The Lion's Roar - Kruger-2-Kalahari

The Lion's RoarPhoto Safari Newsletter Autumn 2013

In This Issue...The Lion's Roar Photo Safari Newsletter Kruger Park Floods Warning Nikon D600 Nikon Pro Talk with Roger de la Harpe New Photographic eBook Image Theft New Camps in Kruger & Kgalagadi Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition Parting Shot____________________________________________________________________________EditorialFirst off we apologise for the long silence between the last newsletter and this one – 2012 was ahectic year as we published our first eBook on Etosha in March and our second eBook on thePilanesberg in December. We also spent about three months on safaris in the Pilanesberg andthe Kgalagadi getting the last material for our upcoming eBooks.2013 it seems, is also going to be a busy year as we put the finishing touches to the KgalagadieBook and visit lodges in the Kruger Park concessions, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, and alsolodges along the ‘African Ivory Route’ and in Limpopo National Park in Mozambique for materialfor our Greater Kruger eBook.This year saw floods in the Kruger once again, exactly to the day that the floods hit in 2012!Previously the worst floods were in February 2000 but the January 2013 floods saw moredamage, especially in the north where the rivers burst their banks by 200-300 meters on eitherside! We travelled from the south to the north of the Kruger in February 2013 and photographedsome of the damage.There have been a lot of news items and discussions on forums about the new hotels andlodges in the Kruger Park and Kgalagadi. Most of it unfortunately has been negative, but as‘lodge-dwellers’ (the term used by some campers to describe the supposed wealthy people thatthe parks are pandering to) we are excited by these new developments and cannot wait to visitthe three new camps being built by Ta Shebube on the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi.We go on to discuss image theft, which seems to be rife. In addition to images we have hadwhole articles stolen and uploaded word-for-word on travel websites! Do these people think thatthe internet is a big cookie jar where everything they see is free and they can simply helpthemselves?We end off with some advice when entering photographic contests – honesty is the best policy.We hope you enjoy this issue!Mario & Jenny FazekasKruger-2-KalahariCopyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterKruger Park Floods - 2013In February we visited Lukimbi Safari Lodge, which is situated on a large concession in thesouthern Kruger Park and also Idube Safari Lodge in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. We sawsome minor flood damage in the south but as we travelled further north we saw more damage.This is the sign at the Balule/Olifants low-level bridgeburied under a lot of sand!This is the ‘tar’ road justbefore the Shingwedzihigh-level bridge and thecamp turnoff – it is now adirt road and you cansee all the pieces of tarlaying to the right of theroad, which the floodwaters ripped up!This is the Shingwedzihigh-level bridge…Copyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterThis is the S63, S64, H 1-8 intersectionlooking in the direction of the Pafuripicnic site. You can see the one stoneroad sign in the above photo – it hasbeen overturned (left side of the road),while the other sign had fared onlyslightly better…The Luvuvhu Bridge with debris and a huge tree that reached right down to the water…Copyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterA Warning – Do not check in your photographic gear when flying!When flying, take your cameras and lenses on the plane with you as carry-on luggage.This photographer checked in one of her bags while flying in the USA. She emailed the airlineexecutives and all she got was the standard ‘sorry for your loss, please report this to the police’email. Only when her complaint went viral on social media did the airline eventually pay her$1000,00, which did not cover all the stolen items but was better than nothing.If you are flying to Africa for a photo safari, rather leave some gear at home than risk your gearbeing stolen. Each person is entitled to one carry-on item – let that be your photo gear!You can read her blog post here.The Nikon D600We bought three of these bodies and after a 3-week safari in the Kgalagadi returned them to thedealer. They were not the normal good quality that we have come to expect from Nikon.We replaced the three D600 bodies with two D800 bodies and oh, what a difference!You can read more about our disappointment with the D600 bodies here and also about howhappy we are with the D800 bodies here.We read all the negative reports about the D600 but also read a few people that said theirbodies were problem-free – we should have listened to the majority! The dealer where webought the cameras from did not seem too concerned about our problems but thankfully Nikonarranged for a full refund and we got D800 bodies that we have now used on two Kruger safarisand they are excellent!Nikon Pro-TalkWe attended a talk at Nikon’s head office in Centurion, by