Adequate photographers use their sight, good photographers use their senses, and great photographers use their souls. - A.J. Compton, The Counting-Downers

Welcome all to this week’s edition of wildlife in monochrome. Now I’m by no means saying that I’m a great photographer by the use of the quote above, in fact I’m far from it, but I do put my heart and soul into the images I produce and I hope that shines through when you look at them. I also feel that its far more evident with my monochrome work, possibly due to the fact that I enjoy black and white photography so much and the absence of bright colours keeps the focus on the expression of the subject within the frame. I’ve had a fantastic week of great photographic opportunities due to the fact that I’ve been conducting 8-10hr safaris on a daily basis with some great guests who have returned to Sabi Sabi yet again to experience the phenomenal game viewing that we have on offer. It also helps that they are photographically inclined so we spend time with anything and everything. As a result, this week I’ve chosen images containing a variety of subjects for your enjoyment. I hope you like them...

The reserve’s resident male cheetah, striking a stunning pose whilst walking towards our vehicle during last light. We seldom see this character lately due to the constant lion activity, but we can’t really complain about that.

1/250 sec @f4.0, ISO 5000

Floppy Ear’s two cubs early one morning having some bonding time with one another. These kinds of moments out on safari are absolutely priceless!

1/400 sec @f5.0, ISO1000

The concentration of this small elephant calf was interesting to watch as she tried to delicately maneuver her trunk to strip the bark off of some branches.

1/1000 sec @f5.0, ISO 640

This was a stand-off between this large hyena and two leopards at a kudu carcass. The interaction between them was great, however, photographic opportunities to document it were few due to the dense location.

1/400 sec @f4.0, ISO 2500

Quite an interesting scenario here. The Kigelia female managed to kill a buffalo calf, yes a buffalo, earlier in the day, but was not present when we found the kill so we went back after dark to find her feeding. This was after the fact.

1/500 sec @f4.0, ISO 2500

Arguably one of the most recognizable lions in the world to date. This is the infamous “Mazino” as we call him. He is a magnificent specimen of a lion.

1/400 sec @f4.0, ISO 5000

This male Verraux’s Eagle Owl was perched nearby the nest where his partner is guarding their sub-3 week old chick.

1/640 sec @f5.6, ISO 1000

The night skies right now are at their peak for the season on our reserve, especially with the orientation of the Milky Way being slightly offset to the West. This is a panoramic stitch of about 8 images shot with an ultra-wide angle lens.

30 sec @f4.5, ISO 5000 (Pano Stitch)

Tawny Eagles are among the largest within our region and have been less than common during the Winter period, but are now becoming quite prominent especially with the amount of kills the predators have been making.

1/400 sec @7.1, ISO 1000

Zebras are one of the quintessential animals of the African landscape and completely unique. Being herd animals, living in smaller family groups, there can be very strong bonds held between them, but none stronger than a mother and her foal. Here we were able to get a low angle by using the landscape to our advantage.

1/2000 sec @f5.6, ISO 400