Elliott Neep Wildlife Photography Blog

Masai Mara: Day 9 (Shakira Hunt)

2008-11-19T18:03:00.007Z

Doing three full days in succession was starting to take its toll. I felt tired... We all felt tired! Yesterday had been a stunning day with wall-to-wall cheetah, big kills, takeovers, cutesy cubs, all topped off by a stunning sunset. When you wake-up in the morning on the Masai Mara, you can’t help but imagine what the day will bring.

We headed out early, as usual, so we could be actually on the plains and hopefully with a cat before sunrise. The plan worked well. Shakira and the cubs were not far from where we had left them and they were on the move.

Another jeep was there too and, in front, was one of Shakira’s cubs. She was standing in the most gorgeous morning light. We pulled along side to get a shot, but the little cub’s stare was fixed on her siblings and wouldn’t look up.

Shakira was sitting pretty on a termite mound, her back to the warm sunlight that was breaking the night’s chill. The cubs were running around in the long grass, but it was a nightmare to focus through. I’ve binned loads of shots, where the faces are just too obscured.

After a few minutes, still bathed in golden light, the cheetah family broke out of the long grass and into an area of short stubble. The cubs jumped-up at mum, but she carried on walking. They had not eaten yesterday, so they were all hungry. They light was incredible!

Shakira started walking with intent, her head up, but keeping her body low. Further along the plain, a small herd of zebra was filing through a narrow lugga. Shakira looked interested. We studied the herd and, mixed within the zebra, there was a lone Thomson’s gazelle. The zebra would make this difficult. They are strong, powerful, and defensive animals. A kick from a zebra could easily kill a cheetah.

We waited with Shakira as the zebra herd passed and soon the male gazelle was alone. Shakira started stalking. She kept low, her movements matching the gazelle. When the prey’s head was down, she moved on, when the head came up, she froze. The cheetah was still some way away when something alerted the gazelle. Whether it was intuition, sense of smell, or hearing, the gazelle knew there was danger and started pronging away. The hunt was over. Shakira sat up and started looking again.

There were more gazelles across the lugga. Shakira now focussed her attention on these. Again she started stalking, but she was a good distance away, so she moved with speed and stealth. We drove around, crossed the lugga at a different point, and approached the gazelles. They were moving up the plain away from the lugga, so Shakira crossed through bushes and settled down behind a termite mound.

We could see the cubs jumping about. They were really endangering the hunt, even though they were still a few hundred metres away. Shakira crawled forward, keeping low to the ground, using the termite mounds as cover. We waited for over an hour, but the cheetah had run out of suitable cover and the gazelles were still too far away.

In the end, the gazelles sensed the predator and started sounding an alarm. They walked head-on towards Shakira and then pronged away. Shakira and everybody watching seemed to let out a collective sigh and relaxed again.

We steered away down through the termite mounds and bushes, and found the cubs playing as usual. They had found a bare tree and tree stump to chase around and climb on. The area was full of colourful birds: superb starlings, glossy starlings, lilac-breasted rollers, and malachite kingfishers. What an amazing find!

As I photographed the cubs out of one side, a roller landed on a thin branch on the other. I managed to switch sides and took a couple of grab shots before the roller fluttered away.

A few more gazelles had wondered on to the scene and Shakira was staring with lethal intent. We left her and the cubs and took up a position on the far side of the potential prey. On the way, we passed under a tree and saw a large tawny eagle, perched on a bare branch. Looking similar and standing as majestic as our golden eagles, they are difficult to resist, so we stopped for a few shots. Most of the tawny eagles are very obliging and this was no different.

Once again, we played the waiting game. The zebra herd, that had crossed earlier, was now winding its way up over the plain. They were very close to the gazelles, which delayed Shakira’s advance. A pair of stallions were fighting in the background. As the herd moved on, they continued to bite and kick, rising up on their hind legs, one asserting himself over the other.

Zebra’s can be surprisingly difficult to photograph. If you stop near them, they tend to turn their backs for no apparent reason, other than to annoy you (or so it seems). As we had parked-up long before, they approached head on, so I took the opportunity for more impromptu photography.

In time, the zebra passed and the gazelles were now alone. There were five altogether, one male, and four females. Three of the females laid down in the long grass, with their backs to Shakira. A huge mistake… I could see the cheetah just beyond the gazelles, her head just clearing the grass. She was stalking.

She seemed to be advancing quickly, but at such a distance, it was difficult to tell. I framed up the gazelles and Shakira in the viewfinder, composing shots of ‘predator stalking prey.’ The gazelles were still unaware. The cheetah was closing in on them fast: 60m… 50m… 40m… Then she exploded out of the grass, her head, and body powering forward. Still the gazelles had not sensed her.

Then the male turned to see the predator bearing down. He blasted out an alarm call which sent the females sprinting and pronging in all directions. But Shakira had already selected a target.

I tracked the rocketing cheetah through the viewfinder. She was literally flying. It was phenomenal, witnessing the true speed and power of a cheetah in full flight. However, the gazelle was not about to capitulate and she too was flying. I could just keep Shakira in the viewfinder, before she passed the car.

I had to change sides, but it was too late. The cheetah and prey were travelling so fast, they were already 200m away and still motoring. Through the viewfinder I watched Shakira close down and trip the gazelle. There was a cloud of dust and clumps of flying grass, then silence.

The jeeps roared into motion and everybody converged on an exhausted Shakira. She was panting so hard; she could just about hold on to the gazelle’s throat and breathe. The gazelle’s legs were still twitching as we pulled alongside, but death was inevitable and came quickly.

