increase the contrasts. [f6.0  1/1000, ISO 400 +1]

The cheetah had something in its sights and it started to walk intently. We followed her for close to an hour hoping she would hunt, but she didn’t. [f 5.0,  1/1600, ISO 400  +0.33]

This week, I was lucky enough to meet the Border Pride’s young cubs for the first time. It was noon and the sun was scorching, so all they did was sleep in the shade, giving me an occasional glimpse. [f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 320  -0.33]

Practicing its “mean face” in the most adorable style. [f 5.0, 1/800, ISO 400  -0.33]

This is one of the mothers of the Border Pride. They had made a wildebeest kill in the early morning and in this frame, she is looking at some vultures perched on top of the tree, protecting her kill from them. [f 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250]

This lioness had lost her cubs and was looking for them frantically. Constantly calling in low sounds, eventually she ended up roaring in desperation. I caught up with her a few days later and was glad to see that she had found her cubs. [f 5.0, 1/500, ISO 100 -0.33]

Love is in the air. This male ostrich was performing a mating dance for his potential mate. Unfortunately, the female was not impressed and walked away from him. Poor guy. [f 5.6, 1/800, ISO 100 -0.33]

After sniffing the female as she urinated, this male was convinced that she was in heat. The female is quite young and I’m certain this must have been her first time in season. She constantly rejected the male, walking away from him but he kept on in pursuit. She also rubbed her head on his belly softly, as though to prompt him. [f 5.0, 1/2000, ISO 320]

After getting some hard kicks in the face, this zebra mounted on top of the other and just stayed there. [f 5.0, 1/2000, ISO 200]

The most gentle of giants. [f 5.0, 1/5000, ISO 400]

This must be the cutest little zebra foal in the Mara. Always keeping close to its mother. [f 6.0, 1/1250, ISO 400]

A higher perspective. [f 5.6, 1/1600, ISO 320  -0.33]

Nothing too interesting about this shot, but I liked the composition. [f 5.3, 1/2000, ISO 320]

This Week a Year Ago

A giraffe baby sits calmly whilst being groomed by yellow-billed oxpeckers. [Photograph by Jeffrey Thige – f 5.6, 1/250, ISO 250]