Author: Christian Sperka

Christian Sperka is a wildlife photographer based at Thanda Private Game Reserve, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Over the last 11 years, Christian has traveled the world photographing animals in wild game reserves of South Africa and Namibia, the jungles of Costa Rica, in Yellowstone National Park in the USA, as well as zoos in Europe and the United States. His work has been featured in wildlife magazines, in books and in many zoo publications. He actively supports wild cat conservation, working as a partner photographer for Panthera, the world's leading organization devoted to the conservation of all wild cat species (panthera.org). From 2009 to 2012 he has worked as the official photographer and photography teacher at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Tennessee, USA (nashvillezoo.org). Christian is also a qualified South African field guide. He now works as specialist photography guide on Thanda Private Game Reserve in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa (thanda.com).
Posted on

Canon on Eye-Level: Friends or Foe?

The lives of male lions are difficult!

They start in life by being looked after very well by their mothers and other female family members until they reach two to three years of age.

Once their father has driven them away (to avoid adult male competition), they now have to fend for themselves. They have to hunt for themselves and avoid encounters with any dominant or territorial males.

Only one out of ten ever gets to take over a territory (and its prides) once they are grown adults. All others perish in the process.

Sometimes brothers from the same litter stay together through this process and form what is called a ‘male coalition’.

Or they meet one or more unrelated young males during their growing-up period and form such a coalition.

They will then move around together, hunt together, and protect one another from dangers. They will also fight other males on the way to the top together.

If they are strong enough and lucky enough, they will replace another male (or another coalition) as dominant males in a territory.

And this is when the trouble starts…

Once they encounter a female in estrus, they will usually fight one another for the right to mate (to propagate their own genes).

If one of them is significantly stronger than the other(s), then the fight is over quickly, and the submissive male(s) back off to let the dominant coalition partner mate with the female.

Once the mating period is over (usually after a few days), the males team up again as if nothing had happened.

But if two of the males are matched in strength and determination, then the situation can get quite serious, and the fights for the ladies can result in serious injuries and even death of one of the contestants.

This picture shows a male just after he had an argument with his brother over a female.

The next day, the lioness was gone, and they were once again together, even licking one another’s wounds.

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 160 | 1/500 sec | f6.3 | EV +0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 4000 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode
Posted on

Six weeks’ favorites!

Some of my favorite images from the last six weeks. I hope you will enjoy them.

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

Posted on

Pure excitement!

Yesterday, we had a very exciting afternoon.

We had set up a special drink stop for a shoot in the middle of the savanna when a herd of Cape Buffalo was stampeding across the open area a few hundred meters away.

They were chased by two male lions who took down a buffalo cow.

We quickly got everyone in vehicles and drove to the kill location. As we arrived, the buffalo herd was still very close to the large cats with their kill.

After a few growls, the herd moved off, and the lions dug into their large meal.

We watched them for a while before returning to the drink stop setup and continuing our photo shoot in the beautiful evening light.

What a day!

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Posted on

To all my photo-enthusiastic followers…

…everyone else might get a bit bored with this post…

Recently, a few people asked me what equipment I use to create wildlife photographs, so I thought I would publish a list.

All my camera equipment is from Canon. About 20% of my published pictures and about 50% of my published clips are taken nowadays with one of my Apple iPhones. And most of my editing is now done on my iPhones as well. My drones are from DJI, and my tripods are from Manfrotto.

Here we go… let me know if you have any questions!

EQUIPMENT LIST

Cameras

– 3 x Canon EOS R6 (mirrorless)

– 1 x Canon EOS R6 Mark II (mirrorless)

– 1 x Canon EOS 6D Mark II (DSLR)

– 2 x Canon BG-R10 Battery Grips (soon to be 4, one for each of the R6s)

Lenses

8 EF lenses (all equipped with a Canon EF-EOS RF adapter) and 4 RF lenses.

– Samyang MF 14mm f/2.8 RF

– Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM

– Canon EF 24-70 f/4L USM

– Canon RF 24-240 f/4-6.3 IS ISM

– Canon EF 50 f/1.4 USM

– Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM

– Canon EF 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

– Canon EF 180 f/3.5 MACRO USM

– Canon EF 300 f/2.8L IS USM

– Canon EF 500 f/4L IS USM

– Canon RF 600 f/11 IS STM

– Canon RF 800 f/11 IS STM

Lens usage:

  • Photographic game drives with guests (24-240, 800)
  • Photographic game drives by myself (on my Green Mamba game viewer) (70-200, 300, 500, 800)
  • Photographic game drives by myself (in my Suzuki Jimny) (24-70, 600, 800)
  • ‘Still photography’ (e.g., buildings outside/inside, landscapes) (14, 17-40, 24-70)
  • ‘Human photography’ (e.g., photo shoots, weddings, portraits) (17-40, 24-70, 50, 70-200)
  • Night photographic game drives (70-200, 300, 500)
  • Night sky photography (14)
  • Bush walks (70-300)
  • Macro work (180)
  • Travel lens (when I have to travel by plane with only one and only one lens) (24-70)

Smart Devices

– Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, 1TB

– Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 512GB (*)

– Apple iPad Pro 12.9″,256GB

(*) Will be replaced early 2025 by an Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, 1TB

Drones

– DJI Mavic Mini 3 Pro

– DJI Phantom 4 Pro (now for sale, planned to be replaced by a DJI Mavic 3 Pro in 2025)

Tripods

– 3 x Manfrotto Tripods with Ball Heads

Vehicles

– Toyota Land Cruiser 79 4.0 V6 Game Viewer (Green Mamba II), used for photographic game drives on Thanda Safari with up to five guests

– Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX AT (Little Mamba), used for photographic game drives at Thanda Safari and trips in South Africa by myself

– Toyota Fortuner 2.4 GD-6 RB or 4×4 AT, provided by Thanda Safari or rented from AVIS Rental Cars for excursions Custom Luxury Tours with up to three guests

– Mercedes Benz Vito, rented AVIS Rental Cars for excursions and Custom Luxury Tours with up to five guests.

Camera
Smartphone
Drone

Website: http://www.sperka.info

Posted on

In a tree!

It does not happen often that we see a Leopard kill in a tree at Thanda Safari. So it was a very pleasant surprise to be able to get a glimpse (and a picture) of this beautiful cat feeding on an Impala carcass. A Hyena was on standby at the bottom of the tree for some drop-offs. 

Using the light from the spotlights of my tracker Bheki I was able to capture this image in very low light. This was the only useable picture documenting the encounter.

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 51200 | 1/60sec | ev+0 | WB AWB | AV Mode

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Posted on

Baby Time!

End of last week we spotted the first new-born Impala. All the females of species, which have mating seasons (Impala, Wildebeest, Kudu, and Warthog), will give birth between now and January. 

A lot of cuteness. 

Have a good week!

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 640 | 1/750sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 10000 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode
Posted on

Canon on Eye Level – Black Rhino!

This week, I saw a Black Rhino flehmen for the first time.

The bull picked up the scent of a female, stuck his nose into the soil where the cow had urinated, and then inhaled as much air as possible towards the Jacobson’s organ (vomeronasal organ) to analyze if the lady was in estrous.

Many mammals show this behaviour, but I had never seen a Black Rhino doing it. What a sighting!

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 32000 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode

#CanonOnEyeLevel 

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 12800 | 1/500sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 10000 | 1/750sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode
Posted on

Two weeks!

My last two weeks in wildlife pictures: What a wonderful world! I hope you enjoy them.

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

Posted on

Canon on EyeLevel – Roaring Lion! 

This morning I captured a short video clip of one of Thanda Safari’s male Lions roaring. One of the most impressive sounds to be heard on the African savanna!

Technical data Video: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | 4K video recording | Cropped/sized to HD

Technical data Picture: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 400 | 1/60sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode

#CanonOnEyeLevel 

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Posted on

A Rhino Walk!

Sometimes work related to wildlife conservation can get very exciting.

As part of the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project one of these incredible creatures was relocated from Thanda Safari to a new home to expand the range of the species.

When the Rhino was darted it fell asleep not next to the road, as we had hoped, but a bit down a hillside. So it was decided to clean a path, partially wake it up, and then  ‘rhino walk’ it up to the waiting container truck.

This is a short video showing as all hands helped, so this large mammal could get to its new home. A job well done!

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

Blog at WordPress.com.