As she released the gazelle, Shakira stood up, but instead of calling the cubs, she collapsed in the shade of some long grass. It had just passed 9:00am and the temperature was soaring again. The chase covered nearly a kilometre, nearly four times the average distance.

- Feeding sequence (not for the squeamish) -

After some time, Shakira gathered her strength and started calling the cubs. Even at this distance, the cubs came running, following the sound of their mothers chirping calls. As soon as the cubs spotted the fresh meal, they pounced on it, tearing at it as best they could - it was quite comical.

However, they could not bite through the tough hide, so they gave up and started playing... again! Running around, leaping over the tall grass, and ambushing each other. Shakira looked bemused and understandably miffed, but finally bent down and started opening up the hide, so the cubs could feed.

The family fed out of sight, almost completely obscured by the long grass. We took this as our Q, to have some breakfast of our own. We drove to a nearby tree and ate quickly. We were soon back on the scene to find the cubs running around with something. It looked like the head of the gazelle. Nice! They fought over it, playing tug of war with the spinal column.

We changed positions and found a clearer view of the feeding and could now see mother and cubs together on the fresh kill. But as I looked through the viewfinder, I could see the head still on the gazelle. “So, what was it they were playing with!?” Then it dawned on me. They had opened up the abdomen and killed the unborn fawn. That is what they were fighting over.

Before Shakira had even started running, she had targeted the slowest gazelle. None of them had injuries, but one was heavily pregnant. This gave the cheetah a clear advantage.

- End of feeding sequence -

Even the polarisers couldn't hide the fact that the light was now very strong and very harsh. We left the scene and headed back for camp - the first camp lunch in four days! I was really looking forward to it too. The picnic lunches are excellent and all part of the service, if you want to do full days. But the food at Kicheche camps is simply brilliant. To sit down at a table and enjoy a really cold drink and fresh food was something to celebrate! However, before I could revel in Kicheche’s culinary delights, there was a small matter of a leopard in a tree!

We had driven back slowly and returned via a tree-lined lugga. There, in the large boughs, a leopard was lounging and dozing… until we stopped the car. I had time to take one test/grab shot and the leopard was down. This is true leopard behaviour, but we become blasé and spoiled when photographing the very photogenic Supu or Bella. A great deal more tact and stealth would be needed for these wary cats. I had planned to balance the light with off-camera flash, but as the sky was so pale, and this was the only shot, forcing it to B&W seemed the best option.

Lunch was easily as good as I had hoped. After, Jacq took forty winks, while I cleaned the camera gear. Note: I’ll post a separate entry for cleaning gear on safari plus tips for keeping your kit clean. We had a relaxed start and decided to stay local for the short afternoon drive.

Kicheche Bush Camp is based in the Olare Conservancy and has more than its fair share of plains animals including: Zebra, giraffe, elephant, gazelles, topi, hartebeest, wildebeest, buffalo, impala, lions, leopards, and serval cat. It was the last two that most interested me. We had already had a great leopard and serval sighting on our first afternoon, plus the brief sighting just before lunch, so I was eager to discover more.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, Julius slammed on the brakes. Straight ahead of us, on a low bough, another leopard was staring straight at us. Our grinding halt was not particularly stealthy! Julius reversed and positioned the car side on, so that I could get a shot, but the leopard was nervous and already moving. I moved slowly, positioning the camera as smoothly as I could, but it was no use. The leopard was wary and was heading down the tree.

Within a minute of spotting the cat, the leopard had vanished into the lugga. They are so difficult to see, you are usually right on them, before you have noticed them. It was still amazing to have seen just one leopard, let alone multiple sightings.

After a fruitless search, we headed back to camp. A radio call came through and Julius grinned. Another Kicheche jeep was on the same mission and they had found a leopard cub. We headed over to their location and there she was, a small female cub, about 4-5 months old. She was very cute and had the most amazing eyes. The other Kicheche jeep soon departed. I didn’t get the camera out straight away as the light had gone (actually, the sun had set) and the cub was nestled down in long grass.

We stayed close by for a few minutes, then the cub sat up out of the grass. She was looking around, so I grabbed the camera and 300mm f/2.8 for the low light. I took several shots, but the shutter was just 1/25th at f/2.8 on ISO 400. Would it be sharp? Of course it was!

Masai Mara: Day 8 (Part 2: Shakira)

2008-11-19T08:21:00.005Z

After such an action-packed morning, we were feeling rather dazed. We finally pulled ourselves away from the hyena pack, which had now devoured and dispersed the remains of the wildebeest. We followed the Disney Nature cameraman across the river and up, on to the nearby rise. After being so unceremoniously dispossessed from their meal, the three cheetah brothers were chilling-out in the shade of a Balanite tree.

We stayed with the cheetahs while we devoured our own breakfast in the jeep. I was ravenous after having such an energetic morning on the plains. The cheetahs were still hungry and sat up looking around for potential prey, but the heat was rising like a furnace. They were caught between needing another feed and waiting for the temperature to fall. In the end, the heat one, and they all rolled out flat in the shade.

We drove off in search of new subjects, heading down to the Talek River to see if we could spot any leopards or raptors. As we approached we could see a large number of elephants filing through the bushes. They were heading for the shade of the forest that lined the river bank. Julius got me to a suitable angle to photograph the elephants coming through. I used the 16-35mm wide angle on top of the jeep to get this context shot with the big savannah sky - a tried and trusted composition that always suits the big herds and big animals of the Masai Mara. Luckily, the mother and calf both turned round to face us as I was taking the shot. We did not venture any closer - a mother African bush elephant with calf is not to be messed with!

