Kalahari Treescape

[Morkel Erasmus]

A candid handheld photo I took in December close to our chalet in the Grootkolk Wilderness Camp, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa.
This semi-desert is a special place, typified by camelthorn acacia trees, red sand dunes and intense heat! Oh, and lions - which is why I didn't venture too far from the safety of the chalet :2eyes2:

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 40mm
Kenko Pro CPL
f11 | 1/250 SS | ISO-450

[Don Railton]

Hi Morkel, The CPL has done a nice job with the sky and made those clouds pop... good stuff...! I like the image and it does look HOT, something we are getting a bit too much of in Perth at the moment... My only wish is that it was a little wider, I prefer more of a pano layout (16:9 or 2:1) for scenes like this... Don't know why, I just do...

what is that hanging in the tree left of center..? some sort of nest or is it a parasitic plant..??

regards

DON

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks Don. I have some shot wider but there was too much clutter and with the big kitties in this area you don't want to be wandering too far off...
That is the nest of the sociable weaver - they nest in those by the hundreds and the weight of it can sometimes cause major branches of the trees to shear off!

[Don Railton]

HI Morkel,

Do appreciate how 'big kitties' might add a bit of stress to an otherwise relaxing landscape session and cramp the compositional freedom. I know I would be freaking out...and thanks for the info WRT Sociable weavers. By the size of that nest they obviously live up to there name.

DON

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Chicken, after all artists often have to make sacrifices for their craft.:t3 Nice African scene and the CPL worked a treat. I might just crop down from the top to remove the partial cloud.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Morkel, nice scene here and thanks for the explanation about the weaver nest, I too was wondering what that was.