Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
…but too many humans revile and/or ridicule suids – the pig family.
Warthogs (pictured above, at a waterhole in Namibia) get a particularly “bad press”.
They are routinely described as “ugly”.
Allegedly, their faces are ones that only their mothers could love.
To the best of my knowledge, I bear little resemblance to a warthog, but I really like warthogs’ faces…and their whole-hog selves.
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For a giraffe, drinking is as necessary as it is for any other mammal.
The very act of positioning oneself to make drinking physically possible is, however, an enormously more delicate, demanding task for a giraffe than for other mammals.
Giraffes’ approach to a waterhole is always slow, tentative, hesitant…and in a group.
Anxiety and hyper vigilance are especially evident at the crucial moment when a giraffe has to decide that it is now “safe” – or not – to get into drinking position.
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General rule, when photographing animals, humans included:
ensure that their eyes are fully visible, in sharp focus, and looking at “you”, the viewer.
As is true of so many “rules”, this one is worth knowing.
Generally, it is a good idea to abide by it…but sometimes, the better idea is to break it…
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This little series concludes in northern Namibia, with a very elegant species of Antelope.
In the 1950s General Motors appropriated its name.
The “real thing” bears zero resemblance to any lumbering, oversized, grossly inefficient “Yank Tank”.
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Reportedly, this species – a southern African arid/semi-arid savannah/grassland specialist – will sometimes fly 120 kilometres from its nest, in order to find water.
Happily, for many Burchell’s sandgrouse this is no longer necessary; boring humans – well, humans who sink bores – have proved a boon to Pterocles burchelli.
Named after an English naturalist, they are somewhat pigeon-like in appearance…but not in their abilities and behaviour.
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For #6 in this series, the number of stripes on the bodies of the featured threesome was self-evident: 3 X 5 = 15.
The number of stripes on today’s heroes is an enormously higher number, not self-evident: 3 X ? = ?…my head hurts…
All members of Equus quagga have many stripes.
Each has his/her own unique pattern.
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Generally, when it comes to encountering wild animals, humans think, “the closer, the better”
Many wildlife photographers think similarly; they spend large sums of money on huge lenses that prove equally damaging to owners’ bank balances and backs.
Photographers usually try to ensure that the splendid beast/s “fill the frame”.
A shallow depth of field is favoured, thus emphasising the beast’s splendour, and minimising any “distracting” background detail…although “attractive” bokeh is more-than-acceptable.
(if “bokeh” is new to you, click here)
But, but…
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Nationally-emblematic animals do not respect national boundaries.
The springbok is South Africa’s signature species.
However, a great many thousands of Africa’s circa 2 million-plus springboks live in Namibia.
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Q #1: what has driven some animals to become so remarkably tall?
Q #2: what drove plants to become taller than they might otherwise be, in open woodlands and savanna?
Look at this post’s featured image, and you may have – in part, at least – answered both questions…
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The featured image looks north/ish, to the silhouetted edge of the Namib’s “sand sea”, circa 40 kilometres east of Sossusvlei.
I took the photo at 7.37 pm – Sossusvlei’s sunset time on 21 November 2022.
This little series’ final image was captured 7 minutes later.
Had I had available the necessary time and technology, I would then have loved to listen to a particularly sublime musical creation which I first heard in 1989, and which amazes and inspires me, still.
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