We crossed the river to search another lugga for leopards. As we crossed the river, we spotted this common sandpiper perched on the sandstone rocks of the river bank. It was very friendly and approachable, so I took a few shots. Even with the 600mm hanging out the window, the little sandpiper was not disturbed. In fact, it nestled down and started to snooze - time to drive on.

We crossed the river and drove around for some time. The heat was growing unbearable. Over the previous days, the heat had gradually notched up a few degrees each day - rain was coming! For now, we found some shade under a tree and had some lunch. Activity was gradually decreasing on the plains. The migration was drawing to a close and the building heat was causing the herds to slow down and seek water every day. The cats also seek shade and sleep, so we must do the same.

We ate, we slept, we recharged! We then drove back across the river and headed up to the higher plains in search of Shakira and the cubs. I keep referring to Shakira, but in truth, any cheetah with cubs would have been fine with me. Not far from her usual haunt, on a plain overlooking Olkiombo Airstrip, there was Shakira and the cubs. She was resting in the shade of a croton bush, while the cubs were running about and play fighting.

A couple of minutes after arriving, Shakira stood up and started playing with the cubs. It was brilliant to see the mother running and chasing with the cubs, playing tag, rolling, and wrestling. The only issue was that it was all on the other side of the bush or termite mound - so no shots! After a few more minutes play, Shakira came to rest on top of another large termite hill. The cubs came too and they all laid down together - puuuurrrrfect! It was the scene that I have always wanted to photograph.

The tranquillity did not last for long and the cubs were soon running around again. They came charging over to our jeep and ran underneath. They ran around the outside, darted underneath, and ambushed each other from behind the wheels. I lent out the window with the 16mm to get this shot, just to show how close they were. They climbed up on the wheels and were looking out at their siblings and at mum, who was doing her best to call them away. As I looked back, Jacq was speechless and had an ear-to-ear grin like a Cheshire Cat!

The cubs didn't respond to mum's calls, so we waited until all three were clear of the vehicle and reversed away. Cheetahs should, on no account, be so accustomed to jeeps that they play on them. At first it is cute, but things can and do go wrong.

As we moved away, Shakira came trotting over because the cubs were now heading for a second jeep. She circled ours and then started jogging off with her tail held high - it was irresistible and the cubs scampered after her. But the charade didn't last and the cubs turned back to the jeeps. She turned to beckon them on, but they were so playful, they kept ignoring her.

After a while, the cubs did eventually tire of the 'jeep game' and walked slowly over to mum. Shakira was now standing some distance away, chirping to them. Shakira is a very beautiful cheetah and we had a great session as we followed her and the cubs across the plain. She headed to nearly every termite mound, gaining that extra few inches to survey the land.

When Shakira came to rest on another termite mound, the cubs came over and laid down with her. But they were still wound up and frantic, so the pleasant scene lasted only a few seconds. I wanted more shots of the entire family together, but the family group kept fragmenting, so I just photographed whenever the cubs were together or when the mother and a cub were together.

The light was slowly softening and you could see the amber starting glow in their eyes. Cheetah eyes 'hood over' very quickly and you need a low-angled sun to bring out the colour of those massive ambers! Unless there is action or behaviour going on, I have now learned to avoid photographing portraits of any cat, unless the light is at its best.

The cubs continued to play, even though Shakira was obviously looking for a meal. She wondered for some time, gradually moving west across the savannah. The direction worked well as she was walking straight into the warming sunlight.

As we followed, so our paths crossed and we were now looking into the light. If the light is very harsh, this looks horrible, but as the sun drops, so the light softens and the hues warm, so you can shoot with a 'back light' and render a nice glow.

Time and again, Shakira stopped to survey the plains and so the cubs treated each of these occasions as a time for play. They ran past mum and pounced on each other, practicing tumbles and trips that would one day bring down a gazelle for a meal. Shortly after this image, Shakira decided that there was nothing around to eat and laid now in the long grass.

It was slightly frustrating as the light was beautiful, but she hunkered down in grass that was so long, it completely obscured her and the cubs. She called them over to suckle and they responded. They were not going to move from here and risk bumping into the predators of the night, so we left the family in the fading light and headed for home.

As we rose over the plain on our homeward bound track, we spotted crowned cranes foraging in the grass. These are graceful, elegant birds and quite a common sight on the Masai Mara. The light was soft and beautiful, so we stopped to take a few shots before the light faded completely. Within seconds, the sunlight disappeared behind cloud and that was the end of the day... or so I thought.

We drove off, leaving the cranes behind. After we passed over two more high plains, we all started looking back to the setting sun. The sky was now ablaze with fiery colours - brilliant, burning orange and red hues. The cloud formation was incredible. We searched around franticly for something (ANYTHING!) to photograph in front of this arresting sky, but there were no animals on the horizon.

Finally, we spotted these two trees and we moved down lower and lined them up to the sky. I used the 600mm to compress the field of view and used an f/8 to keep things crisp. I took several exposures with different compositions and, after processing, decided on this 2.5:1 panoramic crop. Now, if someone asks me to describe a Masai Mara sunset, I can just show this.

We drove on for about five seconds before I asked to stop again. The sky was absurdly colourful. Actually, I don't have the vocabulary or the images to do it justice! We were all unified in our inability to speak. We climbed out of the jeep and stood in the open to watch the sky unfold. It seemed to last for ever, unlike most sunsets that plunge into darkness in seconds. Jacq and I stood, holding each other, watching the spectacle. Julius phoned his sister in Mombassa and asked her to look up at the sky. She was speechless too.

