Late in the day in the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa,  the setting sun reflects off a hill to light a golden pool.    I was on a hiking trail alongside the creek making my way towards the park exit when the light reflecting off the water caught my eye.    I like the way the moving water picked up the blue tones of the sky whilst the still water reflects the light off the hill in the background.   Getting a good exposure here was a bit tricky,  as the background was quite a bit lighter than the foreground.   I ended up bracketing several exposures,  this one was the closest to what I required.   In post processing I reduced the overall exposure by half a stop and then brought up the foreground area with a curves adjustment to "open up" the shadows a little.    As always,  there are several decisions to be made about how to display an image,  I considered cropping in on the creek and the surrounding rocks and grasses,  leaving out the background hill and mountains.   It looked OK as well,  perhaps a little more mysterious,  leaving you wondering where the golden glow on the water came from.    In the end I chose to go full frame.      enjoy KD.    

             Canon 5D with 24-105 mm zoom lens at 35mm and F11.0,  shutter speed 1/125 second at ISO 800.

     Today's image from the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa,  is an exercise in panoramic stitching.    6 shots were taken in vertical format with all camera functions set to manual so that no changes occurred in aperture, shutter speed, ISO or focus from one shot to the next.   A little bit of overlap was included in each frame and the images then brought together in Photoshop using the photomerge function.   The total file size ended up being about 600 megabyte so I had time to boil the kettle and make myself a coffee while the computer processed it!    Unfortunately it was early afternoon when I took the shots and so the light is a bit flat,  but you can't have everything.   You get an idea of scale by looking at the walking track which winds down through the centre of the image.  the boulders on either side of the track are 10 to 15 metres in height.  

      To get the most out of the image,  you probably need to see it larger than displayed here.    For those that are interested,  I posted a larger version which is available for download at my main site and may be used as a wallpaper.    That image is 1440 by 518 pixels so roughly double the dimensions of the image here.    Please note that all the usual caveats apply,  ie;  I retain copyright,  the image is not to be used for commercial purpose,  altered or otherwise used for evil.  

Wallpapers.

      My intention is to leave the 1440 image online for a week or two only and I may then periodically offer other images in this manner.    I'm aware that there are many different screen sizes and resolutions out there so if you're interested in saving one or two images in this way please include your resolution figures in your comments.   For those that aren't sure what screen settings they're using,  on a PC you can right click on your desktop, go to "properties"  then "settings" where you'll see the resolution indicated in pixels.   I believe with the mac it's "Command + click" to access the same menu,  if that's wrong then I hope one of my mac using friends can provide the correct path. 

      To view and/or download try www.kevindowie.com/wallpaper.html            enjoy KD

            Canon 5D with 24-105mm lens at 47 mm and F 9.0,  shutter speed 1/125 seconds at ISO 100.   6x shot stitched panorama.

    Photographed on the waterways of the St Lucia Wetland Park on the east coast of South Africa,  these were two of several hippopotamus that I saw whilst undertaking a boat trip together with about 30 or 40 other tourists.   The hippos were unconcerned by the presence of the boat (they probably get to see it every day).   

    Although apparently docile here,  hippos are reputedly the most dangerous animals in Africa killing and injuring more people than either lions or crocodiles.   I think there's several reasons for this,  they can be very territorial and unpredictable,  despite their bulk they can also move surprisingly fast when alarmed or startled.   They have poor eyesight and when out of water and startled, they will run straight towards water and not sidestep anything or anybody, so if you're in their path you get trampled.    I suspect that it has a lot to do with human behaviour as well,  people may not recognise the danger hippos represent and put themselves in a position of risk.    Most people,  even those who are reckless with some subconscious Darwinian instinct to remove themselves from the gene pool,  recognise that lions and crocodiles are dangerous,  the claws,  the teeth,  it's obvious even to a fool!    But hippos look friendly, maybe even cute and so don't get the same level of respect.   I believe the situation is mirrored in North America where moose hurt as many,  or more,  people than grizzly bears do.  I suspect it's the same issue of human behaviour,  I won't go anywhere near a bear cause they're dangerous,  but that moose looks fairly docile,  I might go over and try and pat him!   (Perhaps my US and Canadian friends can offer their insight on this)

     Strange some of the other ideas people get.  Whilst I was on the boat I was approached by an older South African gentleman,  well spoken,  presumably well educated,  who overheard my Australian accent.   He said,  "I understand you're from Australia."    I said,  "Yes,  I am."    He said,  "I'd like to ask a question if I may.   I was thinking of travelling to Australia but I'm concerned,  I'm told that there are no churches in Australia any more,  that they've all been closed down.   Is that correct?"     This man was absolutely serious,  I was incredulous!   My facial expression probably resembled one of these hippos.   I assured him that there are probably just as many churches in Australia today as there have ever been and there is no move to close any of them!    

      Animals are cool,  it's the humans that are weird!           ......cheers KD.

