Magnum Excursions

24/09/2024

"One Herd, Three Ways", Puku Flats, Chobe National Park, August 2024 - The beauty of photography is the way you can create very different images just by playing with the exposure. All of these shots are of the same herd of ellies and all were taken within 5 minutes of each other yet each has a different style due to exposure and composition.

24/09/2024

"The Crossing", Chobe National Park, Botswana, August 2024 - In August I was able to host a very special group of international travelers to Africa. This was their first time to Africa and several had no photography experience. My co-leader and I decided that as the experienced photographers in this group, part of our job would be to document the trip and sightings to put together later in a video. My partner, John, loved shooting the super telephoto primes so I decided to use my 40-150mm lens and shoot wide much of the time. This allowed us to get a mix of wide shots and tight shots. PHOTO TIP: If you have a large prime, great, but don't forget to shoot the wider shots to share the environment to which the wildlife lives. I call these 'sense of place' shots.

22/09/2024

"Night Moves", July and August 2024 - There is a special feeling to seeing wildlife after dark. Photography can be challenging, but even if you don't snap a shot it is worth the effort to be on these night game drives and night hide sessions. Both shots taken at ISO 4000, f/2.8 and 1/160 sec. on OM1 MkII and 40-150mm f/2.8 lens.

21/09/2024

"Elephants look really big when close and you are at ground level", - Chobe National Park, Botswana, July 2025 - In most cases, I like to shoot wildlife from the lowest angle I can safely achieve. In this case, I was shooting while lying down on a boat transom and using the articulated view screen of the camera to get the camera even lower than the elevation I was at. The shots are at 40mm on an OM-1 MkII so that is 80mm full frame equivalent. The herd kept getting closer and closer until ... well I could no longer get the full elephant in the frame. I was with a very experienced guide that was watching both me and the behavior of the elephant herd. Both the herd and I were quite relaxed even though the elephant eventually got within 6 feet of me.

I don't recommend shooting this close for most of my guests. I have shot 1000's of elephants so I am a bit more understanding of their behavior than most tourist. I also use great guides. With that said, it is CRITICAL that this kind of shot is only done when the animal calmly approaches you. If I would have pushed to get this close, it would have possibly stressed the animal once I was inside of it's circle of concern. Stressed animals are less predictable animals. Always remember that when working close to wildlife.

July and September 2025 will have our group back on the Chobe River. If you would like to join one of our trips, PM me or visit www.magnumexcursions.com

19/09/2024

"Ellie On Point", Chobe National Park, Botswana, August 2024 - I love shooting with the animal smaller in frame and more of the landscape showing. This photo was taken in a bright, contrasty time of the day. I often convert images taken at this time of day to black and whites since colors are washed out anyway. Some would argue the animal is too centered. I get that. IN this case, since the animal was looking directly toward the lens I thought it a good time to break the rules. Your thoughts?

19/09/2024

We have just opened up registration on a new September 2025 safari. Tis was originally scheduled as a private group but booking the houseboat and finding added rooms in Timbavati allows us to add 4 additional travelers. If you have always wanted to see Africa with beautiful sunsets, dozens of elephants drinking at the waters edge and a mix of lions, leopards, rhino, giraffe and antelope, this is a perfect safari for you.

Details here:

Date: September 9 -19, 2025 Group Size: Group Size – 8, 4 spaces remaining Cost: $9,950 Sharing. For a single supplement, an additional $2,900 Registration: To secure your spot, use contact [email protected] . Leader: Buddy Eleazer It’s a bit bold to call this an excellent safari combo, bu...

18/09/2024

"Mug Shots", - Masai Mara, Kenya, February 2024 - Over the years I have collected a series of lion portraits. I call them my 'mug shot' series as they are face on into the camera lens. Once my son and I joked around about making a book of these with the lions 'offenses' listed below the cat. Something like 'Unprovoked Assault on Zebra herds as they peacefully grazed' or ' robbed hyena of dinner'

17/09/2024

"Dominant Male", Chobe National Park, Botswana, July 2024 - Hippos are social animals that spend most of their time in groups. They live in groups from 10 to 30 hippos, which includes several adult females, several adult males, their offspring and one dominant male. The dominant male has the right to mate with all the adult females in the herd. You may wonder how the dominant male is determined. It's simple - He kicks butt on any challenger. If he loses, well it can be a fight to the death or he can be banished from the pod. As for the challenger, he can stay with the pod upon losing, but he needs to recognize his place in the society for this time.

IN JULY 2024, I WILL AGAIN BE TAKING A GROUP TO THE CHOBE RIVER. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE TRIP, MESSAGE ME.

16/09/2024

"Cheetah at Sunset", Zimanga Private Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, July 2024 -
NOTE: I HAVE THIS ENTIRE RESERVE AGAIN IN EARLY JULY 2025. CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT THE CHANCE TO GET SHOTS LIKE THIS.
The light was nearly gone when we arrived at the lodge but were lucky enough to find two cheetah males on a ridge overlooking a beautiful valley. Even though the light was low I tried to use the limited backlighting to create a low key rim of light on the one cheetah resting in the grasses. I like the overall relaxed mood captured.

