Hills of Bordeaux

 Pentax K5, Sigma 10-20mm, 1/180, f5.6, ISO160

On a recent trip to France we were very fortunate to spend some time in Bordeaux visiting a few Grand Cru estates and tasting their fabulous wines.  We stayed a night in an old Chateau surrounded by rolling hills & forests - perfect for wild boar & mushroom hunting.

Solifuge

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f8, ISO160, flash

The summer temperatures are slowly climbing as we move into the New Year, and so the camel spiders or solifuges are coming out to prowl in the heat.

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f8, ISO160, flash

This hairy fellow looks frightening, and he is frightening and very fast as they run across the ground hoping to bump into something to eat, but rest assured they have no venom.

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f8, ISO160, flash

Then again, with jaws as powerful as these you don't need any venom to overpower your prey.  These are fascinating creatures, not spiders, not scorpions but a species somewhere in between - there are over 1000 different types of solifuges.

Spring day hike

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/100, f7.1, ISO160

 While hiking on the Pat Busch Private Nature Reserve recently, I snapped a few photographs of what late spring had to offer from ferns....

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/200, f8, ISO250

 ...to these beautiful blue flowers...

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/320, f8, ISO160 

...and these wild iris-like flowers growing along the stream...

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/250, f8, ISO160 

...to the amazing warm texture of this driftwood washed down from the forests...

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/180, f13, ISO160

...to this gnarled & stunted tree pushing up through a pile of enormous boulders.

Tiny Thief

 Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f7.1, ISO800

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f7.1, ISO800

A few days ago I heard feeble scratching coming from somewhere in the pantry, after a careful search I found this tiny thief in the dog food bag.  He is seriously diminutive, compare him to the size of the cubes and you'll see what I mean.  I took him outside and let him go in the garden safe & sound, I even gave him a few cubes to take home :)

Never a dull moment on the farm with Cape cobras on one side and tiny shrews & mice on the other.

Nosy Parker

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/200, f9, ISO800 

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/100, f10, ISO400

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/200, f8, ISO800

Found this Nosy Parker in the office this morning, somehow he fell into the dustbin and couldn't get out.  I grabbed the bin, grabbed my K5 and headed into the garden for a macro photoshoot.  (No shrews were harmed in the posting of this blog)

The elephant shrew is native to Africa, and lives on a strict diet of insects which it sniffs out with its elephant like nose and then devours ferociously.  Apparently this is one of the fiercest creatures on the continent, attacking at the slightest provocation and preferring to fight than flee.  Luckily for us it is only a tiny little mammal otherwise we'd live in constant fear :) 

Hadeda Ibis

 PENTAX K5, TAMRON 18-250, F8, 1/200, ISO 800

Often mummified and found in ancient tombs, the Sacred Ibis (family of the Hadeda Ibis photographed here) was much venerated & honoured by the Egyptians as they believed these birds resembled the god Thoth.  In ancient times the Ibis was sacrificed to prevent flies from spreading pestilence across the land, and to repel serpents.
I rather fittingly photographed this Hadeda Ibis (I previously incorrectly said it was a Sacred Ibis, but thanks to Hilton for pointing out my hasty error) in a cemetery in Knysna ... not a fly or snake was in sight.

Visitor

I haven't posted anything in quite sometime now due to various reasons, one of them probably being that I'm a new father :)  I never wanted this to be a family blog either, so I'm not sure this is the right site for photographs of my baby son & wife (that is pretty much all I have been photographing the last few months anyway). 

I did sssssnap this visitor recently though, sadly it wasn't taken with my Pentax K7 but with a Ixus instead.  This deadly Cape Cobra came through our house, through the passage and slithered right passed us while we sat on the couch watching telly one fine afternoon.  Our saviour Sable (our little adopted street dog) spotted the Cobra while we were completely oblivious to the deadly danger not 2m away.  The minute Sable stood up we knew something was wrong, she has a way about her when danger is near.  My wife grabbed our baby boy, and headed into another room while I cornered the cobra in our dining room.  Luckily the house was cool, so she wasn't too aggressive and I managed to drop an empty Kitchen Aid carton (what else?) over her without too much hassle.  Then I slid a board underneath and Hey Presto! - one upset Cobra in a box.  I carried her outside & let her go in the vineyard safe & sound.  Here is a photo of her in the Kitchen Aid box, ready to stand & mix it up!

Black & White

 This was taken at Aquila Game Reserve with my K7 and a Tamron 18-250mm zoom which, for the price of the lens and the zoom range covered, I think it did a fantastic job.

Big Daddy

Elephants at the Aquila Game Reserve, just a few hours north of Cape Town.

Boots, Handbags, Belts, etc...

Before I get flamed by the environmentalists, the caption was a joke..............I love crocodile, especially with a mushroom sauce!

Bamboo

I've set this as my desktop image, its a bamboo forest growing here on the the farm, I find it really soothing (must be the Tiger in me).

Bumble Bee

Probably one of the most photographed flowers & subjects, here is a bumble bee visiting a water lily.

African Elephant

An unfamiliar site, African Elephant grazing on natural fynbos in the Western Cape like they used to hundreds of years ago, courtesy of Aquila.

Little Bells

I don't know why, but I love this simple image of tiny little flowers on a fresh, verdant background.

Nguni

Nguni cattle of Kwa-Zulu Natal - apparently the only indigenous cattle species in Africa.

3/5

I managed to photograph 3 of the Big Five at the Aquila Game Reserve, although the lazy lion in the last image wasn't very obliging.

Stand Off

An African stand off between a horse wearing pajamas & an Aquila game-viewing vehicle.

Pyjamas

Zebra's love these crazy outfits.

Hover

A bumble bee coming in for a landing on a lily.

Lazy Rhino