Fog added a nice element to this early-morning shot of an elephant emerging from the bushes. When the sky and overall lighting cooperate, I’m always looking for the iconic shape of an elephant or giraffe to put into the scene. This is from the Masai Mara of Kenya on our trip last month. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 160, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second.
I was walking around our camp in Ol Pajeta, Kenya when I saw a tawny eagle going from nest to nest looking for eggs to pilfer. This did not make the smaller birds very happy and they proceeded to dive bomb the eagle, defending their territory. I believe this to be a drongo (either fork-tailed or square-tailed) that finally drove off the invader. Later that afternoon I saw the eagle return for another round of activity. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/3200th of a second.
This black-backed jackal was getting a morning stretch in on the plains of Ol Pajeta Conservancy in Kenya. We saw quite a few jackals this year, many at close range and seemingly indifferent to our presence. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 lens (at 200mm) ISO 250, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second, inverted monopod and remote trigger.
The Somali ostrich is one of the “Samburu Special Five” along with the Beisa oryx, Grevy’s zebra, gerenuk and reticulated giraffe — five unique species that live in northern Kenya but are absent from the Masai Mara in the south. It’s why we add both parks to our Kenyan itineraries to get the greatest variety. Last year we didn’t have much luck with the Somali ostrich, but this year they were definitely out and about and performing all their ritualistic behaviors, including a rather spirited mating dance. In this short video we see two males on the march followed by one of the males preening his fine feathers before the dance. In the last clip, a female, clearly impressed with the dance, joins the male as they strut across the scrubland savanna of Samburu. Nikon Z8 with Nikon 500mm PF lens and Z 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, 4K at 120 fps.
Being the rainy season, hippos were everywhere both in and out of the water. This guy was in a small pool that crossed the road near our camp. It must have been a great spot because he barely moved for the three days we were there. Once again, using an inverted monopod and remote trigger, I was able to lower my camera so that it just touched the surface of the water for an eye-to-eye perspective. I also captured video from this perspective of the hippo surfacing which I’ll post soon. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1000, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.
We did well with rhinos again on this recent trip to Kenya, seeing black rhinos and both southern white and northern white rhinos (of which there are only two known individuals left in the world, protected by armed guards in Ol Pajeta Conservancy in central Kenya). This is the much more common southern white rhinoceros which we saw in two locations, including Nairobi National Park. Using an inverted monopod and remote trigger, I was able to safely get my camera on the ground to capture the moody sky with a wide-angle zoom lens. This is a younger rhino, but fully grown males have been known to exceed 9,000 pounds! Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-70mm lens (at 48mm) ISO 140, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second, monopod and remote trigger.
Lilac-breasted rollers are one of the most iconic birds of the African savannas. Catching them in flight really displays all the colors in their feathers. This roller was perched in a small tree and I was trying to predict whether it would fly left or right. At first facing left, it ended up flying directly toward me, displaying the tops of the wings. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 2500, f/5.6 at 1/2500th of a second.
On our second night in the Masai Mara we came across a pride of lions getting active just as the sun began to set. The pride included several young males, still with just a hint of a mane. About 15 minutes after this moment, they would have a run in with an angry hippo — video to come. We did very well with lions on this trip, which (kind of) made up for the fact that we missed out on cheetahs and leopards. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens, ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/640th of a second.
Karen and I got back yesterday from leading another successful trip to Kenya. Being the middle of the long rains, we were worried about the weather, especially when looking at the forecast before departure and seeing heavy rains predicted for every day we were there. Somehow, however, we were able to work around all the downpours and didn’t miss a single game drive. We even got plenty of sunshine, and incredibly moody skies. I’m just starting to go through all the files, and I’ll get to plenty of those dramatic skies soon, but for today’s post, I wanted to share this close-up portrait of a mother spotted hyena and her newborn pup. We were told the pup was only a few days old. I missed the moment the Mom used her mouth to pull the pup out of the burrow, but caught plenty of other interaction between the two. Hyenas were everywhere on this trip, and we also saw a clan of ten or so that included multiple pups playing on the open savanna. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
Giraffes are browsers, not grazers — meaning they get their food from trees, not the ground. On rare occasions, however, they will do as the antelopes do. Hoping to see more interesting and unusual giraffe behavior in a few days as we head off to lead our tour of Kenya. That said, this will be my last post until the end of the month. See you back here soon for a new batch of images and videos from Africa.Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/640th of a second.