NikonGear'23
Images => Nature, Flora, Fauna & Landscapes => Topic started by: Peter Connan on March 16, 2019, 14:37:28
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From our tour in 2017.
A harshly beautiful place.
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But I went actually went there specifically to find a Quiver tree. This plant, actually a member of the Aloe family, is named such because it was used by the San or Bushman people to make their quivers.
The trip planning was carefully esigned to bring us to this place at dark moon...
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Very nice!
No 373 is 30 stuck photos?
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These are beautiful and multifaceted representations of the beautiful and multifaceted nature of Namibia.
Thank you for sharing!
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The photograph of the Quiver tree against the Milky Way is exquisite!
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Peter, what a great journey you have provided. Love the images. I will probably not get back to Africa, except for Zanzibar (on my list for 65 years ;) ) . Many thanks for sharing your images, more would be appreciated.
Tom
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Beautiful series, and I particularly like the night shots
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Wonderful pictures ! Thanks for sharing :)
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Thank you very much Nasos, Akira, Ian, Tom, Armando and Jacques
Nasos, correct, 48 exposures of 30 seconds each. D750 with 15-30mm f2.8 Tamron lens at 15mm, f2.8 and ISO100 (with exposure lifted significantly as it got darker). I feel this is the biggest advantage of "ISO invariance": you don't have to adjust exposure during a process like this, risking disaster if you get it wrong. Keep in mind that there are no gaps, so you can't see the exposure.
There is also a bit of a memory associated with that range of photos (sorry for the waffle): The Blutkuppe are situated inside a national park where no off-road driving is allowed. And the specific tree was situated about 200m from the nearest road. In order not to ruin the shots, I sat in the dark, admiring the stars. However, as the night grew dark, my imagination kicked in. This was a national park, and although a dry area, we had seen some animals (Zebra and Kudu), and where they are present, that most adaptable of predators, the Leopard, often lurks too. And after a while, I actually heard a sound behind me. Like lightning I jumped up, whipped up my torch and switched on the light. About 5 yards behind me was a Bat-eared Fox, a beautiful little animal. Fortunately, although they are foxes, they eat virtually only insects, so it did not pose me a danger, but I promise my heart was racing!
That is why this star trail is only 48 images long. The light did ruin the 49th exposure, and I had lost my courage...
Tom, Zanzibar appears to be a beautiful destination, but do be careful. Africa can cause an obsession.
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Tom, just for you:
We were very lucky with the weather. Most people would disagree, as rain on a camping holiday is usually not appreciated, but I felt incredibly lucky to see rain in the desert several times.
The first three images are from Etosha National Park. The two images with the Welwitschia plant are from the area North of the Messum Crater. These Welwitschia are a fascinating plant, being one of the plants on earht that get the oldest. The light to the left in the final image is a bolt of lightning far in the diesatnce.
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Peter , these are great . In 1981 I was offered a really great job in Mombasa but bad timing . Even though a very large bribe was offered on my behalf, no work/residendent Visa was forthcoming.
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Wonderful images & travelogue Peter.
The second set of images are as great as the first.
I feel there is mor3 about your journey that you’ve yet to tell us.
Did you meet any of the locals, or the users of these quivers?
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Lovely travelography Peter. The showers shots are great. Thanks for taking us around 😊
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Thanks for taking you along on your trip, Peter!
For me it is especially the night shots + the wildebeests with the lightening strike is really something special!
I really love Namibia.
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Thank you all very much.
Tom, i guess all things happen for a reason.
Colin, I go on holiday to get away from people, and meeting the locals hold very little romance for me. I go seeking isolation, birds or animals. We did see a couple of Himba at a roadside stall.
I will post a few morr photos later.
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Just a few of the birds and animals seen along the way:
From first to last:
Blue Wildebeest
Black-backed Jackal
Communal Weaver
Crimson-breasted Shrike
Crowned Lapwing
Lion
Elephant
Black-faced Impala
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Very nice wildlife images too, Peter. I like the straws sticking out of the mouth of the wildebeest. Keep them coming.
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exceptional pictures and story - thx for sharing this with us
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Thank you very much Øivind and Thomas.
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A few more night sky shots.
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I hope one day I have the opportunity to shoot the southern night sky
Thanks for sharing !
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Your skies thorough the series are spectacular, day and night. How close were you to those animals?!
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Thank you very much Armando and Golunvolo
I don't know if this helps, but pretty much all the animal and bird photos were taken with a 500mm lens, and probably cropped to some extent as well
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Peter, I am still enjoying all. I really like what you've done with the lion cub, or is that dust :) . When I was in Kenya my longest was to 70-210 f4 E series ;)
Tom
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Thank you very much Tom
That is actually a screen of thorn bushes. I only had a very small hole through which to photograph.
Fortunately the 500 f4 has pretty good isolation qualities!
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Cool , Peter. Yup, Nikons are good for that. Cannot really use Sony for picking out a small bird in a bush. I hope the Z6 can with the new single point. I do not use the 500 f4 G much these days. I just hate it when I make the effort to hump the lens, tripod and gimbal only to have nothing show up worth shooting. Just getting old :( . It was great when I could shoot from the jeep using bean bag :) .
Thanks,
Tom
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I love your wildlife shots. They are so environmental "real life"
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Tom, here in South Africa most shooting is done from the car with the beanbag. Primarily because we are not allowed out on foot in the game reserves due to the presence of dangerous animals.
Frank thank you very much
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And what is a road trip without some sunrises and sunsets?
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Again very nice Peter for the series of photos, it drives me there :)
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Again very nice Peter for the series of photos, it drives me there :)
+1
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Great series of photographs, thanks for posting.
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Thank you very much Nasos, Øivind and Anthony
Some more birds:
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Very impressive and fascinating series, Peter. I love especially the rain-images.
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The series keeps me enjoyed by many more fascinating images!
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Very impressive! It looks like you were very close to the bustard. Your pictures really make me longing to go back to Africa.
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A very nice series, thanks for sharing. Hard to point to a favorite, they are all very good. Nice star pictures.
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Thank you very much John, Akira, Kim and Bent
Last few:
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I really enjoyed this last part of the series too. Somehow the chameleon image stands out for me.
The mustelid, is that a marten?
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Thank you very much Øivind.
The Chameleon was a special sighting, the only one I have seen in many years!
I guess you are referring to the 7th image? That is a Dwarf Mongoose. The first is a Banded Mongoose. We do not, as far as I know, have Martens here.
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Wow!
Simply wonderful series of images, you got very nice light
Love the leopard image
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Thank you very much Armando
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Thank you very much Øivind.
The Chameleon was a special sighting, the only one I have seen in many years!
I guess you are referring to the 7th image? That is a Dwarf Mongoose. The first is a Banded Mongoose. We do not, as far as I know, have Martens here.
Thanks. I got a little confused by the soft looking fur in #7 without apparent bright tips. Perhaps it is a young animal.
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Wonderful, especially the chameleon, like a dancer.
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Peter, you concluded the thread literally with the "grand finale". Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you very much Anthony and Akira
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Wonderful pictures. Congratulations!
Stany
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Thank you very much Stany