Choose your friends wisely...

[Morkel Erasmus]

I will be heading off for a quick-fire trip to the Sabi-Sands and Kruger Park for a couple of days. Hopefully I'll get a chance to bolster my nearly non-existent collection of leopard images.

One last post for the week - this shot was taken in Northern Kruger over December in pre-dawn light. Just loved the difference in size between these two. The cattle egrets love hanging around buffalo herd, especially when they graze, as they chase up a plethora of insects from the grass.

All comments most welcome. I will be back next week, hopefully with something new to share (that being said I haven't even really begun processing my files from this particular trip).

Techs:
Nikon D300s with Nikkor 200-400mm VR @ 240mm
f4.0 @ 1/125 SS @ ISO-800
Exp +0.3

[Kiran Khanzode]

10,000 miles away from where you are, in India, cattle egrets hang around Gaur for the same reasons.Funny how things work, huh :-).

Nice facial expression captured here, I like the sharpness and low angle. You shifted camp to Nikon...

Good luck with Leopards !

[Harshad Barve]

Excellent image Morkelbhai , lovely expo and sharpness here ,
TFS

[Steve Canuel]

Nice contrast in size. Looks like an ad for one of those animal adventure movies for kids.

[Paul Taylor]

It's a very cute shot. Even the buffalo looks cute in this one. That they're looking the same way and standing on the same plane really makes them look like they might indeed be friends. Different, and very good for me. Would make a great card, although I'm not sure for what kind of occasion - possibly not a wedding.

[DanWalters]

Like the egret and the expression. I see a little blue in the blacks.

[Todd Frost]

Nice comp and two good HA. Exposure and detail look good. Have a safe and image rich trip! TFS
Todd

[Betsie Storm]

Nice one Morkel, two "friends" well spotted. Love the buff's expression. Hope you have an enjoyable, leopard-filled trip. Taking the dark side's stuff out for a spin again?

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the kind feedback everyone...

here is a version with the blue cast removed

Betsie - how did you know? This time I'm taking the real big guns... ;)

[Ken Watkins]

Great image, the expression and poses says it all, repost is a great improvement.

[Betsie Storm]

Removing blue certainly improved the image. I guess your slide towards the dark side is inevitable, Morkel- apologies to all the other dark siders out there:). Let me know when you have "cheap" white gear for sale to fund the slide:D. Enjoy the "big guns"- 600mm??

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Ken & Betsie...

Betsie - longest lens I'm taking is still the 200-400mm, but the "big guns" refers to the bodies I'll be testing out...;)

After this trip I'm going to have to have a SERIOUS chat with my bank manager hehe