More Lions

Lazy young male, Chobe Park Botswana.
Two young males playing, Chobe park Botswana.
Male lion, Kruger Park South Africa.Lioness, Kruger park South Africa.

Glow worm

I almost forgot this one!

This is a photo of a Glow worm, I am pleased to see that this one made it onto the BBC website back in 2004 - photo number 2. I remember that I have to hold a dim torch with one hand while taking the photo to illuminate the worm itself.

Sunsets

Today I thought I would upload a few of my sunset photos, all of these were taken either in Zambia or Botswana, I hope you enjoy them.

Three Hippos

Another photo taken at the Chobe park in Botswana. The hippo is the most dangerous animal in Africa and is quite capable of killing crocodiles & lions. They are responsible for more human deaths that any other african animal, the hippo is a herbivore and only kills to defend its terrotiry. 

Bush fire

I took this one from a fast moving vehicle, so forgive me for the composition etc. During the dry season in Zambia you can see countless bushfires and from time to time you will drive through one. One thing that suprised me at the moment I took the photo was the heat coming from the fire!

Baby Elephant

Chobe park has the highest concentration of Elephants in Africa, the current estimate is between 150,000 & 200,000 elephants, here is a photo of one of the latest additions drinking with his mum:

Birds in flight

Both of these photos were taken at the Chobe park in Botswana

Grey headed gull: Yellow Hornbill:

Kafue flats

On first thoughts you could be forgiven for thinking that the photo above is of a lake, well I can tell you that there is not one drop of water in the image. These are the Kafue flats (grasslands) in Zambia, a vast area that is home to thousands of Kafue Lechwe (see below) and a great deal of bird life.

The reason why the grasslands appear shiny is that they are covered with millions of cobwebs, here is a close up:
Kafue Lechwe:

Seville, Spain

In August 2006 I spent a few days in Seville, Spain which was great. Probably one of the most photogenic cities I have visited. Unfortunately I only had a small Fuji digital camera with me at the time so I was unable to get the shots I really wanted, I will definitely have to go again!

Los Baños de Doña María de Padilla:
Guadalquivir river:
Plaza de Españaa:

Ghana eclipse

On the 29th of March 2006 I was fortunate enough to witness a total Solar Eclipse near Cape Coast in Ghana, it was spectacular.

The photos I took could never portray the surreal atmosphere surrounding an eclipse, there were approximately 3 and half minutes of totality. During totality it was 80% dark compared to the night sky.

View of fishing boats shortly before the eclipse:
Looking through the clouds a few minutes before totality:
The final seconds before totality:
Totality - wow!:
The "diamond ring", occurs just as the sun comes out from behind the moon:
I would recommend to everyone that has the chance to witness a total eclipse sometime in there lifetime, it is magical. In case you are interested the next one is on Easter Island on July the 11th 2010, see you there!

Sunset on the Zambezi

This photo was taken on the Zambezi river just upstream from Victoria Falls. We were on a "booze cruize", basically you pay $30 and you drink as much as you want for a few hours while cruising the Zambezi river. Of course, the only reason I did the "booze cruise" was to get photos like this...

Bat in flight

Not a particulary good photograph, but I just had to upload this one because of the sheer amount of time I spent trying to get a photo of this bat. I took the photo when I was camping near Victoria Falls and spent the best part of an hour trying to time it right. Eventually I managed to get this shot. You can clearly see the structure of the bats wings.

Barcelona Sky

This was another case of being in the right place at the right time, I took this one in Barcelona on New Years Eve. I was in a shopping complex and remember looking up and thinking "Wow, that ceiling looks amazing". It took me a few seconds to realise that the ceiling was in fact the sky, it was surreal. I instantly went outside to look for a subject to photograph with the sky.

Tiger

I will never forget this photograph! I took it in South Africa, there is a tiger breeding program in South Africa to help save the species. I had to get very close to an electric fence to take the photo and yes, you guessed it; I touched the fence and got knocked off my feet! Still, I think it was worth the pain.

Cloud

I took this photo during a flight from Johannesburg to Ndola (Zambia). I guess the cloud itself must have been several thousand feet high, right place, right time I guess.