15/09/2024

Southern Ground Hornbill - Lebala Camp, Linyanti, Okavango Delta, Botswana - August 2024 - The southern ground hornbill is classed as vulnerable to extinction globally; however, in South Africa, where most studies on the species have been carried out, it is listed as endangered. The reason for being endangered is habitat loss. This bird species is especially threatened by the loss of trees and general habitat loss, as they require vast amounts of space for their territories.
However, the nature has also made this animal threatened by having this bird possess unusual breeding details. Ground hornbills are believed to reach maturity at six to seven years, but very few breed at this age. Most begin breeding around 10 years old. Southern Ground Hornbills are long lived and slow breeders with the monogamous pair breeding every second year. Although two eggs are laid by the female in their cavity nests, typically only a single chick is reared to adulthood.

15/09/2024

Birds - Bee Eaters and Kingfishers - A few bird shots from my August 2024 trip to South Africa. The group I was leading had only limited interest in smaller birds so we didn't spend a lot of time with them; however, if we were watching elephants and there happened to be a bee eater on a nearby tree I, of course, took a few shots. Here is a sampling:

14/09/2024

"Photography in the Bush" - Rra Dinare, Okavango Delta, Botswana, August 2024 - Lion on Cape buffalo kill - On Facebook and Instagram you see many, many 'National Geographic like' photos of wildlife and if you go on safari you will likely see scenes like those. The truth is that you also sometimes get sightings like this. This photo is at 800mm (large telephoto) with manual focus through bushes of a male lion feeding on a kill in low light. The view is highly obstructed by the dense vegetation (that's why we call it 'the bush').

PHOTO TIP: When the scene is this difficult; you will have 4 choices: a) put away the camera and enjoy seeing raw nature as it plays out b) trying to get a photo through the brush ... not easy c) leaving for the moment with plans to return to the scene to see if the predator eventually comes out in the open d) moving on with hope of finding a better sighting later in the safari. None of these are the wrong choice and I have done all of the above at one time or another on safari.

Let's be frank, we are blessed to be on safari. Enjoying the moment, but not getting the shot isn't such a bad thing.

14/09/2024

"Young Cheetahs", Rra Dinaka, Okavango Delta, Botswana, August 2024 - I recently led a group of first time safari travelers. Their first sighting on a land game drive were mating leopards. The second sighting included these two young cheetahs along with another two siblings and a mom cheetah on an impala kill. Opening with sightings like these is not the norm but the likelihood is increased by proper planning and a bit of luck.

Proper planning for the types of wildlife you wish to see (rhino, wild dog, leopards, cheetah, lions, etc.) is key. I start 'designing' trips by first asking questions about what they expect or hope to see, followed by what type of landscapes they dream of seeing (the bush, savannahs, riverbeds, etc.) and, of course follow further with discussions of types of camps/lodges and level of comfort/luxury they wish to have. That planning sets a stage for success.

13/09/2024

Friday - It's 5 O'clock somewhere. So, is this lioness being aggressive with my presence or bored with my presence? You make the call. (Image taken near Lebala Camp in Linyanti in the Okavango Delta, Botswana while leading a group in August 2024)

13/09/2024

Rim Lighting and Hyena, Rra Dinare Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana - As the sun on the rim of the earth, it casts some beautiful rim light on the fur of wildlife if one is in position to shoot back into the last sunlight. The group I was leading and I were fortunate enough to be in a good position to shoot the rim lighting on this spotted hyena. There was a buffalo kill and a sleeping lion nearby and this hyena was making every effort to find an angle where he could grab dinner. He failed but he did give me a chance to shoot some nice images.

PHOTO TIP: This type image can best be shot in the very early morning or very late afternoon shooting toward the sunlight. The preferred situation is to have a background that is shadow and/or dark. This allows the rim to show more brightly. To accentuate the rim lighting, one often needs to under expose the shot. In this case I was -2 stops on exposure compensation. shutter speed and ISO are often not too much of a problem as shooting toward the remaining sunlight allows for pretty fast shutter speeds and low ISO.

12/09/2024

Which would you select and why? Two shots of an elephant (same animal) taken in Rra Dinare Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana in August 2024. Okay, I am down selecting images from the trip and often come across two similar images just as these are. Discounting exposure as these are right out of camera before processing, which would select shot A or shot B and why. TIP: My friend, Charles Glatzer turned me on to this tip years ago. It is a simple point but once you see the difference it will likely impact your photography going forward.

11/09/2024

ProCapture, PreCapture, Pre-release Capture - Below is a photo of a lilac breasted roller I took in mid-August in the Okavango Delta. How I captured it is a camera marvel. I shoot OM System model OM1 MkII - OM System (previously known as Olympus) has had a 'ProCapture' mode for years. It allows me to half press the shutter and the camera begins storing images in the buffer. Once fully depressed, these images go to my memory card. I can control number of frames before the pressing of the shutter as well as the frames after the shutter. My shots are stored as RAW files.

