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Classic Serengeti, Feb 2010Serengeti National Park and its surrounding Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Northern Tanzania is quite possibly the greatest wildlife area on the continent! One of the world’s last terrestrial mammal migrations is housed on these great plains, stretching over an area of 15 000 square kilometers and forming the bulk of a larger ecosystem covering 25 000 square kilometers in size. With so much on the hoof, there are plenty of predators in attendance, but the Serengeti and NCA offers far more than just prolific wildlife! There is also plenty of wilderness on offer and a mosaic of habitats, including beautiful Acacia woodland, not to mention an infamous caldera going by the name Ngorongoro Crater. I recently took a safari to the area and besides enjoying photographing the exceptional wildlife, I soaked up the big sky country and enjoyed a sublime wilderness experience! This being all fine and well, but the challenge (which may be a euphemism for utter frustration) came, when I tried to capture the spectacular wilderness in its entirety? This saw me clutching for every lens in my bag, trying every focal length, every filter, every aperture/shutter combination and left me feeling like a total amateur! My aim was to document not just the inhabitants of the Serengeti, although I did desperately want to tell their story, I wanted to do so in context. I tried to capture the environment but more than this, the spirit of the great plains and associated wilderness. What follows is a series of colour, b&w and sepia toned images all shot over a period of 9 days in the Serengeti and surrounding NCA. The purpose of which is to simply pay my personal respect to one of the greatest wildlife areas on the planet. I have used minimal text as a picture should speak a thousand words?! Sit back and enjoy (maybe grab a cup of coffee as this is a long collection of 53 images)... Order your hand-autographed wildlife print here... Great Migration 'Simply the greatest wildlife show on earth...' Cheetah Charge 'There were no calves and no gazelles on the plains and no one expected this young male cheetah to take on a full grown wildebeest. Not even the full grown wildebeest expected it...' Wildebeest Woes Disbelief Scavenging Hyena and Vultures Andrew on the Great Plains Lion Paw Lioness Asleep Leopard Acacia Lone Lion Granite Koppie Photographer in Action Serengeti Bull Storks at Dawn Zebra Foals at Play Simba Koppie 'A big male lion lay aloft a granite koppie in the middle of a sea of grass. My expert guide Godwin (Ole Ngushwai), seemed confused when I requested to park miles away and shoot the scene in three parts...' The HerdPhotographic Bliss Bonnet Brunch Zebras in the Rain Acacia Dawn Ndutu Woodland Lone Acacia and Giraffe 'Aaah. Africa.' Lazy and Curious Freedom Storks Galore Beautiful Lioness 'A wonderful pose on behalf of my subject, a clean background and a hint of flash...' Safari Cowboys 'A remote camera and fun in the sun...' Animal Instinct On our way Up Love at First Site Wobbly Legs Finding Milk Shaft of Light Buffalo Bulls Waterbuck Calf Elephants, Dust & Storm Celestial Wilderness Survival 'Our photographic safari was special in that we witnessed lives being born and lives being taken. Thankfully there was no malice in the later, just survival...' African Snow Snarl The Great Migration Thank you for taking the time to share some of the magic of the great plains with me! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my gracious host Nas, and expert guide Ole Nguishwai for taking the time to share with us their very special backyard. Also to Donna for her logistical support! I plan on heading back to the Serengeti many more times, so drop me a line if you would like to join.... The end... |
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