Tag: wildlife

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Picture of the Week 14 – The tree that shines from afar

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This African Elephant is browsing in between Fever Trees on Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa.

In the Zulu language the Fever Tree is called umHlosinga (the tree that shines from afar). This beautiful acacia has a pale white bark and green foliage. It is one of the few trees where photosynthesis takes place in the bark. The yellow color on the Elephant’s skin is from rubbing against one of the trees.

Enjoy the picture!

The Tree That Shines From Afar ( Fever Tree – Acacia xanthophloea)

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More from Reelfoot Lake …

Here are four more Reelfoot Lake pictures (Tennessee, USA).

Check out Nancy Moore’s website for more information on boat trips on the lake http://blbweb.bluebasin.com (the site is about her “bed and breakfast” place, but she also does great photography lake trips – just contact her at jaybird@bluebasin.com)

Into the Sun – Osprey and Geese at Sunrise on Reelfoot Lake

Take-off – Duck on Reelfoot Lake

Nesting – Bald Eagle at Reelfoot Lake 

What are YOU looking at? – Osprey at Reelfoot Lake

Enjoy the pictures!

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Owl, Turtle and Duck!

Today I got quite a few interesting shots during my morning walk at Radnor Lake (Nashville, Tennessee, USA).

Enjoy the Owl, the Turtles and the Duck 🙂

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South Africa 100 – Invitation

Invitation to the First Saturday Gallery Crawl

At my last event at the April First Saturday Gallery Crawl I will show one hundred of my best African wildlife images at the Arcade in downtown Nashville. These images were taken during my 20 trips to Southern Africa over the last ten years.

A reception with drinks and “nibbles” will be held from 2p.m. to 6.pm. for all of you receiving this invitation :-). The offical gallery crawl will start at 6p.m. and last until 9p.m.

When: Saturday, April 7, 2012 from 2p.m. to 9p.m.
Where: Christian Sperka Photography / Animal Art Photography Gallery at the Arcade [Downtown Nashville in the block between Church and Union Streets and 4th and 5th Avenues]

My gallery will close on April 8, 2012.  Amiee Stubbs, the new Official Nashville Zoo Photographer, will open her new gallery at the same location during the June First Saturday Gallery Crawl.  See amieestubbs.com.

PS: A few people have asked me what they could get me as a good-bye present for my move to South Africa. As I will have stringent luggage and shipment restrcitions I suggest for those who want, that they could contribute to my “African Vehicle Fund” = small contributions to buy my first vehicle in SA. But, the best gift would be for you to come on Saturday, April 7, and enjoy the afternoon and evening with me!

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Picture of the Week 12 – Surprise!

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I was very surprised when, on one of my first game drives at Thanda Private Game Reserve in 2010, this male Leopard crossed our path just as we left the lodge.

In Kwazulu Natal Leopards are usually very shy and are very hard to view, as they are still prosecuted by humans in many areas. Unlike in the Kruger National Park and the surrounding game reserves the Leopards in this part of South Africa have not be habituated to “non-threatening” human presence over many decades.

For more leopard images from my various trips to southern Africa go to www.sperka.biz/leopard.

I will start working at Thanda Private Game Reserve in June 2012.

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Picture of the Week 11 – My Favorite Lion

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Between 2002 and 2008 I have taken hundreds of pictures of this beautiful male Lion. He was the dominant male of the Phinda North Pride for many years and whenever I think about Lions I first think about him.

Together with my friend and field guide Mike Karantonis I spent many days and sometimes part of the nights watching him grow older and stronger. In 2009 a coaltion of three younger males replaced him as the dominant  male of the pride.

I took this picture in December 2006 in the streaming rain (see also the second picture taken at the same time) in front of my room at Phinda’s Vlei Lodge.

About male Lions:

Male lions are not lazy. They have a very tough life. Only one out of ten males makes it to full maturity. Once their father has evicted them, they have to fight other male Lions for a few years. The very few that get not killed in this harsh selection process may become the dominant male of a pride after they successfully drive away or kill the previous “boss”.

