Photographed in Botswana,  I had trouble trying to identify this bird but after scouring some of the bird groups on Flickr,  I was able to establish it as the lesser striped swallow.    Pity I wasn't a bit more organised,  I could, with a guide's assistance,  have identified the species whilst I was still in the field and noted it down!

     Canon 5D at 700mm (500mm with 1.4x tele extender) at F9.0,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 400.

    Not a weird Wednesday,  so much as a Wednesday whinge....

Internet frustrations. 

   (To tag,  or not to tag?  That is the question.)

     In recent months I've been alternatively using Technorati or Live Journal "tags" on my blog entries hoping,  that maybe,  they might help people searching the internet for information or articles on specific topics,  to locate relevant content here.   I'm now rethinking this practice and questioning its value.  

      I recall back in 1998 when I got my first computer,  turned it on,  and opened internet explorer for the first time.   In keeping with the advertising of the time,  I asked myself the question,  "where do I want to go?"   Being a complete newbie (I'm not sure if the word had been coined by then or not) I thought,  Microsoft,  there's got to be a site for Microsoft!   So I typed the word in and conducted my first ever internet search.  The search engine returned the "top 10" results of which the first 3 or 4 were for a computer shop situated on the other side of the planet (USA),  number 5 was I'vegotabigpenis.com  (I kid you not) and the remaining 5 sites which were similarly useless,  off topic or offensive.   

      With so many new pages being published on the net,  millions every day,  it's difficult for search engine designers to get it right and keep it relevant.   Having said that,  I believe that companies such as Google have made great efforts in the intervening years to achieve relevance in their searches,  it's an ongoing challenge.   Recently I decided to test some of the Technorati keywords that I've been using to see if firstly,  the results were relevant,  and secondly,  whether or not any of my blog entries were shown.    To cut a long story short,  they failed miserably on both counts.   The fact that my own blog entries aren't seen I can understand,  it's easy to get lost among all those millions of pages.  But on the issue of relevance,  it appears that for Technorati at least,  it's still 1998.  

      For example when clicking on my tag for "Serengeti",  I find out that there's a US based rap singer who calls himself "Serengeti",  there's a company calling itself "Serengeti Enterprises" or similar, which appears to have nothing to do with the actual Serengeti,  oh, and Fred Jones hit 2-0 off Bob Smith in the 9th innings playing for the Houston Daffodils if that means anything to anyone!  (I might have misread that one as it was of absolutely no interest to me)    The point is,  I had to scroll down to result number 14 or 15 to find out about the day rates for a resort that operates on the edge of the Serengeti National Park and that was the first tag result that was even remotely relevant to the search.   For those of you visiting from another planet (or Fred Jones fans) the Serengeti is a region in Tanzania in Africa teeming with extraordinary wildlife and is considered one of the world's great natural wonders.   Worthy of top billing on an internet/blog search I'd have thought.

      Another example,  click on "Malachite Kingfisher" and you'll find out that there's a swimsuit company called Kingfisher and they're taking orders for their 2010 swimsuit model calendar.   Now don't get me wrong,  I love women in bikinis as much as the next guy,  but if you're looking for something specific about Malachite Kingfishers,  forget it.

      The upshot of all this is that I'm now rethinking the practice of including tags in my blog entries.  Am I simply making work for myself by continuing to use them?  Is it a pointless exercise?    If anyone has any thoughts on how to make such tags useful, I'd be pleased to hear from you.  KD     

      Another early morning lion shot from my Botswana adventure.   As was the case with a previously posted image,  this one was accidentally underexposed but rescued in post processing.   Shutter speed used was 1/8000 second but correct exposure would have been about 1/1000 or 1/2000 second.  None the less I'm reasonably pleased with the end result.  The image has been up on my mainsite for a few days as the homepage image with linked explanation.   KD.

       Canon 5D with 500mm lens at f4.0,  shutter speed 1/8000 second at ISO 1600.

     From the Botswana series,  this pied kingfisher obligingly posed on a twig for me.  This species was frequently sighted both hovering over water and also perched as shown here.    Notice the blurred background,  a result of the background being well separated from the bird,  and the narrow depth of field, or selective focus,  given by the long lens used at wide aperture.    The stronger light and stationary subject here allows for a strictly realistic image when compared to the more "impressionistic" blurred effect that occurred with my hovering kingfisher shot posted on 7th October.   

     Canon 5D Mk 2 at 700mm (500mm lens with 1.4x tele-extender) at f5.6,  shutter speed 1/2000 second at ISO 320.

      An unscheduled blog entry,  just to make people aware of some of the rubbish that occasionally gets through the system.   I received a personal message from one of my network friends earlier today in response to a message supposedly sent by me.   The message appeared in her inbox,  with my email address as the source,  and contained in part the following piece of gibberish....

