11 Nov Latest Images, YouTube Videos and News
Welcome to issue number 41!
I hope it finds you happy and in good health.
I felt to share some of my latest images; from the last couple of months, with you as well as some of my recent news and YouTube videos. I hope you enjoy what follows and look forward to your feedback.
Latest images
Photography like life has its ups and downs. Sometimes you have to go through a trough to learn and grow. Sometimes the challenging times reveal what you truly love. Sometimes they encourage reflection and refocusing on what counts.
I feel like I went through one of those troughs some 12 odd months ago and lost a little bit of my passion for photography. I hadn’t forgot my purpose, I had just lost a little bit of focus. At the very centre of my time in nature and doing photography has been my relationship with God. It is in these times, that I connect deeply with Him, gain perspective and move forward with conviction, peace and incredible joy. When this is the core focus the rest follows beautifully. When I stop making the main thing the main thing, there is a subtle but nonetheless slow degradation of my love and passion for the hobby. For the last while I have been prioritizing walking in the hills near my home and making the main thing the main thing. It has brought back such an incredible passion for birds and photography, almost more so than I have ever had before.
I have gone back to just enjoying each walk, loving the time of connection and letting that produce whatever it has in store. Not surprisingly it has rekindled my spark and allowed me to take images that I love for the memories they serve and for the way they came about.
My message and reminder to myself going forward is simple; don’t forget why you do things, why you love photography, the main thing.
On this note, I felt to share with you some of my latest images; most of which have been taken within a few hundred metres of my front door.
Grasslands, widowbirds and waxbills
Late March produced some incredible moments with Red-collared Widowbirds. They seem to breed quite late in the season on the hillside near my home and I caught the end of it, as the light became more subtle and the autumn colours began to show.
This is probably my favourite image from the time and was recently donated to “Prints for Wildlife” to raise money for conservation. It evokes much of what I felt watching these magnificent birds defend their grassland territories at first light. Our mistbelt grasslands are under severe threat and I hope this image provides good reason to protect what is left.
A high key shot of a similar grassland scene just with very different conditions and light.
While the Widowbirds fended off potential competitors, the Waxbills feasted on the abundant grass seeds. I loved the simplicity of this image and the patterns created by the lines and colours.
While returning from the grasslands I would often stop at my neighbour’s beautiful Protea Sylvias to see if there were any sunbirds around. There were! And this shot of a male Malachite Sunbird captures much of their beauty.
Walks around our nearby dams also produced some super sightings; with this Little Bittern being one of the highlights in April. Lines and light created the intrigue and focal point in this image.
Woodhoopoes and backlighting
One of May’s highlights was spending time with a flock of Green Wood-hoopoes. I loved the light, the opportunity to capture behaviour and the end of autumn / beginning of winter colours.
Ying and yang…
It was awesome watching them search for grubs, especially when the backdrop produced beautiful, colourful bokeh.
I was chuffed to capture a successful search with this little spider being an early breakfast.
A wing flap, a beautifully textured tree and some backlighting made this another memorable image.
Winter bird parties
Time in a nearby Afromontane forest produced some excellent birding moments with great sightings of Barrat’s Warbler being the standout.
This image of a Terrestrial Brownbul was the one that stood out from a photographic perspective. I enjoyed the moodiness of the image and how it tells the story of these more often heard, not often seen well birds.
Maginificent autumn colours and some regular visitors
The beginning of June produced a kaleidoscope of colours at my home in the Natal Midlands. This combined with subtle light and a very well frequented dam made for some wonderful moments.
A Pied Kingfisher kindly hovered in front of some very colourful trees as I departed my home one morning.
I loved the background colours behind this perch and how the foreground branches created a painterly effect in the background. The first bird I found on it was an African Darter. Although I liked the images I achieved, I think the time spent learning where to stand and how to make the most of the opportunity set me up for one of my most cherished portraits; the next image to come.
When this Giant Kingfisher landed on the “African Darter” perch my heart skipped a beat as I knew exactly what was on offer. The only problem was that I was about 400 metres from the perch and on the other side of the dam. With the speed of a Gazelle and the stealth of a mature leopard I covered those 400 metres in what I tell myself was a matter of seconds. To my amazement, the Kingfisher (who usually flies off before I even see him) remained on the perch and allowed me to come away with some unique portraits. Thank you!
While photographing Darters, Cormorants and Kingifshers, I was also often accompanied by this Grey Heron. He was there for different reasons though, as he would follow after a romp of otters (believe it or not “romp” is indeed the collective noun for otters 😊) in the hope of getting some bycatch. It was the first time I have witnessed this behaviour and although I didn’t get any shots worth showing, I did get this colourful image of my Heron friend to celebrate the moments shared.
Magical Montusi and Sugarbirds
At the end of July I was asked to give some talks on the art of bird photography at Montusi Mountain Lodge in the northern Drakensberg. Although I had very limited time for photography, I did get a couple of hours in the early morning to capture a few images of the abundant Sugarbirds and Sunbirds that visit their incredible Aloe ridden gardens at this time of year. Thanks so much to the participants as well as Lindsey, Cath and the Montusi team for such a super weekend!
Should you want to be part of something similar next year, please drop me a note so that I can let the team at Montusi know to get in touch with you.
A low key image of a very special and endemic Gurney’s Sugarbird. I met a well travelled birder while staying at Montusi and we both agreed that the lodge must be one of the best places in the world to photograph these special birds.
Another portrait of one of many Gurney’s Sugarbirds that visit the lodge’s beautiful Aloe gardens.
