Recent guest Jennifer and Thomas Bruhlmann from Switzerland visited us at Londolozi, staying at Varty Camp. During their time and assisted by ranger Don Heyneke and Tracker Lucky they were able to capture some striking images.
Jennifer writes: “ On our first game drive we came across an elephant breeding herd just after sunset. It was a truly magical sighting, the elephants passed by, feeding on bushes and the youngsters played around. It was so peaceful to simply listen to the sound of the bush interrupted only by the deep rumbling sounds of elephants.
With our photography we enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with back and sidelight after sunset – this was something new to us. Don gave us valuable tips when it came to each sighting and how best to capture the moment. He has an extensive knowledge in photography, even though we see ourselves as advanced photographers – there was a lot to learn. We also enjoyed our sessions in the Creative Hub where we experimented with the post processing of our images.
Asked about our top wildlife sightings we would have to mention three favourites. The first is our absolute love of leopards, this was one of the motivating factors for visiting the reserve, well-known for excellent leopard sightings. We were extremely lucky to watch the Piva male several times, a very relaxed leopard.
Don stressed the importance of applying the Rules of Thirds when trying to composition a photograph. This image shows the Piva male looking out the frame created by the space left to look into.
In this image we found an opportunity to capture an interesting angle of the male leopard
The composition came into effect once again in this image – we had great lighting which came out well in both colour and in black and white (a style Don enjoys).
Wild dogs – we had some incredible sightings. This was a first for us – we’d never seen such a big pack before (more than 10 dogs). It was riveting to watch the dogs behaviour and interactions within the pack and to follow their movements. We loved the sound that the dogs made when contact calling. We’d never heard this sound before and it gave us goosebumps listening to them.
After spending time with the dogs and losing sight of them, we found them once again now lying in shade. Don suggested that the dappled light in the image would add contrast when converted to black and white. Lightroom 5 was used for the post-processing in the Creative Hub.
In this image we experimented with side lighting using the spotlight from another vehicle, this was the first time we had played around with this technique. Don assisted us with our camera’s manual settings.
This image was also taken in the late afternoon with a spotlight from Don. We used the vignette feature in Lightroom to help bring the focus onto the subject as seen with the darker framing around the edges.
Our third favourite sighting was definitely the elephants we saw. We could sit and watch them for hours. Time with elephants never tires. The young elephants were particularly enjoyable to watch as they played with one another, sometimes copying their elders or chasing birds.
We used a longer lens to create this fine art image with the focus on the eye of the elephant and its skin folds. Don stressed to underexpose by a third or two to allow us to bring out the contrast and clarity within the textures of the skin.
Another first – using backlighting and Lightroom we were able to create this effect.
An image taken in daylight with a lot of post processing work. This particular image took around 45 minutes but was the worth the effort. We are very pleased with the outcome!
Again the composition of the image works well, the leopard has space in the image to walk into instead of being placed dead centre of the frame.
For others interested in wildlife photography my advice is to have patience. Your patience will most certainly pay off and you’ll come away with wonderful, life-long memories.
Jennifer used a Nikon D4 with the Nikkor 300mm 2.8 (fixed lens) and a Nikon D800 with the Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8
Written and Photographed by: Jennifer Bruhlmann
Stunning pics Jennifer!
This is why I keep coming back to this blog, even 4 years after our visit. Some really stunning shots!
Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic photographs. I look forward to visiting Londolozi in mid Mad.
Is the bottom picture Camp Pan?
Nevermind its his daughter Mashaba strong resemblence between father and daughter. Tutlwa his other daughter resembles him aswell but looks more like her mum Vomba?
Stunning shots and thanks for sharing.
Breathtaking! Creative!! I love all of these! Great job!