2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- Part 5 of 6

Welcome to PART 5 of my 2013 review! This post will take us down from #5 in the countdown to #2 - My image of the year will be unveiled tomorrow here on the Blue Lion Blog! 

For this year’s review, I have selected 30 images that represent a combination of my personal favorite shots as well as my most widely viewed images on my website (http://www.bluelionphotos.com), social media such as my Facebook page and my Twitter account (@BlueLionPhotos).

 I hope you enjoy this journey through my photographic year – I welcome your comments below as I savor getting to know how my images impact you the viewer! Each of the images is viewable and available for purchase by clicking on the image here, which will take you to my website. 

If you missed earlier posts in this retrospective series just click the links below! 

PART 1     ~     PART 2     ~    PART 3     ~     PART 4

ONWARD! 

#5 ~ Leopard Stare ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

#4 ~ Cheetah Portrait ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

#3 ~ Lilac Breasted Roller ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

#2 ~ Waterhole Sunrise ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- Part 4 of 6

It's time to dive into the TOP TEN from 2013! This post counts down images #10 down to # 6. The ranking of my top ten is calculated by the response of Blue Lion Pride members on social media to these images over the year. As always, I am interested in YOUR thoughts about my images -- which ones excite you and which ones make you say "Meh"?  
If you missed ,y earlier installments -- do not fret you cam see them at the links below! 
PART 1     ~     PART 2     ~     PART 3

HERE GOES! 

#10 ~ Sable Antelope Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose, TX

#9 ~ Climbing Leopard ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

#8 ~ Blending In ~  Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

#7 ~ Perching Julia Longwing ~ Texas Discovery Gardens, Dallas, TX

#6 ~ Aplomado Falcon (captive) ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Thanks for visiting! Please feel free to share my images with your friends on social media! Your support is very much appreciated! 
Once posted, just click to see PART 5 !

2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- Part 3 of 6

In this post, we will wander from photo # 15 down to the edge of my top 10 images of 2013. This collection features images from my South African Safari as well as local shots and even my favorite Civil War reenactment shot of 2013. Enjoy and make sure to visit back tomorrow for images # 6 through 10! If you missed previous posts in this countdown, you can click on them here: PART 1, PART 2.

# 15 ~ Spotted Hyena Snarl ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

# 14 ~ Snowy Egret Hunting ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

#13 ~ "FIRE!" ~ Battle of Fort Richardson, Jacksboro,TX

#12 ~ (Not So) Graceful Giraffe ~ Fossil Rim , Glen Rose, TX 

#11 ~ Reflective Heron ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Once I post the next installment in the countdown, you can click HERE  to see it! As always I am interested to hear which of my images speak most loudly to you individually! Feel free to tell me in the comments below! 

2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- Part 1 of 6

As 2013 winds down and I review my photography of the year, I have been enjoying spending time looking over the images I have produced this year. 2013 allowed me to explore my true love of nature photography through my amazing trip to South Africa and the Ngala Game Reserve in July as well as more local spots such as the Hagerman National WildlifeRefuge in North Texas, and the jewel that is the Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas. I was also able to “shoot” some people in 2013 as I explored more Civil War reenactment photography at local events in Texas. Thanks to my wife’s love of theater, I have also started to dabble with doing cast images and some head shots of local community theater productions here in the Dallas Metroplex.

For this year’s review, I have selected 30 images that represent a combination of my personal favorite shots as well as my most widely viewed images on my website (http://www.bluelionphotos.com), social media such as my Facebook page and my Twitter account (@BlueLionPhotos).

This review will occur in six parts with this post being my 10 “honorable mention” images. The remaining top 20 images will be divided into four more postings until the final image in revealed in a posting all by itself.

 I hope you enjoy this journey through my photographic year – I welcome your comments below as I savor getting to know how my images impact you the viewer! Each of the images is viewable and available for purchase by clicking on the image here, which will take you to my website. 

