Brown-veined Whites
August 13, 2009
There has been an explosion in the numbers of these butterflies this year but like all butterflies they can be difficult to approach and photograph. A solution is to photograph them at night or very early in the morning when they are cold and reluctant to move. This image was taken at night using two remote flashes.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Hippo fight
August 9, 2009
The water level in the river is dropping steadily now and the lagoons inland are slowly drying up. This means that there is less space for the hippos and as the river gets more crowded so the fighting between dominant males begins. This was not a very serious fight with the hippo on the left backing down after a few minutes..
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Water monitor lizard
August 5, 2009
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Cold morning
August 4, 2009
This is an image of the largest of the three Mwamba male lions taken early in the morning. The sunlight created a lovely halo effect around him and lit up his breath as it condensed in the cold morning air.
This image is of the same male and is taken quite close to him and from a very low perspective. I have been working on a technique that enables me to get a remote camera near to the animal without disturbing it and without the camera getting eaten! So far it has worked quite well – this is one of the first attempts.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
Death in the long grass
August 2, 2009
As a boy I avidly read the exciting and often hair-raising books written by a professional hunter named Peter Hathaway Capstick. The most memorable of these bore the title ‘Death in the long grass” and pretty much described every possible way to die a gruesome death in the bush. These books helped to instill in me a healthy respect for dangerous African wildlife especially all things lion.
This is probably part of the reason I get such a thrill from meeting lions on foot and coming across this lioness asleep in thick bush was no different. She became aware of my presence at the moment that I saw her and stood up quickly, growling deep in her belly and swishing her tail from side to side in an aggravated manner. I took a couple frames and then backed away slowly. I think the resulting image has an intensity about it that wouldn’t be present had I taken it from a vehicle. You can view a larger version of this image on my website by clicking here.
Content Copyright Patrick Bentley Photography
