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Time to say goodbye …

I enjoyed my last two years working at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere very much. As I will be moving to South Africa soon, Amiee Stubbs will take over as the new official Nashville Zoo Photographer as of April 1, 2012.

With her experience working and teaching with me in the last year as assistant at the zoo, her outgoing personality, her degree in photography (she graduates early May from MTSU in Photography as Bachelor of Science) and the trust she earned from the zoo staff, Amiee is the ideal person to take over in both my roles as Official Zoo Photographer and as Photography Teacher at the zoo.

I will still teach all classes and lessons at the zoo until end of May, and Amiee will start teaching all photography programs at the zoo as of June 1, 2012.

I am also very happy to announce that Amiee will take over my gallery space at the downtown Nashville Arcade. She will reopen the Amiee Stubbs Photography Gallery at the First Saturday Gallery Crawl on June 2, 2012.

Thanks again to everyone at the Nashville Zoo. It is time to say goodbye …

… but I hope I will be back for visits!

For more information about Amiee go to http://www.amieestubbs.com

For the schedule and-or to book the Nashville zoo photography classes go to http://www.nashvillezoo.org/education/photography-classes

For more information about my move to South Africa go to https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/a-dream-come-true/

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Picture of the Week 12 – Surprise!

[View all Pictures of the Week 2012]

I was very surprised when, on one of my first game drives at Thanda Private Game Reserve in 2010, this male Leopard crossed our path just as we left the lodge.

In Kwazulu Natal Leopards are usually very shy and are very hard to view, as they are still prosecuted by humans in many areas. Unlike in the Kruger National Park and the surrounding game reserves the Leopards in this part of South Africa have not be habituated to “non-threatening” human presence over many decades.

For more leopard images from my various trips to southern Africa go to www.sperka.biz/leopard.

I will start working at Thanda Private Game Reserve in June 2012.

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Thanks a lot & Photo Class Schedule at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Thanks a lot for the over 200 congratulation message for my upcoming move to South Africa.

Quite a few people have asked my what classes I will teach at the Nashville Zoo in the time before I leave on May 28. Here they are:

Kids Photography Class (KPC) – Wed 4-Apr –
Teen Photography Class (TPC) – Thu 5-Apr
Adult Photography Class (AAP1) – Sat 14-Apr
Advanced Adult Photography Class II (AAP2) – Sat 19-May
Adult Photography Class (AAP1) – Tue 22-May
Advanced Adult Photography Class II (AAP2) – Wed 23-May

You can book the classes directly at http://www.nashvillezoo.org/education/photography-classes

 

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A dream come true!

A personal message

As many of you know I love South Africa and it has been my goal for many years to be able to live and work in this magnificent place.

Well, the dream has come true. I have been offered and accepted a position as Photography Specialist Guide and resident Wildlife Photographer at Thanda Private Game Reserve, one of my favorite places in Kwazulu Natal. On Tuesday this week the South African Consulate in New York approved my work permit and I will be moving to South Africa at the beginning of June 2012.

This means that I will close my gallery in the Arcade in Nashville (the Gallery Crawl on Saturday, April 7, will be the last day the gallery will be open – with a big party 🙂 and I will teach my last photography class at the Nashville Zoo on May 23. I enjoyed my time at the Nashville Zoo very much, first as docent and then as the official photographer and photography teacher. I will miss all my friends at the zoo and all over the USA very much (and I hope that many of them will visit me in South Africa).

My blog, my web-gallery and web-store as well as my website will remain unchanged. In the future the “Picture of the Week” will come directly from the South African bush!

I am looking forward to working with my friends at Thanda, one of the most beautiful private game reserves in South African (http:/www.thanda.com). I will have to learn a lot of new skills, as I am new to the field guiding part of my job, but I will enjoy that very much. And if you wonder where I will be living: In the middle of a game reserve, in between Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalos, Rhinos, Cheetahs and Wild Dogs!

Thanks for the support from all of you who helped me in changing my life from an being an IT Executive to becoming a South African Field Guide and Wildlife Photographer.