Hellooo!
long time yeah? no see? ...
anyway here you go
I got that for you... :p

      Anyone who's followed my blog for any length of time will be aware that I'm rather particular about spelling and grammar and would immediately be suspicious of the above paragraph.    In addition to that,  the "message" included a link to some other site.   By hovering the cursor over the link,  the web address can be seen and should immediately arouse suspicion.  

      It's not clear to me whether others in my network have received such "messages",  if you have then please treat them with the contempt they deserve and rest assured that I have not knowing had anything to do with them.

      For what it's worth,  the only links that I recommend to anyone are those that I refer to in my blog entries.    KD.  

    Another shot from the Botswana series.   Shot in early morning light,  this majestic fellow also currently features as the homepage image on my main site.   Clicking on the banner image at top of the blog page will take you through to the other shot and linked explanation for those who are curious.   A reminder also that the custom list displayed beneath my profile image provides links to my other internet based activities,  Facebook,  Flickr etc,  with the most detailed explanations of my photos via the homepage image.   cheers  KD.  

  Canon 5D with 500mm lens at f6.3,  shutter speed 1/3200 second at ISO 1600.

      Although I've entitled this entry "early morning patrol",  because that's what this lion was doing,  I could just as well call it "surviving a stuff up".    Once again I've dipped into my files from my Botswana adventure to find this image of a fine young male lion patrolling through the grass of an Okavango Delta floodplain.   I recall this was early in the trip, early morning, and the sun was only just peering over the horizon.   I was trying to get the telephoto lens focused on the lion in the dim light and accidentally engaged exposure compensation resulting in at least 3 stops under exposure.  Unfortunately by the time I realized my blunder,  about 20 or 30  frames later,  the lion was disappearing from view.   Talk about an "Oh Shit" moment!

      Anyway back home and reviewing the shots,  I thought this was compositionally one of the better of my "stuffed up" exposures.   Digital processing to the rescue.   I increased exposure by 2.5 stops in Lightroom and was well on my way to an image that I ended up being reasonably pleased with.      

      Canon 5D with 500mm lens at f4.0,  shutter speed 1/2000 second at ISO 1600.   Resulted in approx 3 stops under exposure.

Blog Changes.

      The observant among you may have noticed that I've changed some of the settings on the blog.  I've added a "Blog Categories" list so if there's a topic you want to refer back to you can.   I wish the list would display in alphabetical order,  would make more sense and be easier to use.    I've also added a custom list below my profile with some web links to my other web based stuff.   Some people have sent me Facebook invites which is nice but the way the system is set up doesn't make a lot of sense.   In order to accept a friend's invite,  I'm prompted to join Facebook which is a bit odd because I'm already on the system.    If you'd like to join me there,  please click on the link and then place an invite through my Facebook profile page,  that's the simplest way.   Cheers KD.

      A red lechwe leaps over a channel in the Okavango Delta.  Taken at dusk,  it's not a great shot by any means,  and I admit that I've taken some liberties with the processing as well.    This was one of three shots that I took in burst mode as this lechwe jumped,  and this I felt was the most pleasing body position of the three shots.    Lechwe are among the more prolific of the larger species in the delta and are well adapted to the swampy conditions with large hooves for running on wet,  boggy ground and a greasy coat which sheds water.     

      Canon 5D Mark 2 with 500mm lens at f5.0.  Shutter speed 1/500 second at ISO 1600.

Apologies.

      So,  what happened to Friday's blog entry?   Sorry folks,  didn't happen.   The reality of shift work means that days just seem to disappear from the calendar,  especially when you're working 14 hour nightshifts,  some of which turn into 17 hour shifts!  (groan)  

     Photographed in the Okavango Delta, Botswana,  this little bee eater was one of several that I saw during my photographic safari.

           Canon 5D Mk 2 with 500mm lens at F7.1,  shutter speed 1/800 second at ISO 1600.

    From my Botswana adventure,  a lilac breasted roller sits on a twig and plays catch with what I think was intended to be lunch.   I took several shots of this scene and am not entirely sure what it is that he's tossing with his bill.   After looking at several frames,  my best guess is that it's a grub sticking to a small twig.   I chose to post this shot as I felt it was the best "moment".    In a "perfect world" I would have preferred that the small branch wasn't obscuring the bird's tail but, with wildlife,  by definition you have no control over the subject's behaviour,  and so have to make the most of what's presented to you.   

    Canon 5D Mk 2 at 700mm (500mm lens +1.4x tele extender) at F5.6,  shutter speed 1/1250 second at ISO 200.