I wish all mothers around the world a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
… with this cute image of an Elephant mom and her small calf. Have a great day!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
Golden Orb Weavers …
… are noted for the impressive webs they weave. There are quite a few different species in the genus _Trichonephila_. The females can reach sizes of over 5cm (2″). The males are usually 2/3 smaller.
This picture shows what one can close-up work one can do with a good smart phone.
Technical data: Apple 14 Pro Max | Main Camera 48mm | ISO 80 | 1/85sec | f1.8 | ev+0 | 240mm
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Meeting up with Mum!
When a pride of lions has many juvenile members, the experienced Lionesses often leave them for a while to attempt hunting on their own.
Especially young male Lions regularly “mess up” a hunt by being too obvious and/or too clumsy.
In this picture, a Lioness returned to the pride from such an unsuccessful outing, and all the youngsters ran enthusiastically to greet her.
A moment after this image was taken, they complained (moaned) to mum about being hungry.
And a few minutes after that, a dazzle of Zebras walked by, and the whole pride (8 lions) tried to catch one of them, again with no success.
As it got very warm at the time, they all decided to settle down in the shade of a tree and try their luck again in the evening.
A great experience for the guests on my vehicle!
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 1250 | 1/3000 sec | f6.3 | EV +0 | 150mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Cropped to 25% of the original image
If you would like to read more of my stories and see more of my pictures, you should visit my blog at https://www.sperka.com
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Ten Days!
I was very busy since I returned from the Drakensberg and had little time for posts.
This is a slide show of some of the images I took in the last ten days.
The last picture in the show was taken with a Seestar telescope. It is an image of the sun!
If you want to read more of my stories and see more of my pictures, you should visit my blog at https://sperka.info/blog/
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Pure Luck and a Smart Phone
When I sent this picture (which I took this evening on my way home) to a friend, he responded with ‘this is Photoshop, isn’t it’.
Well, the answer is that it is not! Our dominant male lion raised his head from sleeping just as the sun had set. I was in the right place at the right time!
This picture was taken with my iPhone 14 Pro Max and was edited with the standard iPhone tools.
Here are the steps taken:
1 – The picture was first cropped to 9:16 (portrait).
Steps: Photos, Select Picture, Edit, Crop, Pre-Sets, 9:16, Portrait, Zoom In, Done.
2 – Then the shadows were brightened as much as possible.
Steps: Photos, Select Picture, Edit, Adjust, Shadows, +100, Done.
3 – A slight vignette (darken the ‘frame’) was then added.
Steps: Photos, Select Picture, Edit, Adjust, Vignette, +10(black), Fine.
I have also posted the original image so you can see the difference to the edited version.
Technical data: Apple 14 Pro Max | Main Camera 24mm | ISO 64 | 1/350sec | f1.8 | ev+0 | 48mm
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Worship the Sun!
Terrapins are the ultimate sun worshippers. On a nice warm day, they will pile up on top of one another to catch the sun’s rays and at the same time exchange body heat (retain as much heat as possible to stay warm).
A few days ago, I took this picture of nine of these ‘freshwater turtles’ on a piece of wood in the middle of one of Thanda Safari’s waterholes.
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f/11 800mm | ISO 4000 | 1/500 sec | EV -1 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Cropped to 10% of the original image.
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Iconic!
One of the most iconic birds representing Africa is the African Fish Eagle. This large and beautiful bird of prey has a very distinctive call to communicate with other members of its species.
They resemble the American Bald Eagle as they are part of the same bird family (Accipitridae).
The African Fish Eagle is typically larger in size compared to the Bald Eagle. The African Fish Eagle has a wingspan of up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) and a body length of around 3 feet (0.9 meters). In comparison, the Bald Eagle has a wingspan of around 6.5 to 7.5 feet (2 to 2.3 meters) and a body length of about 2.5 to 3 feet (0.76 to 0.91 meters).
I took this picture of an African Fish Eagle landing on a tree stump at the Falcon Ridge Bird of Prey Centre in the Drakensberg. A place well worth visiting!
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 800 | 1/2000sec | f4.5 | ev+2 | 62mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 60% of original image
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
The last day…
Today was my last full day of my Drakensberg trip. I am staying the last night at Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse.
I will return to Umhlanga tomorrow afternoon, and back to Thanda on Sunday morning.
A full picture report about my five day visit to this very special KwaZulu Natal region will follow soon!
Up high!
I am currently exploring the Drakensberg Mountains area. Today, I walked from the Giants Castle Resort to some caves with prehistoric San rock paintings. I enjoyed the one-hour hike to get there, even if some of the track was a bit challenging.
On the way, I took a few pictures of some Common Elands. This largest living antelope species in Southern Africa likes higher altitudes.
Adult females (as in this picture) usually weigh around 400kg (~990lbs), whereas males can get up to 900kg (~1980lbs).
I saw four cows today, but only this one stood still long enough for me to get a good picture.
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 100 | 1/750 sec | f6.3 | EV -0.5 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 25% of the original image
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Bathtub!
I rescued this Eastern Tiger Snake from a bathtub and released it back into the wild in our garden.
This specimen was in the process of shedding its skin (ecdysis). This process allows the snake to grow and remove any parasites which may have attached themselves to the skin.
Eastern Tiger Snakes are only mildly venomous and are no danger to Humans.
Before letting it go I placed it in a Coral tree and used it as a photo model. These are some of the images from the photo shoot.
If you want to read more of my stories and see more of my pictures, you should visit my blog at https://sperka.info/blog/
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 