See you in South Africa!

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They have arrived! – Dinosaurs at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Dino Trek, an impressive forest exhibit of Dinosaurs, opening on Friday, March 16, 2012 at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere.

The sounds and moves of these huge animals are most impressive. This is a short video I produced from the Dinosaurs arriving in Nashville. Enjoy the show!

If you live in the Nashville area  don’t miss this special exhibit (Open from March 16 to July 31, 2012). For more information go to http://www.nashvillezoo.org/dinotrek.

For the photographers and videographers among you: This video was filmed with a Digital SLR (Canon D1 Mark IV and a  f/2.8  24-70mm L lens) and edited on Corel VideoStudio X4 (video and sound).

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Picture of the Week 11 – My Favorite Lion

[View all Pictures of the Week 2012]

Between 2002 and 2008 I have taken hundreds of pictures of this beautiful male Lion. He was the dominant male of the Phinda North Pride for many years and whenever I think about Lions I first think about him.

Together with my friend and field guide Mike Karantonis I spent many days and sometimes part of the nights watching him grow older and stronger. In 2009 a coaltion of three younger males replaced him as the dominant  male of the pride.

I took this picture in December 2006 in the streaming rain (see also the second picture taken at the same time) in front of my room at Phinda’s Vlei Lodge.

About male Lions:

Male lions are not lazy. They have a very tough life. Only one out of ten males makes it to full maturity. Once their father has evicted them, they have to fight other male Lions for a few years. The very few that get not killed in this harsh selection process may become the dominant male of a pride after they successfully drive away or kill the previous “boss”.

Male Lions do usually not participate in hunts because they are very visible with their large mane and would make it much easier for the prey to “get wind” of the hunt. They also have to preserve their strength and avoid to get insured in a hunt, because they have to defend their pride towards other males and prides. It is in the interest of the whole pride that they are capable of doing so, because if another male manages to take over, the first thing he will do is to kill all the young lions of the pride (up to two years old). For the same reason it makes sense that male Lions eat first and plenty at each kill to make sure that they stay strong for any upcoming fights.

Picture Data:

Picture 1: Camera: Canon 1D MII / Lens: Canon L 2.8 300mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/400s / Aperture: f/2.8 / ISO: 800 / Exposure Correction -0.33eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: manual K6500 / Time: early morning / Freehand

Picture 2: Camera: Canon 1D MII / Lens: Canon L 28-300mm at 78mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/100s / Aperture: f/4.5 / ISO: 400 / Exposure Correction -0.33eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: manual K6500 / Time: early morning / Freehand

For more Lion pictures got to
www.sperka.biz/lion (for African Lion)
www.sperka.biz/lion2 (for African Lion in zoos)
www.sperka.biz/lion3 (for Asiatic Lion)

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Venus

This is a scenic shot I took during my second trip to South Africa in 2002.

This is the evening sky over Mpumalanga (at Londolozi Private Game Reserve) with Venus in the sky.

Enjoy the picture!

Picture Data: Camera: Canon D30 (3.2 Megapixels!) / Lens: Canon 24-105mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/3s / Aperture: f/3.5  / ISO: 100 / Exposure Correction -1.00eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: Auto / Center point focus only / Time: evening / cropped to approx 90% / on beanbag from vehicle

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The Nashville Zoo Elephants Videos – 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty

This third video and last in the Nashville Zoo Elephants video series includes video clips about enrichment for the Elephants and the work the keepers do with them. It ends with a slide show of my best Nashville Zoo Elephant pictures.

There are three videos in this series:
– Video 1 – Introduction
– Video 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
– Video 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty

Enjoy the video!

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The Nashville Zoo Elephants Videos – 2 – Care, Sounds and Details

This second video in the  Nashville Zoo Elephants video series includes many pictures and video clips about Elephant care, a few interesting sounds and fascinating pictures of some details of Elephants (as the one of the molar above) .

There are three videos in this series:
– Video 1 – Introduction
– Video 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
– Video 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty

Enjoy the video!

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