Ben Reports: We went in search of the lions that had spent a fruitless but persistent day hunting yesterday and found them easily before sunrise.During the night they had finally managed to capture a Lechwe ram, and when we arrived they were still tucking into the final remains - a few meagre morsels were all that was left. After a few photos using the spotlights ... ... we positioned ourselves so that the colours of the sunrise appeared behind the lions. When they had eaten enough the lions slumped on nearby mounds to catch the first rays of the rising sun. This gave us an excellent opportunity to practice some HDR photography, and as the sun began to rise, we...
Subscribe to this list via RSS
Blog posts tagged in Ben Cranke
Ben Reports: We went in search of the lions that had spent a fruitless but persistent day hunting yesterday and found them easily before sunrise.During the night they had finally managed to capture a Lechwe ram, and when we arrived they were still tucking into the final remains - a few meagre morsels were all that was left. After a few photos using the spotlights ... ... we positioned ourselves so that the colours of the sunrise appeared behind the lions. When they had eaten enough the lions slumped on nearby mounds to catch the first rays of the rising sun. This gave us an excellent opportunity to practice some HDR photography, and as the sun began to rise, we...
Wim Reports: We went straight to the vantage point that overlooks Paradise Island this morning to see if the buffalo would be returning to this side of the wide water channel. When we reached the vantage point the first morning sun rays were beginning to pierce the sky. We started to take photos of the beautiful scene ... and as it became lighter we saw the buffalo. And not only the buffalo!A pride of lions was using the shadowy light to stalk the buffalo, and the lions had created a semi-circle around their unaware prey.And chaos reigned for the next two hours! The buffalo were chased left and right, back and forth. They regrouped to chase the lions, but the lions were wily, and as the buffalo charged some of the pride members, others attacked from the other side. The commotion was compounded by the bellows and snorts, and water and...
Ben's News: A beautiful sunrise greeted us again this morning with the different waking animals dotted around the Plains. A pod of around 45 hippos had crowded into a very small pond - it was not large enough to be named anything other than a pond - and we sat an watched them for almost an hour as they jostled one another for space, moved around a little irritably, yawned, shoved each other, and generally kept themselves and their companions on the go all the time. We were diverted now and then as different birds flew over, capturing images against the beautiful sky. While watching the birds and the hippos we heard lions calling from an area we have not encountered lions before. We headed in that direction and met up...
From Wim: Today was one of the most eventful and emotional days that I have experienced in my years in the bush.It all started with a magnificent dawn and a Serval hunting in the glorious light giving us a chance for some really successful photographs.The pride of lions from last night were less than 300 meters away from the serval and were within a short walk from the buffalo.As the sun rose the lions were right in amongst the buffalo. The lions were beside themselves with hunger and the next few hours showed their desperation.First they caused some confusion by chasing the buffalos in all directions. The frenzied buffalo were chased again and again - across open plains, through shallow water, and then we realised that there was a plan developing. The buffalo were being chased gradually but very firmly toward a water channel which would slow down their escape.The lions harried...
Ben Reports: We found the buffalo before sunrise even closer than we had anticipated after seeing them yesterday. Within minutes we spotted a pride of lions across a serenely quiet water channel.Realising that the lions were heading toward the buffalo we positioned ourselves to catch not only the river crossing but also the encounter between the two. Our rewards were phenomenal.The river crossing was one of the most spectacular I have seen. The water was incredibly still and reflected the images of the lions like a highly polished mirror. The lions crossed one by one, and between each crossing the water settled again into that reflective surface, meaning that we captured portraits of each lion with unbelievably clear reflections.And now the action started. The lions were clearly hungry and started to hunt almost immediately. They gathered and with their tails whipping they charged, causing the buffalo to scatter in all directions -...
Wim and Ben in Japan: DAY 11 A big storm hit us last night and we awoke to a world covered in inches of deep snow, including most of the roads being snowed over. We decided to start our day at the Red-crowned Crane feeding grounds in Tsurui, located closer to our hotel. We arrived before the Cranes, so we positioned ourselves to capture lovely flight images of them as they flew in for their early feed, beautifully back lit by the soft morning sunrise, as they landed on silky smooth, freshly deposited snow. Photo: Frits Hoogendijk As predicted enjoyed capturing fairly lengthy courtship displays for most of the morning. So enchanting! We decided around midday to relocate to Akan, the same feeding centre we were at yesterday afternoon and this is where we spent the remainder of our day. Each feeding ground offers very...
From Ben and Wim DAY 10 Today was supposed to be all about Red-crowned Cranes, but there were a few surprises in store for us. We spent the morning at yesterday’s feeding ground at Tsurui, once again capturing some good images. Shortly before lunch we decided to move west to another feeding ground near the town of Akan. This turned out to be a good move, as it was much busier in many respects. Each day, grain is scattered over a wide area for the birds to feed on, but they’re not the only ones who take advantage of a free meal. We were surprised to see small herds of about ten Sika deer, also known as spotted deer, darting out from the surrounding forest to feed on the grain and then running back into the trees for cover again. Everyone was pleased...
From Ben and Wim: DAY 9 When we departed from Rausu this morning it was snowing quite heavily, which got us really excited about the possibility of photographing Red-crowned Cranes in a snow storm. However, we didn’t account for the fact that heavy snow meant slower travelling time to Tsurui, which is located in the Akan District near the eastern coast of Hokkaido. By the time we arrived it had stopped snowing, but this gave us three to four hours of lovely mid-afternoon sunlight to take advantage of. Red-crowned Crane numbers were virtually decimated a hundred years ago, down to a shocking 20 in 1910. They became, and remain, fiercely protected by the Japanese and, thanks to conservation and breeding projects, their numbers have increased to approximately 1,000 today. At this breeding and feeding ground in Tsurui, we were with approximately 200 birds –...
Wim and Ben share: DAY 8 We had the option to book another day’s charter out with the eagles and after the past two incredible days, how could we possibly resist? We got a 5 a.m. start this morning to be out at the ice floes for sunrise where we were, once again, not disappointed by the sheer number of White-tailed and Steller’s Sea Eagles. There are literally hundreds of them, scattered over a few kilometres and visible for as far as the eye can see. We got many action shots again, photographing them in soft, defused light with the sun often behind a thin layer of cloud. Steller’s Sea Eagles are the world’s heaviest eagles and one of the largest raptors overall. Females weigh from 7 to 9 kilograms, while males are rather lighter at 5 to 6 kilograms. Wingspans range...
From Wim and Ben: DAY 7 What a crazy, adrenalin fuelled day we’ve just had - the White-tailed and Steller's Sea Eagles were outrageous! Our second full day charter started at 9 a.m. with a short 15 minute journey out to the pack ice. Yesterday the ice was boxed right up into the entrance to the harbour, but the winds had moved the floes out to sea overnight, which worked in our favour. The sunlight was soft, pastel and subdued today, somewhat muted by clouds and strong winds. Our skipper did a great job of positioning the boat so that the birds were always flying towards us, into the wind, with their catches. There was so much action going on in the air above and around us that we honestly didn’t know where to look or photograph first. The frenzy of birds,...