           Canon 20D with 500mm lens at F8.0, shutter speed 1/1000 second at ISO 400.

     During my travels through South Africa, I visited Hluhluwe (pronounced; Shesh shlewee) Game Reserve in the Kwazulu-Natal region.   This game reserve and the adjoining Imfolozi Reserve are said to have the highest density of wildlife of any of the reserves in South Africa.   Whilst that may be true,  it's also true that parts of the parks are fairly heavily vegetated,  which makes for great habitat but means getting a clear view of some species is a challenge.  

     This shot was taken at the end of the day in low light,   I was driving along one of the tracks,  making my way out actually,  as the park's gates close each evening at a designated time,  when I saw this huge owl sitting in a tree.    With the clock ticking,  I had to get a couple of shots ASAP,  the light was dropping fast,  high ISO was required,  wide open aperture,  try to avoid camera shake with the long lens,  trust in image stabilization technology,  hope the owl would co-operate for a few moments,  hold my tongue the right way and hope for the best!   

      As it turned out the shots were far from perfect pre processing.   In fact this image has had more digital post processing than most,  the exposure level was boosted by 1.6 stops as the bird was dark against the sky and there was some cloning work done as well to remove a couple of distracting twigs.    I won't pretend it's a great shot,  I'm showing the image here because I think owls are fascinating.    Firstly look at his posture,  head effortlessly rotated through 180 degrees to look directly backwards.  They are highly evolved night hunters,  with unusually soft wing feathers so that they are silent in flight,  they have incredibly acute vision as well.    People have often referred to the "wise old owl"  but in fact they're not terribly intelligent.  So much of their brain is devoted to interpreting the information from their eyesight that there's not much left with which to think.      

          Canon 20D with 500mm lens at F4.0,  shutter speed 1/400 second at ISO 800.

 Choose your friends carefully.

        I periodically check the pages of those on my friend's list to see what's new and I'm always interested to see their updates.   I recently saw that one of the people on my list had updated as "is now friends with........"      So I thought,  I'll click through to "......"  to see what they have to offer.   Well it turned out that "...." is a rather grubby fellow who's into dressing in women's underwear and displaying full on pornographic images of himself on the web.    Now what people do in private is their own business,  but the web is as public as your local shopping mall.    Which raises the point,  how well do you know your "friends"?  

        Given the background and circumstances of the friend on my list,  I can only assume she invited "...." or accepted "...." without ever actually going to his site to see what he was into.    I wonder about some folks on this system with 2000 or more people on their list,  they can't possibly know what even a fraction of them do or represent.    I guess what I'm saying is,  if you get a request or invite,  perhaps it's worth asking "is this someone I want my site,  or my name associated with?"   

        cheers KD    (I've vetted my friends and they're OK....   ;-)       

           Time for a change of pace, or at least location,  I think.   As regular readers will know, I've been posting a lot of images from my Tanzania photo safari which I did earlier this year (June-July).    After the Tanzania  leg of my travels,  I continued on to South Africa where I spent about 10 days touring around.    This part of my journey was quite different in many ways to the Tanzanian experience.   Whereas in Tanzania I was part of a group that followed a tested and tried itinerary prepared by a tour company,  in South Africa,  I made my own plans and was travelling alone.   I decided not to do the obvious and head straight to Kruger National Park,  but instead hired a car in Johannesburg and travelled south to the Drakensberg Mountains.    There were a couple of reasons why I did this,  firstly the time of year that I was travelling coincided with the school holidays in South Africa when I understand Kruger is at its most crowded, and secondly,  the Drakensberg would be more about the landscape and hiking rather than the wildlife experience which I'd had in Tanzania, so something different.     

           I'll present some more conventional shots in the weeks ahead but thought today I'd show you something different.  

The Abstract Landscape.        

           Is it an abstract?  Is it a landscape?    Perhaps it qualifies as both,  I'll call it the abstract landscape!    The Drakensberg Mountains are a chain stretching hundreds of kilometres and include some great volcanic rock formations,  canyons and valleys carved by rivers and several different vegetation zones depending on altitude.   It's possible to take shots of sweeping valleys,  mountain peaks and rocky bluffs,  and I did,  but on this occasion I decided to go for a simple snippet of the landscape.    This shot was taken about 40 to 50 minutes before sunset,  the sun had dropped below the line of a hill but hadn't yet really picked up the warm red glow that we associate with sunset.   I've commented before about simplifying an image and that's what I've done here.    I like the simple diagonal line of the hill and the single detail that is the shrub.   The contrast range present was of course huge making a silhouette the obvious presentation and keeping the image simple at the same time.   

Post processing in Lightroom.