Roan Antelope

OK, what's so special about this photo? While this photo is not particularly good it is my first ever photograph of a Roan Antelope. I've been trying to get a photo of this creature for as long as I can remember, I hope next time I see one I'll get a nicer photo.

Hippo

I took this photo of the hippo in the Kruger park in South Africa, it seems to have become my "signature photograph". The weeds surrounding the hippo certainly create a great photo, but they are a major problem because they clog up many of the lakes in Southern Africa.

Sparring elephants

These two young bull elephants were testing each other strength in a friendly way. Photo was taken in the Chobe park in Botswana.

Dust Storm in Chirundu

This photo was taken in Chirundu which is one of the main border towns between Zambia & Zimbabwe. I noticed a small dust storm gathering to my right and I only had a few seconds to capture the photograph of the little boy before the dust blew past. This is another one of my personal favorites because of the emotive nature and atmosphere of the photograph.

Hawker Dragonfly

This is another one that I am rather proud of, it appeared on the BBC website on the 15th of October 2006 photo number 4. It took me over two hours to get the shot, just as I managed to focus on the dragon flies they would move. Thankfully this one managed to stay in position for the couple of extra seconds I needed.

Victoria falls

This morning I'm going to put up some pictures of Victoria falls - one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

It's very difficult to portray the sheer scale of the fall just by showing a few photographs, but consider these facts:

• Height 128m (Niagara 52m)
• Width 1700m (Niagara 323m)

Take it from me, they are massive and very very impressive indeed.

The falls are know locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, the "smoke that thunders". During high rainfall the mist from the falls can raise over 3,000m into the air.

Here is the plaque that is under the statue of David Livingstone, the man that visited Victoria falls in 1855 and renamed them after Queen Victoria, click on the photo to enlarge it.

Victoria falls from the air:

Victoria falls bridge:
Finally, after our helicopter flight over the falls the pilot took us for an amazing flight through the Batoka Gorge which I videoed. Apologies about the cheesy Airwolf music, click play in the window below.

Young male lion

I took this one at Chobe park in Botswana, this was a young male just wandering past our jeep. The lions of Chobe have been documented killing adult elephants and are the only lion known to kill elephants regularly.

Stranglely enough we didn't come across any fully grown male lions at Chobe, they were around because we heard them. Unfortunaley I was unable to get a classic "lion with mane" shot this time!

Lilac Breasted Roller

Well, what can I say about this bird? It's like a kid has got hold of it and dipped it in their various paint pots. I think it should be called the "Lilac breasted, yellow headed, green necked, oranged cheeked, blue winged, purple tailed roller. It is simply one of the most stunning birds I have photographed.

I remember seeing Lilac Breasted Rollers on the golf course when I was a kid living in Zambia but at the time it was just a bird, you know, nothing special.

The Lilac Breasted roller is the national bird of Botswana and who can blame them!

Two toned elephant

I am quite proud of this one because it made it onto the BBC website as one of the best photographs of the week on the 6th of October 2006 photo number 4. The photo was taken in the Chobe park in Botswana.There was quite a lot of luck involved because the elephant did not totally submerge before walking out onto dry land again which resulted in the two tone effect.

On the left is a photo of the same elephant before it came out onto dry land.

Shortly after these two photos the elephant got back into the water and crossed the river.


P.S. Over the last few days I've been informed that the top photo is doing the rounds on the Internet. I don't mind my photos being used as long there is some recognition.

break.com (no recognition)
abum.com (no recognition) - link is not work safe!
stroke.blog.co.uk (recognition, thanks!)

I don't mind if you would like to post any of my photos on your blog, but please leave the watermark intact.

Wild dog kill

This is one of my personal favorites. OK, it may look a little barbaric and the photo is technically not very good. However it is so rare to see wild dogs in the wild, but to see them in the middle of a kill is something special.
At the time we were on the outskirts of the Kafue Park in Zambia on our way to Lochinvar Park when we suddenly noticed a commotion in the distance, needless to say I grabbed my camera. Unfortunately I had to use the full range of my digital zoom to get this photograph because the dogs were some distance away.