Canon's new R5 Mkii has a 1/2 sec. 'pre-capture' capability. Nice, but there are limited controls: The number of 'pre' shots are a function of the shutter frame rate and shutter speed.

Nikon's Z8 came out with what they call 'pre-release capture' but again an unfortunate limitation: the pre shots are only jpeg.

I'm happy for my friends who shoot Canon and Nikon that they can now shoot the 'pre' shots, but this is not new technology. Why did Canon and Nikon wait so long to bring out the tool? Maybe previous patents limited the use. Maybe they didn't see the value. I don't know, but this is just one of the computational advantages that OM System users have used for years.

10/09/2024

Animal I fear most in Africa? The hippo - I'm asked from my experience which animal I rear running into most on safari. I know trackers tell me it is the Cape buffalo because of it's unpredictable personality. Maybe. I haven't witnessed a buffalo attack. I have seen hippos appear as docile as a golden retriever at one moment and make vicious attacks on other hippos the next moment. I have also had them chase my photo boats in anger. Look at those canine teeth and incisors on these animals. Look at the power in those jaws. I know I don't want to mess with one of these guys. Images while leading a private safari on the Chobe River in August 2024.

09/09/2024

"Africa in Motion" - A key element to my photography is shooting with slower shutter speeds to capture the motion of the wildlife. Often I don't get as many 'likes when I post these slow shutter images, but that is okay. I shoot for myself and share with you. I'm not sure why I love this style. It could be that it helps show the energy of the animal and it could be just because I like the technical challenge (yes I am a bit of a geek). Regardless, I always have a custom button set on my cameras to jump to 1/15 sec shutter speed so I can capture the motion when animals move quickly.

06/09/2024

"Tall Drink of Water", Kwando Lebala Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana, August 2024 - I'm just back from another 2 weeks in Botswana. The group had some amazing sightings including these two giraffe. I can't wait for my world to slow down so I can edit the images I captured in July and August safaris. Three safaris in two months has me very tired but very happy. These trips were some of the best I have ever had.

12/08/2024

World Elephant Day 2024 - On August 12, 2012, the inaugural World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. The elephant is loved, revered and respected by people and cultures around the world, yet we balance on the brink of seeing the last of this magnificent creature.

"Elephants are simply one more natural resource that is being caught up in human greed on the one hand and human need on the other. We somehow need people to become reacquainted with nature or they can have no clue as to the interrelatedness of cause and effect.” – Dr. Stephen Blake, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology"

11/08/2024

"Fish Eagle ... or Dove Eagle", Chobe River, Botswana, July 2024 - Our group was floating in the river watching a group of elephants drinking when a fish eagle swooped down, made a catch and flew away. I lifted the camera and fired quickly at the unexpected action. Everyone assumed the eagle had caught a fish near the bank but on examination my shots, the eagle had actually pounced on an unexpecting dove that had stopped at river's edge for a drink.

10/08/2024

"Secretaries At Dusk", Zimanga Private Reserve, South Africa, July 2024 - Calvin Kotze Wildlife Photography and I saw these birds settling down to roost for the night. We had a burning red sky and many aspects were perfect but both birds were down. We didn't want to startle them as I knew this would be an amazing setting for a sunrise shot for my clients the next morning. All good plans fail. A couple of male cheetahs were approaching the area and were being followed in the distance by a game drive vehicle. We moved to catch the approaching cheetah and the one secretary bird flushed and flew. Okay, no problem. It will probably return to the nest for tomorrows shoot ... but no one told the cheetahs my plan. There was a dirt mound and a quarry next to this tree. The cheetah chose to use this as a high point to scout prey. Cheetah's trump birds when it comes to photo safaris so folks positioned to get those cheetah with that great sky. Of course the other bird flushed and flew into the distance. Oh well, at least your fearless leader got a few shots. I just wish I could have gotten my group in position to get a similar shot.

09/08/2024

"Time to Leave the Area", Chobe River, Botswana, July 2024 - This is a hippo charging our photo boat. This is not a good thing. Let me explain how this happens: As we get deeper into Winter along the Chobe, the river levels begin to fall. This means we sometimes have to navigate narrower and shallower channels to get around. The same is true for the wildlife that call these waters home. Hippos are quite territorial and as we passed this particular animal, we clearly entered his 'circle of concern', which caused him to charge our passing boat. Luckily these charges only go for short distance (maybe 200 yds) and then the hippos are satisfied we are leaving. Our boats are sturdy and our 100hp engines whisk us away without problem ... but it does create an exciting moment. This shot was at only 1/125 sec as I had previously been photographing a static subject. Shot with the OM System OM1mkII and 150-400mm lens at 150mm.

08/08/2024

"Cheetah With Rim Lighting", Zimanga Private Game Reserve, Zimanga, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, July 2024 - What a start! On our very first game drive at Zimanga, we came across two cheetah males in late afterno0n light. Sure it would be beautiful to photo them with a nice sun coming over our shoulder, but that is the safe shot. I personally loved shooting into the direction of the sun and catching the beautiful rim lighting on this gorgeous boy.