Roger de la Harpe. He discussed howhe prepares for a shoot, the dailychallenges that he and Pat, his wife,experience and how it eventually allcomes together in a wonderful book.Roger has just published his 24 thphotography book; In Search of theAfrican Lion.Copyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterNew Photographic eBookWe are pleased to announce our second eBook The Photographer's Guide to thePilanesberg National Park. Jenny and I compiled the eBook with Edward Peach, whom wemet while staying at Ivory Tree Lodge.Edward spent 18 months as a ranger in the park and he knows the Pilanesberg intimately. Hewas one of the best field guides we have had and he is an excellent photographer. He knowsthe best spots for sunrise and sunset shots, the best routes for finding predators, the best hidesand he provides good advice for visitors who go on guided safaris.With our combined knowledge this book becomes apowerful tool that will enable you to find the animalsand then know how best to photograph them.And the best part is that the book costs less than onenight's camping!Some reviews of the book fromaround the world:"This is the perfect book for people like me! What Ireally like about it is that it gives very specific, downto-earthideas that non-specialists can actuallyunderstand (and I am a writer by trade, so I demandhigh standards of clarity)." - Harriet Morris, eBookauthor and copywriter, USA"I have visited many national parks in South Africaand read extensively on wildlife and nature relatedsubjects and whether you want to visit PilanesbergNational Park or just want to learn how to photographwildlife, this is the book you have to have. Trust me!” - JV Cronjé, Mossel Bay, South Africa"As a photographer and someone who has visited and taken photographs in the PilanesbergNational Park, I can safely say that with the knowledge gained from this eBook, your experiencesand photographs will be much more memorable."- Alastair Stewart, British Colombia, Canada“Photographer's Guide to the Pilanesberg National Park is the BEST book and source ofinformation BY FAR!” - Amanda Ellis - Wildlife and Avian Photography Enthusiast, South AfricaPlease click here to see some photographs & read the stories from people who used our EtoshaeBook to capture some exciting images in the Namibian park.Copyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterImage TheftWe have been reading a lot of articles on theft ofimages on the internet so we decided to see if any ofour images have been ‘borrowed’.We chose this baobab image taken in the Kruger Parkwith the rising sun and used Google Images to searchfor the same image.We got 3 pages of results with nearly 30 websites inthe USA, UK, Germany, Spain, India and alsoFacebook pages who had stolen our image.Our next step was to post comments on thesewebsites saying what a lovely image it was andasking where they got it from with a link to our webpage containing the image.Within a few days the 3 pages had been reducedto 2 pages but the others ignored our post.We don’t think you can ever eliminate image theftbut we are going to make it uncomfortable forthose thieves that do take our images!If you have images we would suggest you doregular checks using Google Images or Tin Eye.People have been sued for ‘using’ other people’sphotographs without their permission but it is along process.This blogger learnt the hard way – she ‘grabbed’ aphoto off of a Google search, which was from aphotographer’s website. The photographercontacted her and told her to take it down and hesuccessfully sued her.You can read her story and advice here“Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera withme at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment”. – Elliott ErwittCopyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterNew camps for the Kruger and KgalagadiI’m sure that most people would be aware of the new hotel developments in the Kruger NationalPark. There are two hotels being built in the south, one near Malelane gate and the other nearSkukuza rest-camp (Paul Kruger gate).What many people may not know is that there are rumors of other hotels that are planned forOrpen gate, Phalaborwa gate and also in the north near Punda Maria!In addition, there are new camps, new units and refurbishments being planned in the Kgalagadi:Re-design Nossob Rest CampRe-design Nossob Rest CampGharagabMata Mata areaMata MataWilderness campsTwee RivierenJan se Draai wilderness camp (halfwaybetween Twee Rivieren and Nossob)Stoffelsdraai – 4 x 4 camping site10 x units, re-alignment of road and upgrade of bulk services.Project is funded and EIA in process.10 x luxury camp sites and associated infrastructure. EIA inprocess. Project not funded.3 x luxury 4x4 camp sites. EIA in process. Project not funded.10 x new luxury camping sites at Craig Lockhardt (Kameelperdkamp). EIA in process. Project not funded.2 x family units to be constructed. EIA completed. Project notfunded.Additional unit at Kieliekrankie, Urikaruus and GrootkolkWilderness Camps. Project not funded.5 x 2-bed chalets. Project not funded.Combination of two approved sites along the Nossob River