Enjoy more of my images on Instagram! If you are using a smartphone and if you are on Instagram (Instagram is an App for your smartphone) you can find me under christiansperkaphotography. Most of the images I post on Instagram will be different from the ones on my Blog, Facebook and Google+ and usually come with very little text :-). Enjoy them!
PS: All Instagram posts will also be shared on Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr – just in case you would like to follow me there!
For next year I had planned to spend three winter weeks exploring Kruger National Park. But this has to wait for another year.
I am now very much looking forward to two weeks on one of the world’s most luxurious trains. From 4 July to 14 July I will be joining the Rovos Rail Ride 2015 as the official photographer. This very special program uses the train as the basis for the worlds most luxurious mountain bike experience: 1569 Kilometers (=975 Miles), four countries (South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia) in six days!
For the first group of guests the six day trip starts in Pretoria (South Africa) and ends at the Victoria Falls (Livingstone/Zambia) and then the train moves back to Pretoria the same route with the second group. I am looking forward to the beautiful scenery along the way and to my first trip to the Victoria Falls.
For more information on the Rovos Rail Ride 2015 go to www.rovosrailride.com | For more information regarding Rovos Rail go to www.rovos.com
PS: As you might guess I will not be riding a mountain bike myself, I will be using four wheels for transport 🙂
Two amazing days at Thanda! Even our most frequent safari guests were very impressed when we had Leopard and Black Rhino sightings two days in a row.
After last night’s exciting encounters with a young Leopard and three relaxed Black Rhinos (a bit of a contradiction in terms :-)), we spotted a big Leopard male early this morning and then found a quite nervous Black Rhino bull (being nervous is more standard Black Rhino behavior).
But the most exciting sighting for our guests was a Gorgeous Bush Shrike. This very colorful bird is often heard, but seldom seen (especially in good photographic condition). So after six years in which our guests were tracking this species in many different places around South Africa, yesterday Bheki and I were able to show them this beautiful creature (and we even got some decent pictures).
PS: I should mention that during their two-nights stay our guests also saw Lions, Elephants, White Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Cheetah, Black-Backed Jackal, Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu, Nyala, Impala, Wildebeest, Warthog and many different bird species.
Young Male Leopard
Nervous Black Rhino Bull
I am back from five days at Pakamisa Private Game Reserve with people-, horse-, food- and wildlife- photography – a full program!
This is one of my favorite shots from this stay: Baccara, one of Pakamisa’s Arabian mares, with her daughter Bohemia in the background. With the help and guidance from Isabella Stepski, the owner of Pakamisa, I am steadily improving my “horse photography skills”.
More to come …
An Ostrich female was grazing on the Pakamisa mountain – just below the restaurant – as I had breakfast this morning. What a view and what a way to start the weekend!
The pictures were taken with my iPhone. I got caught without a camera this morning 🙂
I promised some more images from my recent photo shoot [ttp://sperka.info/2014/11/29/modern-zulu-traditional-zulu].
Here they are (these versions are in sepia, which I think works very well for such images).
Today I had the opportunity to do a rather special photo shoot. A group of young Zulu dancers from one of the local communities is performing regularly for the Thanda guests. This afternoon I got the chance to take some pictures of the group in daylight, as they normally only perform in the evenings around a camp fire (with not very good light for photography).
But I was not only taking pictures of them dancing in their traditional attire, but I also took portraits and group shots in their modern day-to-day outfits. Nowadays, as in many other cultures, traditional Zulu dress is only used on special occasions and festivities.
I really like these two portraits of this young dancer, one as a modern Zulu and one in traditional attire. Stay tuned for more images from this photo shoot …
This week, when sitting in my office, I had two repeat guests at Thanda house. On various occasions the breeding herd of Elephants came to drink at the waterhole and Thulani, one of our two large and old Elephants bulls, made his way from the water along the the fence around our garden. And a pair of Striped Kingfishers made their home in our garden. Both birds get very excited about their reflection in my office windows and they knock at them regularly. These good looking little birds are very territorial and obviously not too bright 🙂
I love Wildlife Photography but I also enjoy taking pictures of horses in action (with riders or without).
The picture above is of …
… me and Kara, a pure Arabian mare, looking at one another after a photo shoot.
… Isabella Stepski – Pakamisa’s owner – holding Kara.
… Mark – a Pakamisa guest – on Zulu (a Boerperd) smiling at the unusual scene with me posing in front of the camera :-).
Thanks to Daan for taking the picture!
Below are a few more images from my last stay at Pakamisa. Enjoy the variety!
Tina on El Dorado “speeding”
Two geldings on the way to dinner
Excitement at the stables
A Wildebeest with war paint 🙂
New arrivals – Impala fawns appearing all over the place
Another picture of me on Badger – having a good time!
Sunset at Pakamisa
My brother Stefan visited me from Germany. He stayed in South Africa for the last two weeks.
We had a great time at three of the best places KwaZulu Natal has to offer!
First we enjoyed pure luxury on the Indian ocean staying at The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga. Then we moved on to my “home ground” to experience the Big Five at Thanda Private Game Reserve in the heart of Zululand. The last five days we spent horse riding and relaxing on Pakamisa Private Game Reserve with its magnificent views over the hills of Northern KwaZulu Natal.
A perfect way to spend two weeks in Africa. What a life!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 