Male Lions do usually not participate in hunts because they are very visible with their large mane and would make it much easier for the prey to “get wind” of the hunt. They also have to preserve their strength and avoid to get insured in a hunt, because they have to defend their pride towards other males and prides. It is in the interest of the whole pride that they are capable of doing so, because if another male manages to take over, the first thing he will do is to kill all the young lions of the pride (up to two years old). For the same reason it makes sense that male Lions eat first and plenty at each kill to make sure that they stay strong for any upcoming fights.

Picture Data:

Picture 1: Camera: Canon 1D MII / Lens: Canon L 2.8 300mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/400s / Aperture: f/2.8 / ISO: 800 / Exposure Correction -0.33eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: manual K6500 / Time: early morning / Freehand

Picture 2: Camera: Canon 1D MII / Lens: Canon L 28-300mm at 78mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/100s / Aperture: f/4.5 / ISO: 400 / Exposure Correction -0.33eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: manual K6500 / Time: early morning / Freehand

For more Lion pictures got to
www.sperka.biz/lion (for African Lion)
www.sperka.biz/lion2 (for African Lion in zoos)
www.sperka.biz/lion3 (for Asiatic Lion)

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Getting Close!

Today I got a very good question from one of my blog readers about the “closeness” to animals on game drives (see comment and answer on the post MORNING MIST).

Here are two pictures of a case when the animal chose to come so close to our vehicle, that we made the decision to get out of the way :-). The second picture is taken from a considerable distance. The Elephant Bull past us quietly!

In the first picture you can see the dashboard of the car and the Elephant. It was pretty close.

Picture 1: Camera: Canon 1D Mark IV / Lens: Canon L 17-40mm at 28mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/320s / Aperture: f/4 / ISO: 400 / Exposure Correction +/-0.00eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: Auto / Time: winter morning / Freehand from vehicle

Picture 2: Camera: Canon 1D Mark IV / Lens: Canon L 17-40mm at 40mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/320s / Aperture: f/4 / ISO: 400 / Exposure Correction +1.00eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: Auto / Time: winter morning / Freehand from vehicle

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Morning Mist

This is another scenic shot with an animal in it. But you have to look very carefully to detect the Cheetah in the tree.

Two groups enjoy this Cheetah sighting in the morning mist from their game viewing vehicles.

This pictures was taken at Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa.

Picture Data: Camera: Canon D30 / Lens: Canon L 100-400mm at 400mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/1000s / Aperture: f/5.6 / ISO: 100 / Exposure Correction +/-0.00eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: Auto / Time: winter morning / Freehand

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Picture of the Week 8 – An “Unhappy” Lady

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Most of the time you see a picture of a lion with an open mouth the animal is either yawning or flehming. It may look threatening and intimidating but it really is neither.

The young lioness in this pictures shows that she is quite upset. She is growling  at two young males (one of them in the picture), which were part of a different pride, who walked quietly past her in a show of dominance.

This scene was part of an encounter of the juvenile offspring from two prides on Thanda Private Game Reserve (2 males and one female on both sides). This happened while the adult females of each pride were absent.

During the time we watched the encounter there were no open hostilities, just lots of territorial marking behavior, many growls and fierce facial expressions (as the one in the picture 🙂

But the next day the males of both prides showed obvious signs of a night battle (wounds from claws on his shoulder – see the picture below).

More about lions:

Both males and females defend the pride and its territory against intruders. The male(s) associated with the pride must defend their relationship to the pride from outside males who attempt to take over their relationship with the pride. Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females. Membership only changes with the births and deaths of lionesses, although some females do leave and become nomadic and/or form a new pride. Sub-adult males on the other hand, must leave the pride when they reach maturity at around 2–3 years of age.

Picture Data:

Picture 1: Camera: Canon 1Ds MIII / Lens: Canon L 4.0 500mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/500s / Aperture: f/4 / ISO: 400 / Exposure Correction +1eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: manual K6500 / Time: midday / Freehand

Picture 2: Camera: Canon 1D MIV / Lens: Canon L 3.5-5.6 28-300mm at 210mm / Mode: AV / Shutter Speed: 1/4000s / Aperture: f/5.6 / ISO: 1600 / Exposure Correction +0.5eV / Metering: Central weighted / White balance: manual K6500 / Time: mid morning / Freehand

For more Lion pictures got to
www.sperka.biz/lion (for African Lion)
www.sperka.biz/lion2 (for African Lion in zoos)
www.sperka.biz/lion3 (for Asiatic Lion)

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