Tag: CHRISTIAN SPERKA PHOTOGRAPHY

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Hectic …

Well, my  South African friend’s love the word hectic to describe a busy time. And my last few weeks were quite hectic!

I had very little time to blog and to document what I was doing. So I want to make up for that today.  Here are  pictures taken during these last few weeks.

… A young Lioness in her stride (23 July) …

… Elephants huddling for a family picture in front of the Thanda Safari Tented Camp (30 July) …

… A Lilac-breasted roller sighting making my day (31 July) …

… A Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl on its nest (1 August) …

… Me on game drive with my Green Mamba 1 – I love every minute 🙂 – Picture by Warren taken during our last game drive together before he exchanged the rolling hills of Zululand for the rolling hill of Scotland!

… My drone and the moon (4 August) …

… The Green Mamba 1 on top of the world (5 August) …

… A tiny Thanda Elephant marching along (9 August) …

… The night sky during the meteor shower (12 August) …

… A massive Eland bull at Nambiti Game Reserve (16 August) …

… Working on a photo shoot at Nambiti Plains Lodge (17 August) …

… Visiting the Blood River battlefield (18 August) …

… Another photo shoot, this time at Fugitive’s Drift Lodge (19 August) …

… Three days old – a baby Giraffe …

… And an agitated White Rhino cow (26 August) …

www.thanda.com | www.fugitivesdrift.com | www.nambitiplains.com | www.sperka.info | www.sperka.biz

 

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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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WorldLionDay 2017

Today is Wold Lion Day – a day to celebrate one of my favorite cats!
 
#LetLionsLive #worldlionday
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Zulu Kids

Today I came across this picture I took at one of the local schools when I visited there with Thanda Safari guests.

These youngsters, as most Zulu children and also most adults, love to pose for a camera!

I am working on a series of blogs about the Zulu community, Zulu culture and Zulu people.  Stay tuned …

Enjoy your week!

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The Montagues and Capulets

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As in Romeo and Juliet this Lioness has no way to get united with her Romeo. As one can see in the video the young female is in esterous and is keen to mate, but the fences between two game reserve prevent the males from getting to here (the roars in the background are from the males on the neighboring reserve).

The lady is obviously not interested in the perfectly good dominant male on her side of the reserve. The grass seems always greener on the other side of the fence.

Enjoy the video and your week!

Video by Christian Sperka, Resident Wildlife Photographer Thanda Safari

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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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A Look

I came across this shot as I was filing pictures this afternoon. ‘Deer in the headlight look’ comes to mind 🙂

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