Ian Weatherburn Photography

Wildlife Photographer

Posts tagged africa

19 notes &

The Southern Ground Hornbill is on the Red List of Endangered Species so it’s always great to get a sighting of these birds.  It’s even better to hear them calling to each other as they make such a great distinctive sound - almost like a hollow drum that is being beaten. This photograph was taken in the Madikwe Game Reserve, in the North-West Province of South Africa, while staying at Jaci’s Safari Lodge.  We had the most fantastic stay there and they catered wonderfully for my two younger daughters, aged 6 and 7 who were totally enthralled by all the wildlife that we saw there.  The ranger, Johan and the staff really knew how to appeal to the children’s senses while keeping the adults happy and well-fed!! At this focal length and aperture the eyelashes were captured wonderfully and the grass back-drop out of depth-of-field worked wonderfully as a smooth background. Additional EXIF Info:Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IVLens: Canon 400mm f/2.8 L IS USMShutter Speed: 1/8000sAperture: f/5.6Focal Length: 400mmISO: 1600Exposure Bias: Av(+0.33)Notes: Full-FrameDate Taken: Aug 15, 2011, 10:33:10 AM This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Copyright Ian Weatherburn Photography.

The Southern Ground Hornbill is on the Red List of Endangered Species so it’s always great to get a sighting of these birds.  It’s even better to hear them calling to each other as they make such a great distinctive sound - almost like a hollow drum that is being beaten.

This photograph was taken in the Madikwe Game Reserve, in the North-West Province of South Africa, while staying at Jaci’s Safari Lodge.  We had the most fantastic stay there and they catered wonderfully for my two younger daughters, aged 6 and 7 who were totally enthralled by all the wildlife that we saw there.  The ranger, Johan and the staff really knew how to appeal to the children’s senses while keeping the adults happy and well-fed!!

At this focal length and aperture the eyelashes were captured wonderfully and the grass back-drop out of depth-of-field worked wonderfully as a smooth background.

Additional EXIF Info:
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM
Shutter Speed: 1/8000s
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 400mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure Bias: Av(+0.33)
Notes: Full-Frame
Date Taken: Aug 15, 2011, 10:33:10 AM

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Copyright Ian Weatherburn Photography.

Filed under bird avian hornbill southern ground hornbill southern ground madikwe jaci's safari lodge ianweatherburn weatherburn photography wildlife south africa africa

3 notes &

Bumper Photo Week

Africa Geographic MagazineWhat a great week it has been photographically speaking; on two different fronts! 

First I achieved a mention on the Facebook pages for Africa Geographic and Safari Interactive Magazine with a link to my portfolio of images taken in the Maasai-Mara in Kenya, September 2010.

Then I aWild Photo Mag - August 2011 Editionm honoured today to appear in the first edition of a local online Wildlife Photographic Magazine.
Check out the August edition on the Wild Photo Mag website where the Editor, Andre; interviewed me about my Wildlife photography.  Page 35 of the magazine is the start of my interview, but be sure to browse through the rest of the magazine as there is wealth of information on landscape, macro and other photography in general by some very accomplished photographers and authors.


It was really great sharing my thoughts and experiences with the guys from Wild Photo Mag, and hopefully some of my answers inspire others to get out there and start putting their own wildlife portfolios together, even just for the fun of it - which is ok you know. Being a new magazine, I really wish them the best of luck with this endevour. It’s not easy putting a magazine together and keeping up that momentum; but they certainly have a great subject matter and a wealth of expertise to draw on - the South African Photographic community is incredibly talented!

My trip to the Maasai-Mara in September 2010 was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. You can read more about that experience here, but suffice it to say that if I look at the quality of the images that I managed in the short space of time that I was in Kenya, I am extremely proud of those achievements.  I’m also in awe over the quality of sightings that we had when I was there which undoubtedly contributed to my good fortunes photographically speaking.  To be able to share those images with the Africa Geographic and Safari Interactive community was really very special, as these are two high-class publications with a vast readership.

