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Thread: A Kalahari Moment

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Default A Kalahari Moment

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    A lone male Lion, on his morning patrol, comes across a decaying Eland carcass, and stops for a sniff.
    I shot with the 70-200 here to get the red dunes and blue sky of a Kalahari summer morning in the frame.

    Techs:
    Nikon D800
    Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 200mm
    f5.6 | 1/1000 SS | ISO-140
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Hi Morkel, nice composition and colors. The black part of the carcass is not appealing (may b even to this lion), but there isn't anything you can do about it. Loi

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Really liking the tall, vertical view here Morkel. Its alway nice to get a better idea of the places everyone here shoots on their excursions, especially the African safaris. The dead eland really captures what looks to be a harsh and unforgiving land and it doesn't appear that it was killed and eaten, just died on its own out in the middle of nowhere to be found only by a lone lion on patrol. Nice story for me on this one.
    As an aside, are there any permanent water sources there in the Kalahari (springs, rivers, etc.) or is it only seasonal?

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Canuel View Post
    Really liking the tall, vertical view here Morkel. Its alway nice to get a better idea of the places everyone here shoots on their excursions, especially the African safaris. The dead eland really captures what looks to be a harsh and unforgiving land and it doesn't appear that it was killed and eaten, just died on its own out in the middle of nowhere to be found only by a lone lion on patrol. Nice story for me on this one.
    As an aside, are there any permanent water sources there in the Kalahari (springs, rivers, etc.) or is it only seasonal?
    thanks Steve...
    this was taken in the Nossob riverbed which flows once every 100 years - during summer months puddles will form after heavy rains for a few days but in general the water here is supplied through solar boreholes

    you are spot on with the observation on the death of the eland - this was taken during a once-every-few-years eland "exodus" when they come down from the Botswana side in search of food and water...
    dozens of them died from dehydration and starvation, and dozens more were leisurely killed by predators during this time...this one probably just flopped down en route to the waterhole nearby...
    there are even reports of them actually dropping dead once they drink the fresh water after weeks of thirsty trekking - a shock on the system as it were
    Morkel Erasmus

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Thanks for the reply Morkel. Interesting to hear the backstory on this image. And by "nice story" I didn't mean to imply that the lonely death of an animal in the middle of nowhere was nice, its the fact that the image got me to thinking about the who, what, where, when, and why. Don't want to come across as some kind of sadistic nature photographer!

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel - love the red sands and the clear story from this one. With the low ISO and higher ss you certainly had room to stop down a bit. I might have played around and gone for the dunes in focus too, or at least a bit of them.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Like the format, great scenery with a twist. Love it.

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    Nice 'Typical Kalahari' shot, Morkel. IME an Eland carcass is a rare find. This lion looks slim but in prime health!

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    thanks folks - Rachel I purposely went for f5.6 as the dune in focus would have drawn the attention from the subjects (in my estimation at the time of shooting, at least).
    it also happened quickly, he was walking at a brisk pace!

    Quote Originally Posted by Tobie Schalkwyk View Post
    Nice 'Typical Kalahari' shot, Morkel. IME an Eland carcass is a rare find. This lion looks slim but in prime health!
    I've found Kalahari lions to be slimmer than other lions in general - they eat less frequently for long periods of the year, and they traverse immense territories...
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Strong story-telling within this image, and full of visual impact. Love the comp, subject placement low in the frame, and habitat looming high above. Very typically "African", and very successful image...

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    Forum Participant edwardselfe's Avatar
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    I like this a lot, including the colours and the situation with the dead eland. Talking about dof, there is something a bit odd about the blurring on the bushes on the dune, but I can't put my finger on what it is. Perhaps heat haze creates this effect....
    Ed

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel , good story around the image , nicely composed and i understand your view by choosing the settings .
    Nice colors , different color layers , good tones and contrast.
    Good job.

    TFS Andreas

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Was this taken north of Rooiputs dear Morkel?

    My great skipped a beat when I saw this - year 2012, am I right? We were there that October and photographed everything but dinosaurs in just two weeks. Love it, very true colours, this lion in such good shape and of course he would stop to sniff anything unusual in his way, but these guys like everything fresh and that year food was plenty due to the "exodus" you have mentioned. Love the blue, cloudless sky, and the scene overall - very close to my heart - thank you Morkel for this post, enjoyed viewing, so much!!!

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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