Hi all. The heat is rising in the Mara, but the breeze is steady. It is a hot time not just for us but for the animals as well and you can see that they are seeking water and shade more than when I work out here mid year. Imagine having a fur coat on all summer!! Despite that the fight for survival continues on both fronts with the hunters and prey having both success and failure each day. It really is incredible to witness the day to day lives of these animals and a privilege I always try not to take for granted.
Patrick and myself are working great with David and Marilyn and getting a lot under our belts so far. The smaller birds are always a challenge and observation, persistence and an itchy trigger finger are definitely prerequisites for capturing them in flight. They are also one of the times in general that a longer lens is a definite advantage, out here at 550mm with the 200-400 and the 1.4x converter working well together as usual..
Incredible eyes, Topi help not only the surrounding animals avoid nearby danger, but alert us to the presence of the cats we might otherwise miss.
A strange creature preparing for some more GoPro time-lapse action. You can view my original from last year here
A different angle for a bit of fun and as Patrick’s Land Cruiser was not so accommodating in my usual go pro spot up the back
A big, gnarled old chap doing what Elephants to 20 hours of each day. Eating!
Not Malika for a change! These threes cubs have learnt the vantage point trick too!
The light was really low and dull by this time, restricting some options for photography.
A storm started to move in from Tanzania
Right up at iso 6400 now, even resting on a beanbag it was a challenge to get a sharp shot
As usual we were the last vehicle on the scene with the others heading off earlier to their respective camps. We held on a little longer for the possibly of some lighting shots but there was no constancy to the bolt locations it was a fruitless task, especially with a home cooked meal and a hot shower in the offing so we finally made the call to head back to camp.
If you have been enjoying these posts, please feel free to drop me a line on Facebook or twitter if you like as I love getting your messages and it spurs me on, questions on any aspect of the trip welcome too!
We also still have a few places left on our 2013 Great Migration Tour this September if you care to see all this for yourself, tutored by yours truly.