Young Lioness ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

Perching Owl Eye ~ Texas Discovery Gardens, Dallas, TX

Watchful Cheetah ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

"Fence Sitting" ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Young Male Lion ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

Northern Harrier Hawk ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Spring Blue Bird ~ Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose ,TX

Hedwig  - I was thrilled to meet one of the actual "avian actors" who played the part in the Harry Potter movies.

Ellies at Sunset ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

Blue on Blue ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Continue exploring the next five images in my 2013 Countdown - http://bluelionphotos.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-blue-lion-year-in-review-part-2-of.html

On Safari - Wounded Pride

As you may recall from earlier posts, during my African Safari I had the opportunity to follow a small lion pride over the course of several days. On the Ngala property there are three different prides of lions that crisscross much of the territory. It seems that this property was on the edge of their territories and thus none of the three prides staked it out as core territory. The largest of the prides, the Birmingham pride numbers over 20 different lions. Unfortunately, they were spending most of their time in the Kruger National Park during my visit so I did not get a chance to see them. The smallest of the three groups with several new, young males were looking to take over an existing pride. These young rogue males also didn't make an appearance during my visit. The lions I did get a chance to see were a pride of four lions: One adult lioness and her three sub adult children. We encountered them at three separate times during my visit. The first encounter (documented in my post "On Safari - Part One") involved them stalking a herd of impala.



The second encounter involved us following them through some very heavy brush. Despite the thickness of the brush, I was able to get some nice views but you can definitely tell they were not too keen on us being that close!



The third and final encounter with this pride was at the far side of the property as they came down to drink at a water hole in the early morning.




We had heard reports that they had been involved with a carcass in the overnight hours. No one was able to tell if they had made a kill and this was their carcass or if they were trying to steal it from some other predator. The result was that there had clearly been a battle over this carcass. When we caught up with this pride, we observed that the mother lioness had certainly taken the brunt of a very significant fight. As you can see from these images, she had some significant wounds to her flank and her head. What the still images don't show is that she was walking remarkably easily given the nature of her wounds. Those of us with less experience were concerned that these wounds might indeed prove fatal to her. However, our ranger assured us that such wounds while certainly running the risk of infection usually would not be fatal. Another concern brought up by these wounds is if the matriarch of this pride was wounded, would it impact her ability to make sure that her sub adult children could survive to adulthood with the hunting skills they needed. Only time will truly tell.

 One thing this encounter clearly demonstrates is that life in the African bush is never easy. Those of us who do not encounter the drama of the African bush on a daily basis easily forget that hunting for your food each day is not without great peril. Aside from the dangers inherent in killing prey that does not want to be killed, there's also the risk of dealing with confrontation from other predators who want what you may have. The story of this lion pride and my visits with them clearly shows the grittier side of Mother Nature. As much as we may want it to seem like it's a Disney movie, survival often has a rather R-rated script to it.

On Safari - Leopard Sighting!

Click  in the image to see the high resolution version 

This post brings us to the afternoon of day three of my visit to the Ngala Safari Lodge in South Africa. As you have seen from my previous postings, I had a great deal of success seeing a wide range of African animals. At this stage of the trip, two animals were missing from my list of the “Big Five”. These two animals were rhinos and leopards. I had been lucky enough to see rhinos on several occasions during previous visits to Africa, so they were less of a priority for me. However, my previous visits had yielded only a short glimpse of a wild leopard. Shortly before sunset we got a call over the radio from another ranger that a young male leopard had been spotted with an impala carcass in a tree. The challenge for us was to get there before the sun went down. The leopard sighting was estimated to be approximately 20 minutes away and under perfect conditions we might just get there before sunset. Our ranger drove with great determination to beat the clock and get us this leopard sighting before darkness fell. Upon our arrival, we were able to see the leopard about 20 feet up in a leadwood tree tending to his carcass. 

