HarveyG Photography

Those people who zoom drive past a bird in a tree in a park (like the KNP) don’t know what they are missing. Sure Rollers are relatively common, like the Lilac-breasted Roller, that is. This Roller is different. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Purple Roller. I parked the car at an angle so that I could get comfortable with the cameras, idled for 30 seconds, switched off the engine after he got accustomed to us/the car. He took off after a few minutes and caught himself lunch. He then returned to the same spot and gave us a wonderful display. Next time you see a bird in the KNP, hang around a bit…

Purple Roller - Coracias naevius (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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I am a Wildlife Photographer. I prefer it. It’s a passion.

Perhaps I don’t get out as much as NG photog’s but hey, I do what I can when I can. This stork was spotted by my wife at 100° behind the car and high up in a tree in the KNP after we had driven past it unnoticed. She is an excellent spotter. Just as I managed to turn around and get the car parked in a suitable spot, he took off. I watched him and he circled, and came back to land a short while later on the same branch offering me a better view. There must have been 1/2 dozen other cars that just drove past, seeing a “bird” and not interested, their loss

Wooly-necks aren’t very common. It’s my first sighting of one in almost 30 years of visiting the KNP.

Wooly-necked Stork - Ciconia episcopus (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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A common Roller species,  they are reasonably easy to photograph, once you get one that hangs around for more than 30 seconds. They love to sit high up in a shrub with few leaves or a dead tree seeking grasshoppers, butterflies or anything else tasty. This shot was taken in July, our winter when they aren’t as colourful as in summer.

Lilca-breasted Roller - Coracias caudatus (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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Whilst it won’t knock your socks off, I liked the purples and mauves as well as the balance between the dead tree silhouette and the sun.

Fireball - (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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Tsendze River, below Pioneer Dam near Mopani Camp, KNP, RSA

Total disregard for the car, he sat on the edge of the water not 2 feet from us while seeking fish.
Shot Settings: @260mm, f/8, 1/400s, ISO 400 on a Sigma 100-300mm F/4.0 EX IF HSM

The Little Fisherman - (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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Every time I shoot my brain is in overdrive. A bad thing probably because it should be in auto, not manual. Exactly the opposite of how I shoot. I never use the annoying little green (Amateur) Auto button on my DSLR. It’s either on Aperture or Shutter Priority and sometimes on Manual. I still often manual focus, a legacy of 25+ years using MF Minolta Gear and 35mm film.

When I saw this little Natal Francolin (now called a Spurwing…) hop onto a rock, I banged the camera on my Manfrotto using the QR, zoomed to 500mm, and checked the s/s. It was dark already. 1/30s! Perfect for that blurred motion shot, wait, wait, theres the typical feather ruffle, shoot! I only got one shot of him ruffling, and this was it. NGM here I come

"Brrrr!" - Natal Spurfowl - Pternistus natalensis (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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Just got back from a week in the KNP. via Louis Trichardt, Punda Maria, Pafuri, Crooks Corner (where South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe meet at the joining of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers) , Shingwidzi, Mopani, Phalaborwa. It was awesome. Never saw so many Nyala in my life. Cats and Rhino’s were elusive but saw most everything else. Also some new bird species I’ve never seen before: Woolly necked stork, Purple Roller. My first ever Eland, Tsessebe and Black Backed Jackal. Here’s a shot of Pioneer Dam, Mopani Camp at sunset. I will add more as soon as I can.

Pioneer Dam - Mopani Camp, Kruger National Park (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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Just got back from a shoot in the KNP. I stayed at the Sand River Bush Camp run by the Lowveld Honorary Rangers. I will do a trip report in due course to this magnificent secluded camp. Here is one of the images I took at the end of that trip at the Lake Panic Bird Hide on the way out of the park with my completely manual 500mm f/6.3 Vivitar Series 1 Mirror Lens.

African Darter (Anhinga rufa) - "High and Dry" © HarveyG Photography 2010

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