Tag: africa

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36 days – 36 pictures!

36 days and 36 pictures! This is a picture record of one of the busiest times I ever had since I came to South Africa.

My very popular Green Mamba 1 (Specialized Luxury Photography Vehicle) and all my other responsibilities on and off  Thanda left me very little time to blog. So here is a nice long update. And as always more pictures than words!

Enjoy your upcoming weekend!

A young bull for the first time in musth – very confused and a bit aggressive …
A rescued young Genet to be released into the wild …
The stride of the North pride …
Impressive tusks on one of Thanda’s oldest bulls …
Bronze Mannikin – a new species for my bird list …
Horses approaching – a Pakamisa Ostrich gets out of the way …
Very shy – I call them the ‘back-side-antelopes’ because that is usually the only picture I can get – Red Duiker …
They love the layer under the bark …
Close to mum …
Elephant parade on Thanda …
About to go hunting …
Close up and personal …
Colorful and cold …
Not one of the big five – but my favorite antelope – Nyala …
Hyena laughter at Thanda Safari Lodge …
Alert …
Leopard stand-in – This young Cheetah male posed on a tree – as I had not seen a Leopard for quite a while he must have thought that someone had to take over the ‘cat in a tree’ job …
A photo shoot at Pakamisa …
The sun was gone as the bulls started fighting …
The little Lioness was very scared when the young male chased her away from ‘his’ kill …
An awesome sighting – Elephants on the move …
Majestic – A Kudu bull …
Full speed along the beach – a special excursion during a Pakamisa holiday …
Little Hippo out of the water during the day – a rare sighting …
Ellies in the evening sun …
One of my favorites – Black Rhino during drizzling rain …
Get the ticks please …
Just after sunrise …
Mating Lions …
A perfect evening for a drink stop …
The Blood Lilys are out – summer is here …
One of my favorite Giraffe shots, ever …
A good hair day …
Incredible skies …
…
Having a drink…

That is it. I hope you enjoyed the show!

http://www.thanda.com
http://www.pakamisa.com
http://www.sperka.info
http://www.sperka.biz

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White last night – Black this morning!

Over the last few days we had some incredible sightings on Thanda. But these are two of my favorite images from ten exciting game drives.

A White Rhino Bull last night and a Black Rhino this morning.

More soon …

#christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #whiterhino #blackrhino #rhino

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The Battle of Blood River …

Sorry – I have not blogged for quite a while as I was very busy before I went of my off time.

Earlier this week I visited Nambiti Game Reserve and stayed at Nambiti Plains Lodge. Then I visited the Blood River Battlefield. This battle between the Boers and the Zulus was one of the most important events which shaped South Africa’s history. A very impressive monument – build by the Afrikaans people – and a rather neglected museum – documenting the battle from a Zulu perspective – serve as reminders of this battle. And now I am at Fugitives Drift Lodge near the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift just above the Buffalo River. One of my favorite locations in KwaZulu Natal.

Here are a few pictures – including some drone images I took during this trip. I hope you enjoy them!

The Blood River Battle Memorial … (DJI Phantom 4 Plus Drone)
Blood River Memorial … (DJI Phantom 4 Plus Drone)
The Laager – Defensive Boer position on the bank of the blood river … (Apple iPhone 7 Plus)
An aerial view from my drone … (DJI Phantom 4 Plus Drone)
The wagons … (Canon EOS 1D Mark IV)
Nambiti Plains … (Apple iPhone 7 Plus)
A bull in musth at Nambiti … (Canon EOS 1D Mark IV)
A Black-Shouldered Kite at Nambiti … (Canon EOS 1D Mark IV)
Gemsbok at Nambiti … (Canon 1D Mark IV)
The Buffalo river valley and the Fugitives Drift Lodge … (DJI Phantom 4 Plus Drone)
Fugitives Drift – Site of one of the real dramas in the British and South African history … (DJI Phantom 4 Plus Drone)

Home

http://www.fugitivesdrift.com/

Tuis

http://www.sperka.biz

http://www.sperka.info

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Amazing Camouflage …

Today I had a great sighting of a Vine Snake at Pakamisa Private Game Reserve. This small specimen was quite relaxed and made for an excellent photo model :-).

