“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” Roald Dahl
This quote has been sticking with me a lot lately, I even speak about the magical wonders of nature in my next blog. To me, nature is magic, the mystical way everything fits together and has a role. That magical light surrounds you when walking or driving in nature. This is why photography is so important to capture this magic and share it with you worldwide. I find myself always looking for magical moments whenever I am out there on a game drive, particularly when I know I have a TWIP coming up. As soon as I see that moment I grab my camera and shoot away. In a way, this should remind me not to just wait for my next TWIP and look for the magic around me all the time or I might miss it.
Without rambling on too much, this week has been filled with lots of activity with different lights and backgrounds. There have been some cloudy days, some rainy days, and some hot sunny days creating a diverse canvas for me to work with. We were even lucky enough to view painted dogs, the mother cheetah with her cubs, mating lions, and the dance of the birds. The main theme I tried to cover this week is animal portraits and close-ups to really enhance their power.
Let me know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The Maxim’s Male stands tall above the Sand River. The Piccadilly Female was in a marula tree above him. Often when leopards pick up the scent of other leopards they start to salivate as you can see here in this photo. There is also blood around his mouth because he had a dispute with the Piccadilly Female. This is because they had just come into contact and were starting the mating process which may be a bit aggressive at first. I just wanted to demonstrate his size in this photo.
Fairly skittish male that is presumed to have come from the Kruger National Park.
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The Piccadilly Female starts to relax and get comfortable on the marula. I tried to get a bit of the greenery from the Sand River combined with the blue sky.
This female is most often encountered near the Sand River to the east of the Londolozi camps.
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The Piccadilly Female stares into the Sand River at the Maxim’s Male after he just chased her up another tree as she attempted to approach him to try and mate with him.
The power of a huntress. The Ntsevu Lioness stares at a herd of kudu having a drink in the Sand River. The scene was too perfect, golden afternoon light, clear view and a sandy background.
The Three Rivers Female leads her cub to a kill. Mother leopards will leave their cubs in a safe area while they go and hunt, if the mother is successful she will go and collect the cub and take it to the kill.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
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A big tusker. A large elephant bull drinks at a small waterhole. Elephants use their trunks to suck up the water that they then release into their mouths as seen here.
A dazzle of zebra. We stopped to watch a dazzle of zebra have a dispute creating a blurred effect.
A zebra portrait in colour. The light that streamed through the clouds created a warm effect and I had to also post the colour of the light that day.
A Gabar Goshawk kills a laughing dove in mid-air. I could not believe the power of the Gabar Goshawk as you can see here that it is not that much bigger than the laughing dove yet it can fly with the dove within its talons.
Sunrise over the Sand River.
A Purple-crested Turaco paused to look at me while it was feeding on the berries. I am always in awe of its vibrant colours.
The Gijima Male. A side profile of the large Gijima Male. This was the first time I saw this coalition and I was so impressed with their size and beauty.
A black and white portrait of the Gijima male. I love the contrast in his mane and texture of his face in black and white.
A young hippo calf rests on its mother’s back. This hippo calf looks like it’s really enjoying its rest in the shade in its pod/bloat of hippos. Notice the red-billed oxpeckers taking the opportunity to remove the ticks on the hippos while they are resting out of the water.
The Ngungwe Female stares through the red/green leaves of a jackalberry tree. She had a hoisted impala kill in the tree above her. She rests on this branch while staring into the Sand River, making it a perfect shot to demonstrate the hidden lives of leopards.
Young inquisitive beautiful female, bordering on independence as of November 2021
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Exciting times as the Wahlberg’s Eagles have started to migrate back to Londolozi. It was a cloudy sunrise and we found this pale morph Wahlberg’s Eagle perched on this dead tree. There are many different coloured morphs of this eagle but the pale morph is my favourite.
An elephant calf throws sand on itself to help thermoregulate. The golden backlight was too beautiful to resist and created a glow around the calf.