We stayed in unit 10 (at Montusi Mountain Lodge) and one of the perks of this was having our own family of Spotted thick-knees in the unit’s garden. Framing, patterns and beautifully coloured flowers are sometimes all you need to elevate an image.
Benvie, birds and the wonderful Robinsons
“We want you to come and stay at our newly renovated cottage?”. Immediate answer. Yes! When John and Jen Robinson invited us to Benvie for the weekend to spend a night in their beautiful “Crowned Eagle Cottage” we were so excited to join them. Although sickness got in the way of our first date, we finally managed to get there in July.
Time with John and Jen is always special! They have become wonderful friends and we love our times together. And if you have not been to the gardens, you should, as they are as spectacular. The location is also the best place in the world to see and experience the crepuscular Orange Ground Thrush. I will let the next 4 images give you the equivalent number of additional reasons to go and visit.
On our first evening at the Crowned Eagle Cottage, I caught a glimpse of a bird hawking insects from the balcony. Low and behold it was a female Narina Trogon. This must be one of my more treasured “small in frame” images to date. I heard recently that the next visitors had a Cape Parrot pay a visit! Just wow!
I felt like I got to catch up with some old friends. There are few places where you can get this close to a Chorister Robin. They are usually as shy as they are beautiful.
The usual flocks of Knysna Turacos were bumbling through the canopies as we explored our surrounds.
And my dear friend; Mr Orange Ground Thrush, was at his usual haunt, waiting for John’s arrival and the provision of needed supplies in the cold and dry winter months. The relationship John has built with these incredible birds is very special and reminds me of how important it is for each of us to stop and truly connect with nature and the wonders it provides.
Beetles, Ticks and Northern KwaZulu Natal specials
Besides sharing my knowledge regarding the “art of wildlife photography” with passionate photographers, I have a deep passion for encouraging and building confidence in leaders and teams. This purpose has led me to spending more and more time playing the role of business coach. I have found it incredibly fulfilling for so many reasons and have recently launched a leadership coaching business called Transform with two good friends and colleagues. I cannot be more excited!
Coaching requires the ability to listen, ask the right questions and truly hear and see the leader you are journeying with. It requires being present, supporting a leader to achieve clarity and conviction and being in a space where you can encourage and serve. This requires energy and our family trip to Hluhluwe was an awesome way to refill the tank.
While I supported Joshua in his pursuit of beetles, he patiently supported me in my attempts to capture some of the exquisite birdlife that the sand forests of northern KwaZulu-Natal have in spades. I treasure my moments with my son and love how our time in the field brings us closer. We made a great team! Joshua discovered a dung beetle that has never been photographed alive and only ever recorded 5 times and I got a few bird images that I enjoyed and will take me back to our times together.
We both, however, got more tick bites than a Dalmatian has spots and were required to take preventative medication as soon as we returned home. Fortunately, we recovered without getting to experience all the exciting symptoms that tick bite fever has to offer.
Crested Guineafowls were out in force and this image evokes much of the emotion I feel when I see them and hear their telltale noises.
We had a pair of Collared Sunbirds that would visit our home at Kuleni Game Reserve most days. They can be difficult to photograph as they are constantly on the move, but this male kindly stood still for long enough to capture his portrait.
Brown-hooded Kingfishers were always close to the action when Joshua was foraging for beetles or I was sneaking up on Grey Waxbills.
And amazingly, Square-tailed Drongos were willing to get eye level and hang about for some unusual photographic opportunities.
A confiding Heron and pink reflections
Late July was noteworthy for a very confiding Purple Heron, my first sighting of a White-backed Duck on my home range and some wonderful, pink reflections on a nearby pond.
Some birds are just very different to others! Most Purple Herons are shy and tend to move away well before you notice their presence. This bird, however, would see me and then come and stand out in the open in front of me. He would not budge and was comfortable letting me get within 20 odd metres from where he was standing. Ray Hennessey and I talk about this portrait in our latest Youtube show: “What makes great bird portraits?” so be sure to catch it if the topic interests you.
Sometimes all you need is the colour pink, still waters and a Little Grebe.
And some dramatic light.
I hope you enjoyed a few of my recent images and some of the stories behind them.
LATEST NEWS
YouTube videos with Ray Hennessey
Ray Hennessey and I recently started a YouTube series on his channel called the “Art of Wildlife Photography”. We came together because of a shared love of birds, photography and authenticity, as well as a desire to encourage and building confidence in fellow photographers. We also really enjoy our time together!
As the name suggests, our series will focus on the art and creativity side of photography. Our first couple of episodes focused on field craft, composition and design and the objective analysis of wildlife photographs, but we will likely be branching out into a number of other subjects when time allows (with our latest show focusing on “What makes great portraits”). If you want to learn more about art, creativity, composition and design and how to evoke emotion and tell stories with your imagery then this is the show for you.
Our latest shows can be found at the links below:
What makes great portraits:
Bird Portraits from Good to Great with Richard Flack
The power of objective analysis, field craft and composition:
Art of Wildlife Photography with Richard Flack – Common Murre
Art of Wildlife Photography with Richard Flack – Buff-streaked Chat
Article in Skyways
I was also thankful to have my second article appear in Airlink’s inflight magazine; Skyways. It features Hwange Safari Lodge and Hwange National Park.
You can see the full article on our website, as well as the newsletter I wrote about the trip:
– SKYWAYS – Strictly for the birds
– Bird Photography in Hwange National Park
Yours in bird photography,