forwilderness camp to construct 10 units, access roads and bulkservices. Project not funded5 x wilderness camping sites for 4x4 groups. Project not funded.There are also new developments on the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi. New camps arebeing built at Rooiputs, Polentswa and Union’s End. Rooiputs is opening on 01 June 2013,Polentswa in July and Union’s End August/September2013.We have been reading comments on some of theforums and many people are so negative about thesedevelopments.What it seems to boil down to is ignorance,selfishness and/or a fear of change. These weresome of the complaints (and our answers):“The camp at Rooiputs is going to replace the existing camping site” – not so, the lodge is200 meters next to the camp site. (Moral of the story – do your homework before complaining!)Copyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari Newsletter“You can actually see the camp as it is so close to the road and the camp site”. So what!?You can see the lodge roofs from these two spots but you can also see most of Satara, Nossoband many other camps from the roads. At Twee Rivieren, Nossob and Mata Mata the camperslook onto the cottages and vice versa and everyone lives in harmony.“The parks are only looking after the rich lodge-dwellers” – We have found that the parksare trying to provide accommodation for all budgets. The developers had the option of buildingRooiputs camp over the existing camp site but the MD of Ta Shebube is a camper as well as a‘lodge-dweller’ and she enjoys the camping experience so it was decided to build next to thecamp site. (We have seen campers driving 4x4 vehicles that cost over R1 million so to make thedistinction that campers are ‘poor’ and lodge-dwellers are ‘wealthy’ isn’t an intelligent comment).We can remember that there was also much unhappiness when the original wilderness campswere built in the Kgalagadi back in 2002. People knew only three camps, Twee Rivieren,Nossob and Mata Mata and the negative visitors were up in arms about this new developmentbut in hindsight these wilderness camps are the best thing that could have happened in theKgalagadi!As ‘lodge-dwellers’, we are looking forward to these new developments that will bring addedvalue to the parks and provide more choices for the visitors.For more information on the three exciting new Kgalagadicamps on the Botswana side of the park, please visit thewebsite of Ta Shebube.____________________________________________________________________________Share Your PhotosWe would love to hear from you so please remember to share your photos with us and othervisitors. It's such a waste 'hiding' your images on a computer or on a DVD where they cannot beappreciated by others!____________________________________________________________________________Copyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterThe email most Photographers would love to Receive!I received this email in April 2012as my Scorpion image had madeit to the Final round of judging.The organisers requested a RAWfile and more information on howthe image was captured.I had read the rules and theysimply say ‘do not enter images ofcaptive animals’ but what is thedefinition of a ‘captive’ animal?This question has caused muchdebate. The rules go on to say“With full and appropriatedisclosure of all information relating to how, when and where the image was captured, theJudges will ascertain whether the species featured is, as far as reasonably possible, living a freeand wild existence”.My scorpion image had been shot in Satara rest camp. It was living a free and wild existencebut for a few minutes I picked him up (with a spatula) and placed him in a small vivarium where Iphotographed him under UV lights beforereleasing him.I think my image was disqualified due to mydeclaration. I could have lied and said that thescorpion was photographed in a totally freeand wild environment but liars tend to getcaught out – as happened with the 2009winner, Jose Luis Rodriguez, who allegedlylied about his wolf image and he won the titleof ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ but thenhad the title taken away and he was bannedfor life from entering the contest when theorganisers found out about his deception.The point I’m making here is that it is better to miss this opportunity and still retain your integritythan to be known as the ‘liar photographer!” Who wants to do business with a liar and a cheat?If I, or you, are meant to win this contest we will do so eventually – we do not need to resort tolies and deception. Once a person loses their integrity it is gone as people have long memories!“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”- Friedrich NietzscheCopyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/

The Lion's Roar Photo Safari NewsletterParting Shot...Leopard Lazing in tree near Lukimbi Lodge, Kruger ParkNikon D3s with 600mm f4 lens plus 1.7x TC resting on beanbagISO 12800, 1/25 sec at f/6.7(The sun had set 30 minutes ago!)Copyright: Mario FazekasTo subscribe to this newsletter please click hereCopyright: http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/