A painted dog stares into the golden sunset. I love the colour of its eyes here and this warm light. Often when the sun starts to set, painted dogs will start to get active for one last hunt before the darkness of the night emerges.
The Ngungwe Female in a jackalberry tree. This was the second time we saw her this week with an impala kill hoisted in a jackalberry tree. I love the branches around her creating a natural frame.
A black and white close-up of the Ngungwe Female. She watches over a herd of elephants that passed below her. The elephants showed no signs of noticing her resting above them in the jackalberry tree.
A warthog drinks at the waterhole. The vibrant green duckweed created an unusual foreground.
This time of year all the grey herons at the causeway in the Sand River either have chicks or eggs. It has been fun to watch these chicks hatch and grow over the last few days. There is an island of reeds, palms and grey herons that one should not miss when visiting Londolozi.
Two elephant calves walk side by side while on of the calf’s mother’s trunk emerges between them.
A mother elephant and her calves approach. I am always amazed of how silent this large animals walk.
A southern ground-hornbill hunts the grasslands. these birds will feed on anything from tortoises to snakes.
The Kambula Lioness. A portrait of this lioness’s stare with the light capturing her eye.
A side profile of the Kambula Lioness as she sniffs the air.
The Southern Avoca male growls as the Ntsevu lioness walks next to him. They were seen together for a few days and we were lucky enough to see them mate right in front of us.
The Southern Avoca Male. We do not often see him but we have seen him a few times in the last two weeks in the northern parts of Londolozi.
The Southern Avoca male drinks at sunset.
The buffalo bull that stands out in the chaos of the herd.
A large herd of buffalo walk towards a waterhole for a morning drink. We positioned ourselves far away and after a few minutes we were surrounded by approximately 1000 buffalo.
The mother cheetah. She stares at a herd of impala in the distance. The patience, power and gentle care of a mother cheetah is admirable, especially when she has to face many hardships everyday being so low on the predator hierarchy.
The cheetah cubs have got to an age now that they are starting to practice stalking one another which is often very entertaining to watch.
Cheetah cubs circle the base of a long-tailed cassia tree. I love how the tail of the one cub frames the other cubs face as it yawns.
The cheetah cub gets our heart racing in the hopes that it will climb the tree but it pauses at the base of the tree popping its head around the corner.
The three cheetah cubs chase and stalk each other. This is important for them to develop stalking skills and their muscles.
A cheetah cub climbs a long-tailed cassia tree. Notice how long their legs are making it look quite awkward climbing this tree.
Another photo in the same canvas of blue and brown. The black and white stripes might obvious in this habitat but from a distance they seem to be more camouflaged than you think.
A cheetah cub stares into the grasslands scanning just like its mother does. I really love their fluffy coats and that it was glowing in the morning light here.
To many wonderful pictures to choose from! Piccadilly Female lounging in the tree, Purple-crested Turaco, baby hippo resting are a few favorites.