Click  in the image to see the high resolution version 

The faint light was less than perfect for photography. Rather than let this opportunity pass me by, I reached into my camera bag, put on my high-powered flash, played with some settings, and hoped for the best. The images that you see here certainly have some flaws, but they accurately capture the excitement of those special moments. 
Upon our arrival, we noticed that in addition to the leopard in the tree with his carcass two hyenas had camped out under the tree and were vocally harassing the leopard hoping that his inexperience would cause him to drop the carcass down for them and they could feast. The leopard fed on the carcass for a while, seemingly oblivious to the hyenas. However, after a while he turned and wandered down the tree aways and let them know that he was none too pleased with their presence. 

Click  in the image to see the high resolution version 

When he finally came all the way down, he gave the hyenas distance and they gave him distance. The leopard moved away from the tree and off into the grass. 

Click  in the image to see the high resolution version 

We then headed back to camp and the dinner that awaited us. We made plans to return to this tree the following morning in the hopes of a better opportunity to photograph this beautiful leopard in action. Unfortunately, the carcass slipped out of the tree overnight and the hyenas had their fill of it. Even though I missed a chance to shoot the “Young Tom” leopard in the morning light, I held out hope that the final days of my Safari experience would yield another good leopard sighting. I'm happy to report I was not disappointed. Please coming back soon to get the full story of a future leopard sighting!

ON SAFARI - DAY 2

Welcome back to the Blue Lion Blog for the next installment of my “Safari Series” which details my visit to the Ngala Safari Lodge in South Africa in July, 2013.

This entry focuses on the animals I photographed on day two of my visit. After being lucky enough to see a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl the previous afternoon, I was again lucky to see another at a distance in the dawn light. It made a nice silhouette against the rosy-fingered African dawn.  

As the sun rose, we encountered a breeding herd of giraffes. The young seemed odd to me as they obviously had yet to grow their necks to the wonderfully ridiculous length we are all used to. The second image here features a bird known as an oxpecker working to remove small insects and ticks from the hide of this adult giraffe. 

   

From one of the largest of the African animals, we drove on to discover the smallest of Africa’s carnivores – the Dwarf Mongoose. These adorable little fellas live in matriarchal colonies centered on abandoned termite mounds that they use for shelter and as lookout posts. 

This next sighting was a great thrill for me as it was my very first wild cheetah sighting of my three safaris! This female was moving from termite mound to termite mound in hopes of scanning the surrounding area for potential prey. Since it was getting later in the morning, she was not having much luck. However, it did provide the chance for her to pose for me as if she was a feline supermodel! 

  

To make the day complete, during our afternoon drive, we came across a pride of four lions – an adult lioness and her three young offspring (two females and a male) as they were stalking a herd of impala. The images of this pride show how well these tawny colored lions can be camouflaged against the winter grasses in South Africa. Despite their best efforts, the impala were able to spot them before the lions could sneak close enough to launch an attack. While the lions have a great deal of stealth, they are unsuccessful in the vast majority (approx. 80%) of their hunting attempts. 

The day concluded with a brilliant sunset and a ride back to the lodge in the dark using a bright spotlight to alter us to the presence of nocturnal animals. We were lucky to catch brief glimpses of more mongooses, some bush babies, and a small nocturnal cat called a serval. 

A delicious meal in the boma followed by local tribal singing and dancing rounded out the evening before bed called my name as the African morning comes awfully early at 5:00 am the next morning!  

On SAFARI - Africa's Smallest Carnivore

This post is to share a video I made of a short visit at the den of some Dwarf Mongooses (Helogale parvula) during my visit to the Ngala Safari Lodge on the western edge of the world famous Kruger National Park in South Africa. Enjoy your time with these cute little carnivores! 

On SAFARI - Hyenas and Wild Dogs

This is a short post to be able to share with loyal Blue Lion Blog readers the promised video of the Spotted Hyena – African Wild Dog showdown video that I have posted to my YouTube account.



The back-story is that we had seen a solitary Spotted Hyena resting near where we had reports of wild dog tracks from earlier in the day. After watching the hyena reclining, we went in search of the dogs and soon found them. In the short 10 minutes since we left the hyena, the dogs had managed to kill an impala and then have the hyenas (including the individual we had just left) steal it from them. The dogs pestered and harassed the hyenas and finally regained “ownership” of the carcass.