Masai Mara: Day 8 (Part 1: The Cheetah Brothers)

2008-11-18T16:24:00.008Z

The previous afternoon had been relatively quiet by Masai Mara standards, but that is the gamble when you wait for a leopard. On the way home, we agreed to pay Shakira one more visit, purely because the cubs were soooooo photogenic. I really felt I hadn't done my best with the cheetah opportunities, mainly because Shakira was sticking to the areas with very long grass - just like a good cheetah mother should. Maybe today we would have better luck...

Driving from camp to Shakira's plain (overlooking Olkiombo Airstrip) we always passed through two small plains that are so green and so well-grazed, they looked like a golf course fairway. On the right, a pair of hyenas were pilfering the remains of a wildebeest. The light was very low and very soft, but I made the effort as hyenas are an essential character on the savannah and, all too often, they are overlooked and ignored.

We pulled up and the hyenas were very cautious. I used the 300mm f/2.8 IS L as it is the best lens for working in these conditions. It sucks in so much light and the quality of the glass keeps things nice and crisp and saturated even without the punch of sunlight. At 1/15th sec, I thought even this image stabilised lens would struggle, but the images were sharp, just as long as the hyena didn't move. They hyenas were picking up bits to run off with, so we didn't stay long.

We arrived on the plains and were soon looking for cheetahs. But the first cheetah we spotted was not Shakira, it was a lone female. From a great distance, Julius was spying at something. "I can't be sure what it is. It looks like a log." We drove closer and could just make out the outline of cheetah, hunched down and eating something. It was the leftovers of a gazelle fawn.

The cheetah had soon finished the small meal and was walking. The light was stunning - exactly what I had hoped for! The vultures and tawny eagles that had been waiting patiently in nearby bushes, started gliding down. Although vultures are ugly and ungainly on the ground, when they soar just a metre off the ground, you can't help but marvel at how graceful and beautiful they can be.

As they approach, their massive wingspan is truly awesome. They let their talons hang down like the lowering of an undercarriage on a 747. Then they touch down with a very soft landing and suddenly become just a noisy and foul tempered bird with a bald head and long neck.

Our beautiful, elegant cheetah was now lounging in the warmth of the rising sun. Lying sphinx-like on the short grass, this cheetah was soon becoming a real 'catalogue' cat! She looked left and right, laid flat, sat up, rolled over on her back with all paws in the air, reclined, and preened all within a few minutes and while the light was fantastic. It was stunning! As a photographer, I felt so lucky to be there at the right time and right place. And what made it even better? There was not a single sodding blade of grass in the way! Brilliant!!

I took full advantage of this opportunity, quickly filling up my cards with a bounty of cheetah images, over a thirty-minute period. The cheetah was even more contented than I was and continued to roll around and preen. From the left of the scene, I could see a 'confusion' of guineafowl. Their chattering was growing louder and louder as they spotted the reclining cheetah. Soon the guineafowl were in full alarm mode and squawking all over the place. They carefully massed around the cheetah, trying to cajole the cat into moving off, but this cat couldn't care less.

The guineafowl tried ganging up from the rear, but to no avail. The cheetah was simply too relaxed and not the slightest bit interested. I thought she might get up and chase them off, but she just rolled over and closed her eyes. For once, the guineafowl lost! Their chattering died off and they moved on.

We sat with the cheetah for a while longer. The sun was rising quickly and the light was losing its lustre. Julius started panning around with his binoculars, trying to locate Shakira and the cubs. On the horizon, I could see a line of elephants making their way down to the river. I took a few shots, isolating the elephants in 3s and 5s. I gave loads of room to the sky for a slightly different composition and waited for all the elephants to be in relatively the same position.

Eventually, the cheetah woke again and was thirsty. She stood up and walked down to the lugga and the small pools of water. There was no way to photograph her, so we sat back. It was then we received a radio call saying the Three Brothers (from Big Cat Diary) were close by. In fact, they were on the next plain, so we drove up to see the situation for ourselves. If it was rubbish, we could always come back again.

By the time we arrived, the cheetahs were dozing under a tree. The shade was very dark, so I left the camera on the seat. "Rubbish!" I assumed that the cheetahs would be there for the rest of the day, but another guide said that they hadn't eaten and looked hungry. "Oh really!" That changed matters. With these boys, they are always up for a hunt, no matter what time of day or whatever the prey. They have been known to take down adult male Topi, Hartebeest, and Wildebeest. I readied the camera on a beanbag.

Within seconds, the cheetahs were up and walking. Two of them (the smaller ones) played with each other. They practised neck bites and trips. The play soon turned into aggression and the larger cheetah came running in to break it up. This shot above shows the larger male looking right. He had spotted a small herd of wildebeest down the plain.

Moments later, the cheetah was bounding through the grass. It was not subtle, but the intent was clear. We all sat down as Julius drove the car down to the lower end of the plain. I kept an eye on the cheetahs and all three were trotting towards us. To the side of the wildebeest was a group of topi with young, but the cheetahs really only had eyes for the wildebeest.

The cheetahs trot slowed to a fast walk, but they kept moving without a pause. I was thinking "Where's the stalk? You're gonna be seen a mile off!" And they were. The wildebeest started to raise their heads. The three cheetahs were exposed to the skyline, but on they came. The wildebeest started huddling together, but on the cheetahs came. It was curious, but you could almost feel the confusion in the wildebeest "Err, wait, we can see you, we have all seen you, but you are still coming at us!?"

The three cheetahs blasted out of the long grass. The confusion in the wildebeest was overridden by mortal fear as the cheetahs flew. Their burst in speed was frightening! One moment they were trotting, the next, they were right among the wildebeest, which had all scattered in different directions. The cheetahs had split and were now flanking one smaller wildebeest.

The largest of the cheetah closed in on the wildebeest which was running with two others. The cheetah leapt up and slammed down on the wildebeest's hind quarters. The wildebeest tumbled and the brothers had their prize. With a 600mm lens and 1.4x converter, the action was still too far away really, but it was amazing to witness. I was speechless for quite some time. The hunting style was so different. No stalk, no careful assessment, just run in and smack down. That is the advantage of hunting in a team. Like lions, there is always another pair of claws waiting in the wings, or more muscle to help take down the larger prey.

All the jeeps now converged on the brothers. The light and heat were now fierce, with harsh shadows creating black eyes and strong contrast. I took record shots of the feast, but the blood and gore images are never that popular! Vultures were already circling above and hanging on the breeze. It is incredible how quickly they can be on the scene.

Circling vultures pose a real, but indirect threat to the cheetahs - they act like a giant flag to hyenas. Now this very real threat was making its way over the plain. A pack of four spotted hyenas had seen the commotion and were now heading across to investigate. Even three large cheetahs are no match for these massively powerful animals.

The cheetahs had managed to feed for about 10mins before the hyenas came. There was no battle, no energy wasted attempting to keep the hyenas at bay. The cheetahs simply stood up and backed off. The hyenas piled in and immediately squabbled, asserting dominance, and biting the subordinate.

After being kicked off the carcass, this hyena now had to earn his piece of meat and worked hard to chase away the flock of vultures that had gathered so quickly. The cheetah brothers had already crossed the river and were heading up the plain, away from the hyenas.

We could have followed the cheetahs, but I wanted to stay with the hyena pack and shoot the behaviour images that I had thought about for so long. This was one of the few full-blown, start-to-finish, 'savannah kills' I had seen with all the trimmings of a takeover and fighting hyenas, with a side-order of flapping vultures. Su-bloody-perb!

Most poignantly, amidst all the death, gore, and infighting, two beautiful birds continued with their courtship dance, completely unperturbed. Life always goes on!

Masai Mara: Day 7 (Part 2)

2008-11-17T17:35:00.006Z

After spending the entire morning with Shakira, we decided to venture a little further afield. More and more jeeps were making photography a little difficult. A radio call came through about a possible leopard sighting, so we investigated. We drove down off the plains, past the Olkiombo airstrip and Mara Intrepids camp, through dense bush and finally reached the Talek River.

Once through the river to the other side, we drove through more bush and came out into a clearing. To the right, ran a lugga and at the end of the lugga we could see three jeeps. Two Kicheche jeeps and one other jeep... with Jackson Looseyi, cameraman and soundman. The BBC's Big Cat crews were everywhere! We pulled alongside as quietly as we could. I could detect a little frustration from Jackson's jeep as this was probably not the first time they had to stop filming and wait for a jeep to pass.

In front of the jeeps and just across a small stream of water, a leopard was relaxing in the shade of a croton bush. It was Olive, one of the Big Cat characters. She was alone. We sat watching for a few minutes. I didn't bother with the camera immediately, as the light was harsh and she was sat under the bush. We watched Jackson and the crew rehearse and shoot some new 'updates'. Olive was soon sitting and then standing. I reached for the camera and set it up on a beanbag.

Olive started walking, crossing the bare and muddy jeep track, and passed right in front of us. I shot a few frames, but the background was so messy with the lines of jeeps tracks - it didn't seem worth it. But she was a new leopard to me, so I took some shots for 'record' sake. As she passed, she looked over her shoulder at the other jeeps, then carried on, fading into the bushes that fringed the lugga.

We drove back across the lugga, to see where she was heading. Julius spotted an impala about 150m. The male impala was grazing and had absolutely no idea that a leopard was approaching. We drove around to the impala to watch the scene from the prey's point of view. I thought "It would be bloody amazing if she hunted right here, right now." Julius spotted Olive re-emerging from the bushes. She was heading straight for the impala. I managed to get her in the viewfinder and watched as she stealthily hugged the ground, the way that only leopards can. Her shoulders working like scissor blades, keeping her flat and fluid.

The leopard had now approached within about 25m of the impala, which was still none the wiser. Then, most annoyingly, another jeep turned up and drove straight behind the leopard. They had not seen her in the grass. The proximity of the jeep startled the leopard enough for her to flick her tail and that was enough. The impala blasted air through its nostrils and sounded the alarm. Olive stood up almost immediately. It was all over. She walked off, her tail held high in the air, as if to say 'Yep, its me... you got me".

As you can see from the images - it was bloody hot! The heat shimmer was pretty bad, but it didn't stop us following Olive into the bush where we might find a bit of shade and, hopefully, more leopards. In a clearing we found the other Kicheche jeeps. It seemed like a drama was unfolding around us. A large male leopard had been spotted following Olive's cubs, then the crashing sound of bushes. As we waited, the young male cub, ran out behind the jeep and dove into a bush, just as the male crossed the other way, but in front of the jeep. The vegetation was so dense it was extremely difficult to see anything and soon all was quiet.

The heat was building and everyone was starting to feel it. We decided to drive on and find some shade, higher up on the open plains where there would be a cooling breeze. As we drove along, we passed a huge amount of grazing animals, mostly zebra, gazelles, and topi. We pulled up under a large Balanite tree and revelled in the cool shade. We broke out the picnic lunch and chilled out. It is really the only thing to do in the middle of the day. It is just so hot, most animals seek the shade and those that stay out, just stand and pant.

Another jeep approached us with some gleeful occupant. "Oh you just have to go over there. We've just seen lions mating... just over there, you must go... they are just over there...!" I tried to explain that we were just relaxing and we would have a look later. "But they're just over there. We've just seen lions mating... just over there, you must go... they are just over there...!"

The jeep departed and we finished our lunch and snoozed. Eventually we packed everything away and drove over to see the 'mating lions'. Ooooh, what a shock. I've never seen an uglier, more haggard pair of lions. A saggy lioness, and a toothless male that was so old, he had a receding hairline!

They were laid flat out, sleeping next to each other under the blazing sun. I tried to photograph them, but it just wasn't happening. There was nothing I could do to make the scene work. As a preference to photographing the lions, I asked Julius to drive us away and back down the track to shoot some images of a decaying topi skeleton! After I had crawled around on the ground, getting face-to-face with 'Boney', I clambered back in the jeep and we set off once again. Julius had spotted another jeep beside a tree and thought it best we check whether they had seen a leopard, or not.

As it turned out, they had seen a leopard being chased by baboons in the nearby lugga. We drove down and had a look around. It can be so difficult to spot a leopard in this bushy terrain. There were plenty of big trees, bushes, and shadowy places in which a leopard could easily be lurking... but remain invisible.

As we crawled along, the lugga became more and more narrow until it was less than a half a metre wide, then it stopped altogether. Julius drove the jeep across and them slammed on the brakes. He turned around with a big grin. "I don't believe it. It is right here". Julius beckoned us to look out of the jeep. We did, but couldn't see anything (nothing new there). "No... down there!" We looked straight down and there she was. Hiding in the narrowest end of the lugga, barely visible under the shade of a grassy clump that hung over the dried up stream.

There was no chance of a photo, but it was incredible to see the positions and locations these cats can get into, to avoid being seen. I've always said this of leopards and tigers "If they don't want to be seen, you will not find them!" We backed the car away and retreated to the shade of a nearby fig tree. I busied myself taking random shots of Jacq and Julius. I don't know how long we had waited, but when we checked back on the leopard, she had come out of the lugga and was now basking on the grass. But in typical leopard style - there was not a single clear angle!

We waited and waited. Nearly four hours had passed and she had not moved, apart from to switch sides and show us her butt. After all that time, this is the best and clearest shot that I managed to get. She played a damn good game!

Masai Mara: Day 7 (Part 1)

2008-11-14T17:28:00.013Z

Apologies for another 'big' post here, but when you spend an entire day with a cheetah family, you see and shoot an awful lot. In fact, we spent three entire days with Shakira and her cubs, only leaving to answer 'the call of nature' and to return to camp each night. It is only by spending quality time, such as this, that you stand any chance of bringing back images with a difference, or something special... but there are never any guarantees!

"I need to make it clear, that we always place the welfare of the subject as our number one priority. I shoot from a respectful distance and the guides manoeuvre the vehicle with the greatest of care. I use the big 600mm f/4, so there is no need to get 'too close'. If the animals choose to come close, that is their decision, and they are free to move in whichever direction without being boxed in. This way, we can happily stay with a family, or any subject without hindrance or inconvenience."

I couldn't wait to get back out onto the plains and find the young cheetah family. There is always so much going on, with loads of behaviour and interaction, all on the 'unbelievably cute' level. I just hoped we could find them quickly, so we could capture some images in that wonderful dawn sunlight.

We drove straight back to where we had left the cheetah family the previous evening. Shakira was still there, only having moved a few metres to soak up the warmth of the rising sun. The BBC camera crews were also there, plus an additional jeep from Disney Nature (filming a feature film length documentary over three years). We approached from above Shakira's position and passed an area of long grass. Julius and I spotted an ear twitching low down and just assumed it was one of the cubs that had been left there, out of sight.

Shakira was sat up in the sunlight, surveying the plains for prey or threats. We saw something moving by her feet and, again, assumed that it was another cub. 'They must have split up during their playtime' we reasoned. One small head rose up and swayed... then another... then another. 'But if all the cubs are here, what was that in the grass!?'

As we pondered, another cheetah rose out of the long grass and sat up. Everybody was completely surprised. 'Another cheetah, so close to cubs? This can't be good news!' We couldn't make out whether it was a female (potentially bad news) or a male (really bad news). After a few minutes, Shakira turned round and caught sight of the stranger sitting up, less than a hundred metres away. Her body went rigid, her ears flattened, and the cubs (seeing the change in mum's demeanour) sank back down in the grass. Shakira was as stiff as a board and her gaze was fixed on the stranger. Both cheetahs were staring, unblinking.

The stranger stood up and faced Shakira. The shoulders rose and the head dropped. This cheetah was posturing aggressively and meant business. The cheetah stepped forward out of the long grass and for the first time we could tell it was a female. Coincidentally, it was the pregnant female that we had photographed on our first day. She was coming forward, looking fierce, purposeful, and on the offensive. She couldn't see Shakira's cubs and must always assume that another cheetah is a threat. She kept coming and her stride was quickening.

As I was reframing, to capture Shakira's reaction to the advancing threat, she bolted out of her hollow. The pregnant cheetah immediately turned to run, but Shakira was already on her, slapping her back and stamping the ground with her forelimbs. The pregnant female was running back into the long grass. Shakira stopped and stared after her. She then turned quickly back to the cubs, rippling with tension and aggression. The pregnant cheetah did not keep running, but stopped soon after Shakira had and was now sat in the long grass, staring back. I was cursing my decision to fart about and reframe, when deep down I knew something explosive was about to happen. Schoolboy error... Still learning!

Shakira gathered up the cubs and they started walking. She obviously wanted to put some distance between them and the stranger. They had only walked about 50m when Shakira stopped and looked back to see the stranger still sitting and watching. This time, it was Shakira that went on the offensive. She stood upright and stared. Then she pounced, running at full speed, leaping high over the grass and aiming straight for the pregnant cheetah.

The stranger ran off again, further up the plain, but refused to be driven off completely. Shakira stopped and glared, but soon turned back to the cubs, which were now some distance away. The stranger simply sat down in the long grass and watched. We watched Shakira walking back to the cubs, where they greeted each other with nuzzles in the long grass.

Shakira laid down and the cubs relaxed once again. Two went running through the long grass, around the termite mounds and in between the jeeps. The quiet cub approached its mum and sidled-up for some mutual grooming and much-needed reassurance after the morning's activities. After a few minutes, Shakira stood up and departed with her cubs in tow. They walked up over the highest point of the plain and stopped to survey the area.

The tracks still had standing water from the downpours of the previous week. The cheetahs stopped for a quick drink. As Shakira walked and surveyed the plains below, the cubs began playing again - running in and out of the puddles and chasing each other around. They seemed to be walking for some time, but were not actually travelling very far. They kept stopping to look around and, because there was no prey, Shakira did not know which way to head.

Some of the BBC crew sped off down the plain. Julius looked through his binocs and spotted one Thomson's and one Grant's gazelle far down the plain. Shakira had also spotted the potential prey, but she was a long way off and exposed to the horizon. The grass was short with little cover, so it would not be an easy approach. We drove down as well to see what the scene looked like from the prey's point of view.

There was no way this hunt was 'on'. She was clearly visible against the blue sky and the cubs were leaping about wildly. The gazelles looked up and spotted them immediately. We drove back up the plain to rejoin Shakira, while the other jeeps waited in hope, but it would be a fruitless vigil. As we arrived back with Shakira, she had already turned away from the gazelles and was walking towards the other side of the rise.

The cubs found more puddles to quench their thirst. The heat was rising and the light was growing harsh. I dropped gelatin polarisers into the 600mm and 300mm telephotos. The polariser is a real asset in these conditions as it reduces harsh highlights, softens contrast, and helps boost saturation in the scene - in harsh light, colour is bleached by the blazing sunlight.

The heat didn't seem to bother the cubs, they were charging around like always. Their mother was clearly intent on finding prey this morning and was surveying the plains at every opportunity. They came to rest once again on a high point of the plain. Shakira laid down, but was restless. I think the proximity to the other cheetah had disturbed her and she was not comfortable being within 1 km of another cheetah. She rose again and walked down the plain.

She stopped abruptly, her ears forward, and tail twitching. She had spotted a group of gazelles, just on the other side of a lugga, at the bottom of the plain. We drove around as fast as we could. She was already moving, trotting at speed. She left the cubs in a nearby bush and headed directly for the gazelles. Shakira is an amazing hunter and has a very high success rate. We crossed the boggy lugga and drove round to the gazelles. The BBC crew was also positioning themselves for the hunt. They had taken up positions all around to shoot the various angles - everyone keeping a respectful distance.

Shakira dropped down low, out of sight, her path running parallel to the lugga and aiming for the gazelles. We caught glimpses of her tail through the vegetation, but the gazelles were completely unaware of the threat. There was a pause... then she burst through the vegetation only 30m from the gazelles. They panicked and fled in different directions. Two gazelles ran across each other's paths and one had to take evasive action and lost critical speed.

Seconds later, Shakira had swiped the back legs and the gazelle tumbled in the grass. Shakira wrestled her over and clamped her jaws around the gazelle's throat. It was all over in seconds. We were some distance away so my shots are heavily cropped and not that sharp. I was disappointed, but there was no long chase to aim at.

We drove closer to the kill and watched Shakira as she held on to the female Thomson's gazelle and the last kicks of life were subdued and finally ended. Our hearts were hammering with excitement, not with blood-letting, but at the sheer speed and power of what appears to be a very slight 'big cat'.

After a few minutes rest, Shakira stood up, leaving the gazelle motionless on the ground. She looked around, surveying the area for other predators that could snatch her hard earned meal. There were plenty of hyenas in the vicinity, but today she was lucky. She reached down and lifted the gazelle by the neck and dragged it through the grass. The cubs were about half a kilometre away and she was now dragging it all the way back.

Shakira dragged the gazelle through the blazing heat, stopping every few metres to rest and catch her breath. She called to the cubs with a high-pitched 'chirp', but they couldn't hear her call over the strengthening breeze. It took her over 30 mins to reach the cubs, who had finally spotted the take-away delivery and scampered over to assist mum - by jumping on the gazelle, increasing its weight even more!

After 40mins of dragging, Shakira finally reached the shade of a small tree. She dropped the gazelle for the last time and collapsed beside it. The cubs were care-free and ran around jumping on it and pretending to kill it all over again.

To be continued...

Masai Mara: Day 6 (Part 2: Shakira)

2008-11-14T08:39:00.008Z

As we munched our way through our picnic lunch, I couldn't help but look around. It is not often that you get to look out on to such an amazing vista. Even though I have returned to the Masai Mara time and again, the beauty of the environment and shear diversity of the wildlife never fails to amaze me.

As I looked around, I spotted several small birds, perched on bare branches directly behind the jeep. I asked Julius to slowly reverse the jeep, just to get a little closer. I slowly placed the camera on top of the jeep and stood up. I took a few tentative shots - the birds didn't move. We backed up a little more and the birds remained. After a few more shuffles backwards, we right on top of them, which was just as well as they were tiny Angola swallows.

Just beyond the swallows, were three secretary birds following a herd of wildebeest and zebra. They usually stick close to the herds, picking off invertebrates, small reptiles, and rodents that are disturbed by the heavy footfall of passing animals. Secretary birds look quite bizarre - the head and body of a raptor and the legs of a stork. As they hunt, they methodically stamp the ground with their long legs to startle their prey, then quickly snatch them up and gobble them whole.

After I had finished with the birds, I turned left to face the oncoming herd of wildebeest. It was another small column of about three hundred individuals, winding its way back south. We often drive straight past them, but I decided (as we were not doing anything else apart from eating) that I should definitely make the effort. After all, they are amazing animals in their own right and without them, there would be no migration and far fewer big cats! I played around with a few lenses and compositions, but fell back on the 600mm once again. It just has that amazing capacity to compress the field of view, so you can create those abstract images with dozens of bodies, all in a small, tight space.

After lunch, we returned to Shakira and the cubs, but took a 'scenic route' via the Mara River and adjacent plains. Julius wanted to see whether there was any potential prey around that might tempt Shakira into walking with the cubs. Alas, there was no suitable prey, just wildebeest and zebra, far too large for a single cheetah. We studied the herds to see whether there were any young, but there were none. I used the opportunity to shoot a few 'animals in their environment' style shots. I used an ND Grad to give a little more depth and saturation to the plain behind as it was washing out with haze and aerial perspective (when the view turns blue over a distance).

By the time we arrived back at Shakira's location, the temperature had dropped off nicely with a covering of hazy cloud. The cubs were charging around like lunatics on cat-nip, literally running circles around mum and any other object they could find - bush, jeep, termite mound.

They came running over to our jeep again, and yes, Jacq once again dissolved into a gibbering, blubbing mess! Bless! They cubs were so full of energy. I thought "Shakira will really have her work cut out, raising these crazy girls". One cub was quiet and usually stayed close to mum; there was one mental club, that climbed everything and anything and constantly provoked the others; one cub that was always caught in between staying with mum and playing-up with the tearaway.

Unfortunately, the cloud cover had grown quite thick, so the light was poor by Masai Mara standards. I would have loved to have shot this sequence in golden light, with all those amber eyes, but it was not to be. I did the best I could with lower light levels and slower shutter speeds, but it was immensely difficult to keep up with the such small targets, running so fast, through long grass - I thought my autofocus motors would go into meltdown!

I tried slowing the shutter down to create motion blur which would convey the speed of the cats so much better than a freeze-frame image. The main issue here was that the cubs are very bouncy and the grass was very long. The majority of the images had very blurred heads, or were obscured by grass. This shot was one of the better ones, because you can at least tell it is a baby cheetah running at speed.

The issue I have with it, is that the cub has caught up with her sibling, so there are two, which confuses the image somewhat. Motion blurs have a very fine line between success and garbage. The head needs to be reasonably sharp with good linear motion. If there is too much vertical movement, then the image is just a mess.

Towards the very end of the session, rapidly approaching the time we had to leave (you have to be out of the Game Reserve by 6:30pm), the sun peered out from beneath the veil of cloud. It was very soft, but had just enough strength to give the scene a nice warm feel. Luckily, it was at this moment that the cubs decided to calm down and return to mum for a nuzzle. After firing off a few more frames, it was really time to leave. I was quite frustrated that we had to leave, just when things were coming together, but rules are rules.

We sped off along the dusty tracks, up over the plain, and headed for home. I kept looking back as the sun was setting in the most amazing way (and couldn't help feeling a little cheated that the cubs were now running around in the most amazing blazing red light!). The veil of cloud that had covered the sun for most of the afternoon, was now ablaze with colour. Julius had noticed it too as he always looked out for potential sunrises and sunsets. Another guide contacted Julius on the CB and we stopped abruptly. Julius turned the vehicle and we sped off in another direction.

He shouted (over the revving engine) that elephants had been spotted over the rise and that they were in a great position for a sunset. He wasn't kidding either. I could just make out a line of elephants and they were dropping over the horizon. We quickly aligned ourselves with the sun and the elephants.

I had to wait for the elephant to turn sideways to show the profile - silhouettes need to be instantly recognisable to work well, and the elephant has probably the most recognisable silhouette of them all. They were some distance away and the colour was now restricted to a linear band above the horizon. The sun was setting so quickly, it looked like it was literally dropping out of the sky. I used the 600mm resting on a beanbag on top of the jeep. I quickly shot a couple of dozen frames with different compositions: with and without the orb of the sun; one elephant; many elephants.

When I processed the sunset images, the performance of the 1DSmkII was a little disappointing. The orb of the sun had been captured as a horrible custard yellow, with a really defined cut off. Not the softly merging tones of slide film. I'm not sure how the newer generations of DSLRs perform with a setting sun, but digital's inability to cope with the extreme highlight is my main gripe. This was made abundantly clear to me as I hit the 'delete key' and only kept the images without the sun.