Hi Jess, i was mouth open since the beginning. You rarely show cheetah images, the intto was breathtaking and I think you rightly wish to keep the pictures for you all at Londolozi. All pictures are superb, high-quality. Just the goshakilling a laughing dove I can’t see it clearly. What is a laughing dove? I don’t like scene of violence but hawks are precised and kill quickly. And I love doves in general, I’m curious about it. In contrast all the other birds are fantastic and the Grey Heron I see it here often also nestling. Great pictures with the chick shrieking. The hornbill and the turaco are in strong contrast with the Whalberg eagle, the ones so coloured and the latter melt in the background. Great contrast between the two beautiful lionesses, the old and the young. And the two lions, the superb Gjima, astonishing beautiful, and the old Avoca male. The Piccadilly female looks much younger than her age, closer to her daughter, in your pictures leopards shine in splendour, the Maxim male is huge! The Three Rivers female I always look for her and her lovely daughter, she’s a softie. When you described your meeting with buffalo i felt a shiver, surrounded by a thousand of them, the bull with his mighty look… the grass is dry, they must be on alert because of lions. Zebras and elephants all superb. I love the calf of elephant and hippo as usual, too sweet. The warthog picture is a great imsge. The wild dog is perfectly melt in the surrounding colours . And in the end cheetah, the gentle lord of the land, my favourite in this absolutely magic canvas, the mother with her soft and slightly worried look, the wonderful young ones, the peak-a-boo and all their plays as young happy cubs. Just hoping they will be blessed by much luck… if they are males then they can form a coalition. Thanks
Super photos -as always. The opening shot of the Piccadilly Female is a corker
Wow! There are some amazing shots in this week’s TWIP. My favourites are the mother cheetah partially obscured by the tree, the turaco, grey heron and her chick, the sunset and the warthog. I think it is so easy to take for granted the stunning photos you show us us every week and that YESSS moment when you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. As a photographer myself, the joy I feel when this happens is wonderful, and it feels like nature has put on a show just for you. Unfortunately for me, due to an eye problem, I struggle to see in black and white. Do you still have original photos in colour, especially of the lion portrait? It’s a stunning shot but it hurts my eyes to look at it in black and white.
Jess, you did a fantastic job this week. Your pictures are wonderful and you have captured some expressions and events quite well. My favorites this week are the close ups of the leopards , lions, and the cheatahs. I can’t forget the turaco.
I agree w/ Sandra! Too many amazing pics to choose one! Love the cheetah cubs…especially the peek-a-boo one! And the grey heron w/ her babies! The B/W lion king! The painted dog in the golden light…so great!
Dear Jess-so many amazing leopard-shots. That must be a great week. And the hippo calf-cute.
Diamond shot of the Piccadilly Female. Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome collection of images, Jess! I can’t possibly choose a single favorite! The Maxim’s male, the baby hippo, the tree-climbing cheetah cub are all special…
Jess, you’ve captured the gorgeous golden light beautifully here. My favourites have to be the cheetah cubs, can’t choose a favourite!
Jess, This is the best set of images we have ever seen you post. Your skills seem to get better and better, and we’ve added a few of these to our favorites library! As far as a favorite – it’s really tough – the black and white close-up of the Ngungwe Female catches our eyes as you got the reflection in her eye that the angle of her head is really special! You could have made at least two posts from all these fabulous images!
Very happy to have been there last week to see all of the action!
Wow! Such beautiful photos.
I love really all of them.
The Maxim’s male is such a big leopard, very impressive.
The colors of the turaco are so fantastic; I was able to watch this bird at Tree Camp a couple of years ago. Great, that there is still one around.
All great, but that Purple-Crested Turaco – WOW! How often are those seen?
What a “dazzling” display of photographs Jess! The closeup of the Piccadilly Female in the tree. What an expression on her face. I love the zebra photos. And the angle of the painted dog makes it’s legs look so long. But what tops it off are the cheetah cub photos. What fun.
So very images this week in TWIP Jess. My favorite would be the Cheetah cubs together, so furry and playful. Loved the image of the Ngungwe female, beautiful leopard.
As I looked through your TWIP today, my excitement was building and building and then I came to the final image and was disappointed there were no more to see. What an amazing collection of photos you put together Jess, creating the impossible choice of a favorite. However after taking a few more passes through your pictures, I have selected a few: because of their scarceness, I love the cheetah cubs series, the photos of Piccadilly and her daughter, the Purple Crested Turaco, zebra portrait. And the baby hippo to name just a few. Viewing these is such an inspiration and the proof that there is magic to be found daily, if we take the time to really look.
Absolutely loved the turaco and hippo calf. I’m excited to see the heron chicks have hatched–I was hoping we’d see them. And how wonderful that there are 3 cheetah cubs! Is this the same female that has been sticking around in that area, or is this a new one?
The cheetahs!!!!! So many wonderful images Jess, and several saved to my gallery!!
The causeway was so filled with activity earlier this week. It’s become a favorite spot to just sit. And, watch.