CHRISTIAN SPERKA PHOTOGRAPHY – Page 26 – Christian Sperka Photography

2024-02-24

Mud and Sand!

As Elephants cannot sweat they had to come up with other methods to keep cool or cool down.

They pump a lot of blood through large veins in their flapping ears (which represent about 20% of their body surface), they throw wet mud on themselves using their trunks as large mud cannons, on very hot days they spend a lot of time submerged in water, and they try to stay in shady places.

The deep grooves on their skin help them to stay wet for a while after a bath. The evaporating water adds additional cooling.

And after a mud bath they love to add a layer of sand to protect their skin from the sun and parasites.

The bull in this picture had a bath, flapped his ears, mudded himself, and then applied a layer of sand to complete the perfect Elephant spa treatment. He even tried to spray some of the mud at our vehicle, but we stayed well out of his reach.

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

Technical data (left): Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 320 | 1/500sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 170mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode

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

2024-02-22

Exhausting!

Mating is a very exhausting business for Lions. Once a female in estrous has found a suitable male they will stay together and mate in intervals of 20 to 30 minutes over 3 to 5 days.

During that period they usually do not eat, and only drink if they get an easy opportunity.

The female sleeps in between the copulations, but the male gets much less rest. He is on constant watch to be ready once the Lioness wakes up for the next session.

After waking up she will usually start walking away from him for a short distance before condoning to his advances. The male will often rub along her side or bite her tail.

At the end of the mating period the intervals between mating will get longer and longer before they part company and go their separate ways. (Note: In my 11 years at Thanda I have observed that the male Lion only spends very limited time with his prides and therefore usually goes his own way after mating).

These pictures, taken in very low light after sunset, documenting such a session.

Technical data pictures: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 102400 | WB 6500K | 1/500sec | f 6.3 | Various focal length

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

2024-02-21

Relax and Learn

Besides the excellent birding at Pakamisa, all guests enjoyed the superb food and relaxing atmosphere this weekend.

My two smartphone photography and smartphone photo editing lessons were very popular and well received. I enjoyed sharing my knowledge on how to get the best out of phone cameras.

If you would like to participate in such a weekend and learn more about birds and your smartphone in one of the most stunning settings in Northern Zululand, then contact res@pakamisa.co.za. I am participating in another birding and photography weekend from 8 to 11 March 2024, and there are still a few places available.

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #pakamisagamereserve #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

#birdphotography

2024-02-17

Slim and speedy!

Only one of the 40 wild cat species is optimized for speed: Cheetahs’ slim bodies make them excellent sprinters.

One fact about these specialized cats has always intrigued me.

Should a Cheetah injure its tail severely, then it would not be able to execute turns at high speed (using its large tail as a counter-balance-weight). As a result it would not be able to hunt successfully and most likely starve to death.

So the Cheetah’s tail is one of its most important assets to survive.

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 12800 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 35% of original image

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

2024-02-12

Identifies as …

Nyalas are one of my favorite antelopes. As adults they show very significant sexual dimorphism (difference between males and females in a species), quite unusually so for large mammals.

Adult males have large spiraled horns, are dark grey with white stripes, and feature a crest of white hairs along their spine ridge.

Females are red/brown with white stripes, have no horns, and have no specially colored hair on their spines.

Yesterday afternoon I took this picture of a very unusually colored adult male. He had beautiful large horns and a white hairline on his spine, but he was red/brown like a female.

Male Nyala fawns start out in life in female coloration but morph grey as they grow up. This adult male had developed the regular features (horns, white hair line) except for the pelt color.

From his behavior towards other males he certainly identified himself as a male, regardless of his unusual

coloration!

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 4000 | 1/500sec | f6.7 | ev+0 | 190mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 60% of original image

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

2024-02-10

Dust Bath!

Off the Giraffe and onto the Giraffe!

Just after the sun had set we encountered a group of Red-billed Oxpeckers which were all over this South African Giraffe, feeding on the many ticks in its skin.

The large mammal was ruminating (re-chewing food from a previous feeding session) and therefore standing very still in the road for a long time. Animals seldom move unless they have a reason to do so. And as the food to chew came straight from one of its own stomach chambers, there was no need to expend energie by moving around.

As we watched the small birds through our binoculars expertly picking up the parasites, they decided to take a dust bath right in the road.

As many other birds they keep their feathers pliable, weather-proof, and ready for flight with an oil secreted from a gland on their body. But this oil can build up, resulting in greasy and matted feathers. During a dust bath dirt particles bind to the excess oil.

