African skimmers
June 27, 2008
These fascinating birds are always fun to watch and photograph. The lower part of their beak is slightly longer than the upper and they fly with it sticking into the water. They scoop out fish that are close to the surface and eat them on the wing. I am constantly looking to get the perfect skimmer photo although a little difficult as we don’t see them very often in the dry season. I came across these three birds fishing up and down a lagoon near here early this morning. The light was poor so I went for a more abstract shot by slowing down the shutter and blurring the birds slightly. I quite like the result.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Mesmerising
June 19, 2008
I find this photo quite captivating although apparently yellow eyes are a sign of vicious character in lions. She certainly seems to be looking right through you..
Well the lions are back in force again. We were starting to get a little concerned about the whereabouts of the Hollywood pride and thought that they had possibly crossed over the Luangwa river into the Nsefu sector. They turned up in camp a few days ago though and have been nearby ever since. There are currently 6 adult females, 1 adult male and 6 cubs. The cubs consist of the four from last years five - now over a year old and quite big and another two which appear to be about 8 months old.
I watched the whole pride this morning feeding on a very dead and distended hippo. I won’t post any pictures as it was fairly disgusting. It was hilarious to watch though as every now and then the rotting hippo would emit a blast of gas and the lions would run for cover! They would then approach very tentatively, snarling at the hippo, only to be sent running again by the next blast! Eventually they got used to it and just ignored it and carried on feeding.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Magical forests
June 15, 2008
We have a number of groves of African ebony trees in this area and they are wonderful places for photography. When the sunlight gets too harsh outside I often go to one of these and the dappled light sometimes produces something special.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
More Leopards..
June 8, 2008
Early this morning I came across the same female leopard that I photographed yesterday. She was hunting some impala which was interesting to watch. Unfortunately she wasn’t succesful. It was very early and the sun hadn’t risen and so the light was a little flat. Still I got some nice shots and I have converted them to black and white for a change. This leopard also appears to be pregnant which is very exciting - maybe there will be a cub around soon…
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Kaingo!
June 7, 2008
Kaingo is the local name for leopard and we are seeing plenty of them at the moment. I’m not sure whether it is because the lions are not around right now but the leopards in the area are showing themselves a lot more than usual. There is a large male that we often see drinking in the lagoon nearby and yesterday he killed an Impala and cached it in a sausage tree behind our house. He is difficult to get close to in the day time though and the leopard in the photo is a lovely female who is a lot less shy.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
