Light - That Extra Fizz

According to various definitions photography is a term which comes from the Greek words "photos" (light) and "graphos" (drawing). Drawing with light. A photograph is made with a camera by exposing film to light in order to create a negative. The negative is then used in the darkroom to print a photograph (positive) onto light-sensitive paper.

Notice how many times the word 'light' comes up in that description?

Light is probably one of the most important factors when shooting nature and wildlife. I would rather shoot an abstract of an old tree in the beautiful golden light of early morning than a lion at midday. Does not sound as exciting but when you go and look at your images and you are very honest with yourself you will be able to see and acknowledge the difference.

Many people who go on safari for the first time get so excited about seeing a lion or elephant for the first time that they fill up a 4GB flash disk in a matter of minutes. This is important to get it out of your system but once that initial shooting frenzy is over, take your time to look at the light and how best to use it.

As I was working through my images form the last few months I came upon these two that shows how light can give an ordinary scene that little extra fizz! Kind of like drinking a Coke with no bubbles. That 'fizz' gives it that little extra!

This image of a Gemsbok was captured in the Namib Rand Nature Reserve. It was around 8:30 in the morning and the sun was almost getting too harsh to keep on photographing wildlife. As we got to camp this beauty presented itself and everything just looked right. By this time we must have seen and photographed at least 50 of these majestic animals but this time it was right. The way that the light bounces of the dark body and horns, the shine of it's coat and the way in which the morning light was playing in the grass made for a great combination of small things that added up to a great wildlife image. The animal itself was not necessarily doing anything mind blowing, but when shooting wildlife you have to look deeper than that. What is the light doing and even more importantly, what is the light going to do?

This is another pretty standard wildlife image. The late afternoon light makes it just that touch better. You can see how the warm light gives a little bit of life to the grass and highlights the mane of this young lion. In the perfect world he would have been looking the other way but nothing you can do about that! Normal picture with just a touch of golden light.

Next time you go on safari make sure to check the light. What time does the sun come up? Where? Are there clouds? Can I use them?

Lots of questions but this makes the entire photographic journey so much more interesting and the results will show in your images.

On a different note I was at Universal Image in Cresta Centre this morning. This is where I do all of my printing (thanks Elliot!!) and get all my photographic equipment from While I was there this morning they were busy putting the final touches on the one of the first Nikon Pro Centres in Gauteng. Very exciting and I will definitely be back there as soon as I get back from Madikwe in early January. Some very impressive equipment, lenses and technical support so if you are in Johannesburg and you have a moment stop in and check out the awesome range!

Before I go. I have been using Adobe Bridge CS4 for the last few days and have been really impressed. The interface is easy and it's quick. Compared to all the previous versions this is definitely a step in the right direction. For the last few months I have been using FastStone Image Viewer to navigate and look through images as it is quick and very simple to use. I reckon that once you have setup you user interface in Bridge CS4 it will beat FastStone for speed and features any day of the week. I was a bit skeptical before but am very glad I made the change as it feels like my whole work flow has been streamlined! If you have used CS4 I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Images from Tuningi Guests

As I receive them, I will be uploading and showing a few of the images that some our guests at Tuningi took during their stay in Madikwe. It is great to look back at these images and remember the sightings and all the discussions about photography, what to look for in wildlife images and how the pictures were taken. Remember that none of these images were taken by a 'professional' but by people with a keen interest in photography during their stay in Africa.

Zebra in Madikwe

Elephant playing in Mud

Leopard - Awesome image and sighting!

Giraffe Necks

Following lions in the vehicle.

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Weekly High Five

So much has happened in what feels like a very short time. Adele and I have had a helluva ride this year and I reckon that adventure is not over just yet. There is always more!

As soon as I have finished this High Five we will be heading back to Madikwe to start the 'silly season'. This will be the sixth year running that we will be working over Christmas and New Year. It has been a while since we got to spend the festive season with family but at least we have each other, good friends and a very busy time ahead so I suppose it is not all bad.

On a certain level I am looking forward to getting away from the city and all the drama that sometimes go along with it. It feel that the slightly heightened emotions and more time on people's hands during this time of year only leads to confusion, overly dramatic statements and things then get said that, if everybody just slowed down and thought about it for a second, could have been avoided. We all have our own experiences, opinions and ideas on life and the beautiful balance of family and friendship come from accepting people for who they are, learning from each other and embracing the differences.

Photography has for a long time now been an outlet for me and by capturing images and going through the entire process of editing and scrutinizing my own work I have not only learnt a lot about my own photographic progress but also found the head space to work through other people's issues. Anyway... moving swiftly along!

Image 1 - Proud Male Lion

This image was taken on a slightly overcast day but this diffused light does not really detract from the proud attitude the lion is showing. The road he is laying on creates a nice pathway for your gaze to enter the image from the top. I also noticed how the little purple flowers just right of his face catches your eye and this then leads you to the nasty injury on his cheek. How did it happen? What is he looking at? Any image that can make you ask questions works.

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Image 2 - Springbok in Grass

Background, background, background. Yes, this is an image that is suppose to highlight and show the Springbok but the background of grass makes it work. The natural canvas that gets created by the streaky wisps of grass give the image texture and places the animal in it's natural environment. Very simple composition that works purely because of the background.

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Image 3 - Digital Art: Elephant Eye

As a large, stretched canvas print this would be absolutely stunning. Based on this image, the original was perfect in capturing the elephant's eye. Crisp and perfectly placed within the frame. The circles that is created by the elephant's skin feels like it draws your view in towards ultimately making eye contact. I would love to see the original, unedited image but absolutely love this digitally edited version. Awesome capture and great edit.

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Image 4 - Cactus Landscape

This Namibian landscape is another very simple composition that uses basic guidelines to highlight the cactus in the front of the scene. The rule of thirds comes into play twice. The first is the placement of the cactus on the bottom right power point and in the second instance the diagonal line at the top is almost a third down from the top. This kind of image, with diagonal lines, feels like you should look at it from left to right which also leads your gaze naturally to the focal point in the front. The late afternoon light on the cactus, combined with a shallow DOF makes the cactus stand out by making it 'pop' out of the images. Beautiful image of an unbelievable landscape.

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Image 5 - Sleeping Lioness in Black & White

In my opinion a black & white image is always hit or miss. There is very seldomly an in between. In too many instances people shoot away with reckless abandon and when they check their images afterwards they convert the so-so images to black and white to hide exposure flaws and give it more punch. It is a skill to create striking black & white images. Understanding the Zone System does help and when you are able to combine this with strong composition you have all the tools to create a beautiful work of art. The above image shows great contrast without taking the focus away from the lion's paw which is the focal point. The zones, which ranges form pure white to pure black, are almost all included yet it does not feel like they are competing with each other.

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