After flapping around for a while the Oxpeckers fluffed out their feathers and shook off the excess dust before they returned to their long-necked host with freshly maintained feathers.

Technical data (top): Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 5000 | 1/750sec | f6.7 | ev+1.5 | 150mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 60% of original image

Technical data (bottom): Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 20000 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 5% of original image

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

2024-02-09

Moonlight!

End of last month I was lucky to get this image of a Giraffe in front of the rising full moon, 50 minutes after the sun had set.

The picture documents very well the difference between the way human eyes see the world and the way cameras capture it.

Humans are ‘only’ capable of analysing light at the moment it arrives in the eyes (situational). Once our pupils are fully open we get the maximum amount of light possible onto our light recording retina to create (record) pictures in our brain.

Cameras on the other hand can accumulate light over a long time period on a recording sensor and then record it on a memory card. This can turn the night into day. As demonstrated in this long-exposure picture (1.5 seconds) the moon ends up to have a sun-like look and the night sky turns into a golden-blue backdrop for the Giraffe’s silhouette.

Fortunately this large male stood very still for a moment and all of us on my vehicle did not move a muzzle for a few seconds. With the help of a beanbag I was able to position my camera to get this unusual ‘night wildlife images’.

‘Situational’ vs ‘Accumulative’ would be good way to describe the capability difference between the human eyes and a camera.

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 1600 | 1.5sec | f4 | ev+0 | 24mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 40% of original image

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

2024-02-08

Street Birds!

I do not often post bird images on this channel as I have a separate birding channel (on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook @christiansperkabirding), but I thought I introduce you to twelve colourful birds, which can often be seen on – or next to – roads on a game drive at Thanda Safari. So, here we go (From top left to bottom right):

⁃ Crested Guineafowl (large, chicken-like, and living in groups)

⁃ Fork-tailed Drongo (a small insect-hunter, specialising in following large animals … or cars … to catch stirred-up prey)

⁃ African Hoopoe (very striking looking, and likes sand-bathing in the middle of the road)

⁃ Yellow-throated Longclaw (know for its long claws and bright yellow feathers)

⁃ Red-backed Shrike (one of the easiest ones to spot, sitting on branches in the sun, often on eye level)

⁃ Lilac-breasted Roller (very good insect hunter, mostly to be seen in the dry season)

⁃ Helmeted Guineafowl (another one of the bush chickens with a turkey-like head)

⁃ Crowned Lapwing (a very noisy ground nester)

⁃ Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (another sand-bather, often to be found displaying on top of trees)

⁃ European Roller (a seasonal visitor, only to be seen in the wet season)

⁃ Burchell’s Coucal (also called the rain bird. Its calls announce rain!)

⁃ Cape Glossy Starling (showing off its beautify blue color only in direct light)

To bring binoculars on safari is most rewarding as one can really enjoy looking closely at the smaller creatures with all their colours and textures. That is why I provide binoculars to every one of my guests on game drive!

No detailed technical data today, but all these images were taken with Canon cameras with either a EF f4/500mm lens or a RF f11/800mm lens

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

2024-02-05

Rarer than Leopards!

Most people will ask what my excitement is all about when they see this picture.

In my 24 years of photographing wildlife in Southern Africa this is the first time that I was able to take pictures of Greater Cane Rats.

As I drove from my home to Thanda Safari’s base camp a family of these normally nocturnal and very shy creatures ran into the road in front of my car. There were three adults and three pups. Two of them immediately ran into the bushes on the left side of the road, but mum and her little ones were contemplating which side of the road to run to safety.

I used this moment of indecision to get this picture through the windscreen of my car. It is the only Greater Cane Rate image I have ever taken!

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 100 | 1/750sec | f6.7 | ev-1 | 180mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode

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

2024-02-03

The Friday Night Spa!

This evening – just before sunset – I have watched an Elephant bull having a great time at a muddy waterhole.

He first drank a bit of water from one of the remaining puddles (this waterhole will be dry soon, if no new rain arrives), followed by a proper mud-wallow.

To my surprise he then proceeded to have a nap for about 10 minutes lying very still in the cooling wet.

Once he finished with his ‘spa treatment’ he proceeded to throw sand on himself, before returning to peaceful gazing away from the water.

Technical data for all three images: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 4000 | 1/750sec | f6.7 | ev+0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | cropped

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

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 16000 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 90% of original image

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 12800 | 1/500sec | ev+0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 25% of original image