Slight excitement …
Getting a taste …
Moving around …
Amazing camouflage …

Pictures 1/2/3 – taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV and a 28-300mm lens
Pictures 4/5 – taken with an iPhone 7Plus

http://www.sperka.com

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May and June

In the last weeks I did not have a lot of time to blog. But over the last few days I worked on a lot of images (sorting/filing/deleting/editing a few thousand) and I thought you might like to see some of my favorite shots from May and June 2017 which I took at Thanda Safari.

The Big Five, Cheetah, Hyena and more …

Enjoy them!

Big boy …
Bigger boy …
Close …
Closer …
On camera – twice! …
Down the road …
Follow up …
Incredibly strong …
Breakfast …
A good fight …
Just caught …
Almost no light, but still very special indeed …
iPhone 7 plus 2x distance 🙂 …
Me and The Green Mamba 1 – More information at https://sperka.info/gm/

Pictures information for the photographers among you:

  1. 10 June – Small Elephant – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 300mm
  2. 11 May – Large Elephant – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 85mm (DoF-PP)
  3. 30 May – Small Lion – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 85mm
  4. 28 May – Me (Mirror) and Hyena – iPhone 7 Plus
  5. 9 June – Vulture – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 270mm
  6. 30 May – Pride of Lions – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 105mm
  7. 2 June – Cheetah – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 250mm (DoF-PP)
  8. 5 June – Bark Spider – iPhone 7 Plus
  9. 28 May – Hyena on Kill – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 90mm (DoF-PP)
  10. 28 May – Giraffes fighting – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 235mm
  11. 12 May – Leopard with Nyala kill – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 300mm
  12. 20 May – White Rhino with new-born calf – Canon 1D Mark IV with 28-300L at 105mm
  13. 8 June – Cape Buffalo bull – iPhone 7 Plus (2x magnification)
  14. 28 May Me with my Canon 1D Mark IV and the Canon 28-300L lens sitting in the Green Mamba 1 – iPhone 7 Plus

Note: DoF-PP = depth of field change in post processing

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iPhone Photography

In the last few weeks I was driving a lot with journalists, photographers and many Thanda Safari guests. I had only limited time and opportunities to use my Canon DSLR. But I used my iPhone 7+ quite a bit. Here are some of my favorite iPhone shots 🙂

A drone from a visiting journalist at sunset
A Lioness having dinner …
A Zulu gentleman at his homestead …
An Elephant under the morning sky …
A Buffalo bull having a rest …
Two Rhinos close up and personal …
Getting up from the afternoon siesta …
The proud grandma with one of her grandsons …
A Cape Buffalo calf at sunset …

 

 

 

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Five Years in the Wild

Today, five years ago, I arrived at Thanda, my home in the African bush. What an amazing five years, meeting new friends and people from all over the world, taking thousands of wildlife images and visiting many new places.
I am looking forward to many more years living and working at this amazing place 😊

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The World and a Map

During my last visit to the Star-For-Life Mmemezi high school in rural Zululand with an Austrian journalist we had a chat with the 12th grade students about the world. We talked about Austria and Australia and about Switzerland and Sweden and also about German. We realized that they were very interested to know about the world out there. So I made a decision. I ordered a large laminated world map (2.65m x 1.55m / 8.5″ x 5″) and I will deliver it to the school for 12th grade classroom. The journalist kindly contributed funds and I promised her that I will tell them a bit more about her beautiful country when I deliver the map.

I am looking forward to my next visit!

This is a picture of the school which I took with my drone 🙂 Everyone at the school loved the ‘small helicopter’ and the pictures it took!

Read more about Star-For-Life – which was founded by Thanda Safari owners Dan and Christin Olofsson – at https://starforlife.org/

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