Category Archives: Wildlife and Nature

Filming Bee-Eaters in my Yard

I remember one day walking into my back yard at dusk and seeing an odd flash of blue in a tree – out of the corner of my eye.  Imagine my surprise when I realized it was a group of … Continue reading

Posted in Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Namibia: Strange Birds

Namibia has a number of different types of hornbills – some fairly common, but some a bit rarer.  This fellow below – a southern ground hornbill, was spotted casually walking through the forest toward the road we were on, with … Continue reading

Posted in Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Caprivi is for the Birds

Caprivi is that northeasternmost region in Namibia that looks so odd on a map.  I’m sure there is a really interesting historical reason dating from the colonial days for Caprivi being part of Namibia.  But for now it just sticks … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Gruesome Vid: Mantis vs. Spider

This weekend, I opened the garage when a scurrying something caught my eye.  A 1 1/2 inch praying mantis running for cover but inadvertently volunteering to become the subject for my next video.  So here’s what a praying mantis does … Continue reading

Posted in Cool Stuff on Vimeo, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cheetahs and Leopards

Had the opportunity to do some filming of cheetahs and leopards (well, actually just one leopard) recently.  They make excellent photo and video subjects!  The first was an amazing opportunity at Okonjima & Africats, (about 2 hours north of Windhoek, … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Behold the Grey Go-Away Bird

These guys always make me chuckle.  The first time I encountered a grey go-away bird – which is very common all over southern Africa – I was working in the back yard and was startled by its sound, which at … Continue reading

Posted in Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Supermoon + cheetahs: nature goes out of her way to cooperate

Namibia really is an amazing place for photographers.  On this occasion, everything lined up, but as a photographer I was unfortunately not fully up to the task.  Still, some amazing photos. The location: Okonjima / Africat, where two organizations collaborate … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New Sony NEX-VG20 – low light test (wildlife at night – Onduruquea Reserve)

I was pretty nervous about the new camera I recently ordered – the Sony NEX-VG20 is an interchangeable-lens camcorder that boasts a sensor the size of most still cameras (23.4 X 15.6mm) – which, in addition to the versatility offered … Continue reading

Posted in Gear, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photographing a Leopard

Leopards make excellent photographic subjects, but they tend to stay hidden in the wild – when they’re not trying to EAT you. Seriously, some subjects are best photographed in captivity or a controlled situation.  This particular leopard is in a … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged | Leave a comment

Best music for hanging out with giraffes

When you’re editing vacation videos, it’s always fun to come up with the best music – ideally one that conveys the right mood, maybe something that relates to the place you’re visiting.  But sometimes the best music to convey the … Continue reading

Posted in Music for Video, Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life and Death at Avis

We have this pretty amazing reservoir just outside Windhoek created by Avis dam – it’s a wildlife protected area / bird sanctuary / dog walking area / jogging area.  And fishing/boating pond.  And you can get some awesome pictures out … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Macro [micro] Photography – Spider

Since the unhappy theft of my camera and laptop, I’ve been relatively silent on the blog as there’s not a whole lot of photo/video action to write about. But I’m still enjoying the digital microscope I got recently from the … Continue reading

Posted in Macro Photography, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Spider: 3 Views

I happened to catch this interesting spider on a glass door, and snapped a couple of different photos.  I believe it’s Selenopidae, or the wall crab spider.  Because it’s so flat, depth of field/focus issues are not as much a … Continue reading

Posted in Macro Photography, Photography, general, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Video: 24 Hours at Etosha

Along the southern fringes of Etosha National Park, Namibia’s flagship park, are scattered a handful of camps and watering holes. The oldest of these is Okaukuejo, 18 km from Anderson gate in the southwest corner of the park. At Okaukuejo, … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Video – Elephants at Okaukuejo

We spotted the first elephant in the distance, and soon noticed he was followed by many more, all neatly in line, ears flapping and trunks swinging in that crazy, bouncy, elephant way.  Eventually 32 of them arrived at the watering hole at … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photos: Reflections at Etosha NP

It’s fun to play around with reflections off a body of water – though in my experience, it’s rare to come across a body of water (a) that’s calm enough to reflect without too much distortion (b) at the right … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Photography, general, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Photo: Bug Eats Millipede

I snapped this interesting photo the other day as I was experimenting with some screw-in macro lenses I had gotten in the mail.  Here in Namibia, there are millions of millipedes coiled up under rocks, soil, everyplace you dig.  So … Continue reading

Posted in Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Supporting Africa’s Dwindling Wild Dog Population

Today I’ll be participating in N/a’ankuse Lodge and Wildlife Sanctuary’s “Corporate Eco-Challenge” to help raise money for their efforts to advocate on behalf of Africa’s dwindling wild dog population.  African wild dogs, also known as “painted dogs“, are the second … Continue reading

Posted in Good Causes, Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Focus on Southern African shrubs and trees

Spring has sprung in Namibia, and that has caused all sorts of things to flower.  The mostly brown-and-dark-green, relatively drab city we arrived to in July (winter in the southern hemisphere) is turning all sorts of colors.  The purple Jacaranda … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Spring has Sprung in Windhoek

Spring is definitely in the air in Namibia.  At least that’s what my daughter tells me – she informed me that September 1 was “spring day”.  Apparently in South Africa and Namibia, it’s not the 21st that heralds the coming … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wildlife through a Loupe – Micro goes Macro

For my latest video, I noticed I had gradually been collecting random footage of “micro-wildlife” I have come across while working in my new garden here in Windhoek.  One of the creatures I had been continually running across is the … Continue reading

Posted in Gear, Macro Photography, Tips and Tricks, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photos of Namibia

Now that internet access has become somewhat reliable (and not prohibitively expensive) I’ve started uploading some of the photos I’ve managed to collect from our travels in Namibia.  The original photos were taken by my family, but I did some … Continue reading

Posted in Namibia, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Blackbirds Came Back – Wildlife Videography

I was pretty excited about the opportunity to do a little more “wildlife photography” in my back yard. The blackbird pair that I featured in the video “Learning to Fly” came back for another brood. I saw one of them … Continue reading

Posted in Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff, Tips and Tricks, Video Editing, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment