I Couldn't Help It

Visual Notes 35

Palm Desert, CA

After climbing 2 flights, I emerged from the dark stairwell and was blasted by this display of color, light and shadow.  I grabbed my phone camera and fired away.  It was like the “Jerry Seinfeld” of photography…pictures of nothing, but it was a moment of beauty & interest in my mind, and I was compelled to capture it.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f2.2 | 1/1100 | 2.22mm (14mm equiv) | ISO 25

Photographed 10/31/24

Diagonals IV

Visual Notes 34

Lincolnshire, IL

While on a walk in the bright sunshine, this scene captured my attention for Visual Notes due to the strong geometry of light and shadow.  The full collection can be viewed here: https://www.jeffmarcowitz.photography/Collections/Visual-Notes

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f2.8 | 1/640 | 9mm (100mm equiv) | ISO 25

Photographed 10/21/24

Impact

52 Assignments Exposure 06 - Blaze A Trail

Illinois Tollway I-94

Lake Forest Oasis (view north)

Long and short exposures with a subtle composite.

Sony A7IV @ f16 | 2.5" | 200mm | ISO 800

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Photographed 9/25/24

Tunnel

Visual Notes 33

Jefferson Park

Chicago, IL

Experienced this repetitive archway and thought it would be a good subject with which to revive the Visual Notes collection.   The full collection can be viewed here: https://www.jeffmarcowitz.photography/Collections/Visual-Notes

Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/160 | 90mm | ISO 3200

Leitz Elmar-C 90mm F4 (adapted)

Photographed 10/26/24

Nature's Palette

52Frames - Week 43 - Nature

Wright Woods

Libertyville, IL

Forest preserve, autumn color, pond, reflection and...the moon. Was hoping for some ducks to swim into the scene but they were not cooperating.

Sony A7IV @ f4 | 1/1000 | 37mm | ISO 250

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 10/21/24

It Used To Be Dark!

52Frames - Week 42 - On The Ground!

EC: Use A Macro Lens

Every time I get my hair cut, the pile gets lighter and lighter.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f2.2 | 1/120 | 2.22mm (24mm equiv) | ISO 250

Photographed 10/17/24

A Rare Occurrence

52Frames - Week 41 - Panorama

Earlier this month the Chicago area was graced with an occurrence of the northern lights. It was a clear night so I went out to shoot star trails since the forecast was only a 10% chance of being able to see the aurora.

I got lucky with both! This photo is a 5 shot panorama merged in Lightroom. The star trails + aurora photo was posted earlier on my blog at https://jeffm211-p52.blogspot.com/2024/10/good-fortune.html.

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 5 x 1.6" | 28mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Photographed 10/11/24

Stroll

52Frames - Week 40 - A Quiet Moment

EC: Golden Ratio

Independence Grove Forest Preserve

Libertyville, IL

During the week, this is an especially peaceful place for a stroll.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/400 | 111mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Photographed 10/2/24

No Kleenex

52Frames - Week 39 - Mode of Transportation

Independence Grove Forest Preserve

Libertyville, IL

Rarely do I have Kleenex when using this mode of transportation.  The glove works.

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/400 | 232mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/23/24

Three Birds

I'm by no stretch a birder or bird photographer.  However, I did manage to capture photos of a few birds on the Africa trip.  Below are my three favorites.  In retrospect, the timing of these photos being captured is interesting.  The first one was shot during the first hour of the first game drive, before any significant animal sightings.  The last photo was captured on our last game drive, after spending a week experiencing amazing animal sightings.  Needless to say, my focus was not birds during that intervening period.

These are the last of my initial Africa postings.  Going through the remaining photos and creating a book lies ahead.  

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Saw this guy on our first game drive...and many more throughout subsequent drives.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/250 | 273mm | ISO 1000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067


Photographed 9/14/24

Gray Go-Away Bird

Another common bird which we saw and heard often.  The unique characteristic of this bird is their call which sounded like they were saying "go away"; hence the name.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/1000 | 400mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067


Photographed 9/14/24

Lilac-Breasted Roller

ID'd by our guide as a Lilac-breasted Roller, probably the most photographed bird in South Africa.  Not being a birder, this is the only one I saw and was fortunate to capture this photo on our last game drive.


Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/640 | 400mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067


Photographed 9/19/24

Giraffe Feeding Station

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Our guide told us that one of his guests actually asked if that's what it was!

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 309mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/17/24

What A Face!

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Caught this guy at his highest point above the water and did a deep crop to show those facial features.
 

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/125 | 218mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/19/24

White On Black or Black on White?

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Every single zebra has a unique pattern.

Sony A7IV @ f9 | 1/1000 | 145mm | ISO 2500

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/18/24

Aftermath

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Two brothers sharing a meal of young buffalo. We arrived after the kill.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 57mm | ISO 2500

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/17/24

Have You Ever Wondered...

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

...how giraffes drink water?

Sony A7IV @ f5.6 | 1/500 | 99mm | ISO 1000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

When You Have An Itch...

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

...Lick It!

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 381mm | ISO 2000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

Deadly Defense

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

White Rhinos are herbivores so the deadly horns are there for defense.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 400mm | ISO 400

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/14/24

Leverage

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

African elephants use many means to constantly feed themselves since, on average, they consume more than 300 lbs. per day.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 296mm | ISO 4000 Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/19/24

Symbiotic Relationship

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

Red-billed Oxpeckers riding the back of a buffalo.

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/500 | 400mm | ISO 4000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

Good Fortune

I'm taking a short hiatus from posting an Africa photo due to the extraordinary opportunity that came to pass on Thursday evening.

Last May, I missed the aurora (northern lights) so hoped to capture a semblance of it this week in our area...which is a rare occurrence.  My expectations were low since NOAA Space Center forecast was for a less than 10% chance (with low energy) of seeing it in northern Illinois.

It was a clear night, so I figured worst case would be some star trail photos and giving my buddy a lesson on how to do them. Good fortune came when the aurora appeared during the last 5 minutes of star trail exposures. We hung around awhile after the star trails were completed to capture additional shots of the aurora.

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 30" x 121 | 14mm | ISO 100

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II


Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 30" | 14mm | ISO 100

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 1.6" | 28mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 1.6" | 28mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Photographed 10/10/24

20 Eyes

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

It was our last game drive of the trip and we wanted to see some hippos.  Riaan (our guide) delivered! 10 of them together here but they didn't come out of the water.

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/125 | 50mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/19/24

Think Twice

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

During our time on safari, we saw herds of buffalo several times off in a distance.  Until this drive, we hadn't encountered a herd so close up.  This one was estimated to be about 1,000 strong.

It seems as if this guy turned around and warned us not to follow. We didn't.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 50mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/17/24

Wild Dog Chase

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

These guys were in hunting mode and we followed them through the bush along with some other safari jeeps.

Sony A7IV @ f5 | 1/500 | 63mm | ISO 4000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/19/24

Staying Close

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

This little guy was sticking pretty close to mom. Very interesting watching the behaviors.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 164mm | ISO 12800

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/15/24

In The Bush

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

This is what an afternoon game drive looks like.

Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/500 | 400mm | ISO 3200

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

Burning Gaze

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Her gaze was more intense than any we had seen.  Perched on top of a termite mound, she quietly observed the jeeps around her with unwavering attention. 

Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/500 | 400mm | ISO 2500

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

Eyes Of Intent

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

She was perched on a ledge and then advanced towards our jeep. Behind us was a watering hole, which turned out to be her destination.

Sony A7IV @ f9 | 1/500 | 342mm | ISO 1250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

On Alert

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

Sitting amidst a lion pride, I was able to capture these two females in perfect profile alignment.

Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/640 | 400mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/15/24

Pull Up A Chair

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

Hanging out at a neighborhood tree for breakfast.

Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/640 | 63mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/15/24

Breakfast Hunt

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

Don't want to get between this guy and the remains of the carcass he's pursuing.

Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/500 | 68mm | ISO 640

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/14/24