B&B: Buddies and Breakfast–2015-06-20

For a long time, some years ago, 2 of my friends and I used to have breakfast together once a month on a Friday morning. Then I changed jobs and needed to travel 50Km (31mi) to work, and the same happened with one of the other two, and the breakfast fell by the wayside. But, then a little more than a month ago we decided to start it up again, on a Saturday morning! So, we had the first one last month, and then yesterday we had the second one. However, yesterday’s breakfast took on a different slant to just being a breakfast. Two of us like photography and use proper equipment, and the third uses his iPad (and some iPad apps) to come up with some creative photographs. So, iPad Man, his name is Drix, came up with the idea that we should have breakfast at Rietvlei Nature Reserve this month, and then he would drive us around the reserve so that the other two, Mark and myself, could take photographs of the wildlife at Rietvlei. It turned out to be a great morning for each of us!

Here are a few of the photographs that I took, and you can see more at my Flickr account of this visit.

This mongoose, and his little pal, were not bothered by our presence at all!

Have you ever tried to scratch your ear with your foot like this Springbuck?

The Cape Longclaw really makes a pretty picture!

Slow day at Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve–2015-04-11

I visited MKNR last weekend and it was a very quiet day. It isn’t a big reserve, in fact, it is in the middle of one of Pretoria’s up market suburbs, Moreleta Park. At a brisk walking pace you could walk through the reserve in a couple of hours. Somehow, the zebras, impalas and blesbucks evaded me. I walked right around the reserve, and discovered that they had all settled on the front lawn of the Rademeyer Restaurant on the reserve. I also sat at the bird hide for at least half an hour and never saw one bird there. It was one of those days.

 

Anyway, here is what I did capture…

Springbok

 

Helmeted Guineafowl

 

Bridge over … peaceful waters

 

Bad hair day!

 

Serenity in the woods

More of my photographs can be seen at my Flickr account.

Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve–2014-12-30

On Wednesday morning I quickly popped over to the Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve (MKNR) the first time I got close enough to get a decent photograph of the Diederik Cuckoo. Without further delay, here are some photographs from MKNR.

Diederik Cuckoo

 

Yellow-bellied Greenbul

 

Weed or flower?

 

Springbok

 

Created with flickr slideshow.

Rietvlei Nature Reserve–2014-12-20

This morning I was up at 05:30 in order that I could get ready, feed the animals, and then to leave for the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, which is only 7Km (4.35mi) from my house! Having arrived at the reserve, I started doing what photographers do at reserves…, take photographs! Having taken about 25 photographs, I realised that the battery of my camera was dying. So, I did what any photographer would do at this point. Open the equipment bag and get out the second battery. It was at this point that I realised that my second battery wasn’t charged! How it came to this point I do not know. I have been very good at keeping a charged backup battery! All I can think of is that somehow at some previous shoot, I use the backup battery and forgot that I did. Then when I got home I only charged the battery that was in the camera, thinking that it was the only battery I used.  Here are a few of the photographs I shot.

Yellow-billed Duck

 

Zebra

 

Little Egret

 

Blesbuck calves

 

Springbuck

 

Created with flickr slideshow.