           The image required some fairly aggressive work in post processing.   In the unprocessed file the sky is so heavily overexposed as to be bleached almost white.   In Adobe Lightroom,  I increased the overall colour saturation by 100% and the vibrance by 70%,  in addition I increased the saturation specifically in the red and yellow values by 100%.   The objective with the red/yellow treatments was to exploit what few warm tones were present in the grasses along the ridgeline itself.     There are so many choices to make on such processing and so much is a matter of personal taste.   I've also done a toned monochrome version which I like,  it has a quite different feel about it.  I may post that version at a later date for the sake of comparison.               Enjoy  KD.        www.kevindowie.com

             Canon 20D with 70-300 mm DO zoom at 300mm and F9.0, shutter speed 1/1000 second at ISO 100.

          Photographed in Serengeti National Park,  this was one of the few Goshawks I saw during my Tanzanian travels.  Fortunately this one perched nicely at the top of a cactus plant long enough for me to get a couple of shots.      

Canon 5D with 500mm lens plus 1.4x tele extender at F6.3,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 200.

The Book Project (a sneak peek)

       Well folks the printers have been churning over at Blurb.com over in the States and my anxious wait is almost over.   This book publishing thing has been consuming me a bit lately, but after a two week wait for shipping,  I've finally got the first copy in my sweaty hands.  My first impression is that the project is coming along quite nicely.   What do you mean "coming along"?   I hear you say, "you've got a copy of the book, doesn't that mean it's ready to go?"   Well let me explain.

        My intention is to put together two versions.  The first version,  the one I'm now holding,  is a 13x11 inch hard back edition with dust cover.  It consists of 120 pages in total with a contents page,  an introduction,  photographic notes (a 1200 word essay) and 112 (1 to a page) photographic plates.    The second version, which I'm now awaiting and expect in 1 to 2 weeks time,  will be 10x8 inch with a different cover design, so as to distinguish it from the 13x11 version,  will have the same text content, 110 photographic plates and have the option of a soft cover.

        Only when I've got the second edition will I make the final decision on releasing the two versions.   The reasons being that Blurb offer two different types of paper each having a different weight and apparently different display qualities, and secondly I want to be completely satisfied that the image quality is top notch before I release it.   Whilst most of the images on the first copy look very good,  there are a couple of shots that I intend to tweak before proceeding to book launch.     Another issue is that there is a pricing difference between the standard paper and the premium paper,  I want to evaluate these not only from a quality perspective but from a value perspective as well.

Anticipated pricing.      

         At this point the 13x11 edition is likely to be priced between $90 and $100 US,  the 10x8 edition is likely to be between $40 and $50 US.   The pricing obviously will depend on final decisions about paper types.    The pricing will represent a very modest mark up on production costs,  in fact even if it sells well I'll make virtually nothing out of it and certainly nothing in comparison to the time I've put into the project.    My motivation in all this isn't to make a dollar but to share what I think will end up being a quality production with others.

Sneak peek. 

         Here's a sneak peek at some of the content with the "giraffe eating leaves" image on the front cover and the "Serengeti sunset" image on the back cover.    As always,  if anyone has any comments or queries I'd love to hear them.    To quote Dr Frasier Crane from the fun Kelsey Grammer sitcom,  "I'm listening!"       cheers KD. 

      Taken shortly after sunrise in Serengeti National Park,  Tanzania.    I've written before about the use of telephoto lenses for landscapes,  well I guess you might call this a "skyscape" but the previous comments hold true here as well.   The colours depicted are true to the original scene,  they haven't been "souped up".  

      I'm not a big fan of photos being adorned with poetry or inspirational messages,  I know some people are and that's fine,  but it's just not my thing.    I was looking at this shot and thinking that it could lend itself to that sort of treatment,  but given that it's my shot, on my blog page,  you'll have to make do with my "uninspiring" copyright signature (smiles).    

       Good grief!    As I'm typing this a thought has occurred to me.    My friends in the USA have just elected themselves a new president!   Maybe it's the "dawn of a new day" in America!    (note to self,  stop it!  stop now before you upset someone!)      Have a great weekend everybody.     ;-)   KD.

               Canon 5D with 500mm lens at F10,  shutter speed 1/1600 second at ISO 400.

       Photographed late afternoon,  Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.  Zebras were a common sight in all the parks and reserves that I visited in Tanzania.   This shot was taken on the same date and near the same location as the current banner image.   

          Canon 5D,  500mm lens at F8.0,  shutter speed 1/1000 second at ISO 400.

The case of the phantom blog entry.

       What happened to Friday's entry?   Didn't happen.   Sorry folks,  but time didn't permit.   As I've pointed out before,  working in the emergency services sometimes means working crazy hours and then trying to catch up on lost sleep in the time I do have off.    

Book update.

       I've completed the book project and am now waiting for the delivery of the finished product.   Being printed in the USA it's taking a while to be delivered,  I expect to have a copy in my hands in 2 to 3 weeks.    I have a few impressions already about the process and think ultimately I'll put together a detailed essay about the experience,  together with a few hints for others contemplating such a venture.        cheers KD.