Just like our fingerprints, there are no two Zebra with
the same pattern and they often use this for identification. Nature
Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift - Albert Einstein
I admire those nature photographers who have the patience to sit for hours on end in a small hide waiting for their 'prey' to appear in their viewfinder and to stay still long enough for them to capture the moment. The images in the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Competition always amaze me, as do many of the creatures I have seen on my travels in the last year. The gentleness in which a family of elephants pull a baby out of a muddy pond; the sheer speed of a cheetah across the plains; the beautiful colours of many African birds; and the hardiness of the yak enduring the harsh Tibetan winters.
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Just like our fingerprints, there are no two Zebra with
the same pattern and they often use this for identification.
Patterns, textures and
colours in rock always fascinate me and I am quite happy to wander along a beach for hours
on end looking for simple compositions. Bright but overcast light is ideal for this sort
of thing and a good steady tripod is definitely the order of the day.
A visit to the Cape Cross seal colony
in Namibia bombards the senses; the sight of hundreds of barking fur seals each squabbling
over their territory combined with the stench made this an unforgetable experience.
On safari in the Serengeti I was
privileged to witness a cheetah running after a gazelle at full speed across the plain.
Even though I'd seen it before on television, I had not comprehended the incredible speed
these animals can reach. They truly are magnificent athletes of the animal world.
Trees are one of my favourite subjects
and I did not hesitate when I saw this stork perched in the branches of a dead tree
overlooking Lake Manyara (Tanzania) at sunset.
Rather then capture a factual record of
these wild flowers, I decided to give them a soft impressionistic effect using a little
grease smeared over an old filter. We pay all that money on quality lenses and look what
we do with it!
Walking around Rotorua in New Zealand
made me realize the incredible power beneath our feet. This mud pool is 96 degrees
centigrade, over a metre deep and bubbling night and day. Just one of the many thermal
features in the area.
Our friend here has a rather fancy name - a
Superb Starling. These birds are very colourful and may be seen in Tanzania especially
around the rest camps in the Nattional Parks.
The giraffe is such a graceful animal - even when it
runs it's like peotry in motion. This fine specimen was seen in Arusha NP against the
foothills of Mount Meru.
Another image from my beachcoming exploits. The tide
had just uncovered this amazing group of coloured pebbles and they needed no rearrangement
from me to make a pleasing composition.