I was also a little taken aback by Wild Photo Mag’s request to do an interview to be honest. I am not a professional photographer but as you can read in the interview, I take photographs simply for the love of it.  Therefore I was not sure what I had to offer to the reader?  However, I’m really pleased with how it turned out and honoured by Andre’s editorial comments in the article.

As always it’s a pleasure sharing my photographs and thoughts with my readers. Thanks for taking the time to be part of that interest.  If you are interested check out my other photographic web sites and online albums or drop me a line. I would love to hear from you.

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Ian Weatherburn Photography

Filed under ianweatherburn weatherburn photography magazine interview portfolio kenya mara published publication africa

10 notes &

Kruger Park - Zebra Stallion Fight

In December 2010, the family went away to the Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in South African and really an icon for our country.  Kruger is truly a massive game reserve and you really only get to explore small snippets of it each time you go there.  It is however still one of the most magical places to go to and this year my children had reached an age where they really began to appreciate it.

This sighting was really a very memorable one as these two Zebra stallions were vying for the attention of the females and trying to win the right to mate with the ones that were in heat.  It was a great change as so often Zebras are simply grazing and not doing very much at all, which doesn’t make for exciting photography.  However as you can see, this time was thankfully different.

I tweeted the other day how powerful photography is for evoking memories that could be so easily forgotten. My daughter, Michelle - age 7; was standing at my computer while I was processing these images in Photoshop and she immediately recalled the event that day in the Kruger Park sitting watching these guys fight it out.  Photography is truly incredible that way. When you think of the number of things we simply forget each day (more so the older we get!), and yet a simple photograph can conjure up a whole flood of memories, sometimes even smells and sounds.

I feel truly privileged that we have the Kruger Park to go to and share with our children. Long may it last.  With each passing day, and each new Rhino that is slaughtered we have to feel grateful, it may not be here tomorrow.

If you ever have the chance to come to South Africa, be sure to book several days of your trip to go and explore the Kruger National Park. You won’t regret it.  If you’re really lucky, it won’t just simply be fighting Zebra that you will see, but keep an eye out for the so-called Big 5: Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino.  The iconic Big-5, so named as the most dangerous animals to encounter on foot in the bush.  But don’t forget the Little-5 too (Ant-Lion, Leopard Tortise, Elephant Shrew, Buffalo Weaver and Rhino Beetle).  Keep an eye out for those too and you’ll be amazed at the variety of wildlife there is to see.

Filed under kruger africa photography south africa monochrome mono b&w ianweatherburn weatherburn

2 notes &

Hole in the Wall (Mono) The magnificent Hole in the Wall rock formation off the east coast of South Africa is a great tourist destination.   If you ever come to South Africa you have to do yourself a favour and travel to the Eastern Cape.  It is very rural and rustic but such a beautiful part of the world with incredible scenery and friendly people.  The roads are hell, so a good 4x4 is recommended but this makes it all the more fun as you really get to see the scenery as you travel around.  Magnificent beaches, great fishing if you like that kind of thing and all round fantastic photographic opportunities. This photo was taken near sunset and I was practically all alone on this stretch of beach by the Hole.  Not once did I feel unsafe and even walked back to my car after dusk, so South Africa can be a safe place to vist. Really, you just need to be sensible.  I remember this holiday like it was just the other day.  It was really great spending time with some good friends (Cathy, Lance and family), who have now sadly moved away to Cape Town and we don’t see them anymore. But I shall always remember walking down the hill and wading through the river. Setting up my tripod and trying to get the best viewpoint possible with an incoming tide was challenging.  The monochrome conversion of this photo really does bring out some of the incredible detail more than the colour one, and in full-size at 22in wide it really looks great.  I think I need to print and frame as soon as possible. Eastern Cape (Transkei)South Africa Additional EXIF InfoCamera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark IIILens: Canon 24-70 f/2.8Shutter Speed: 1/125sAperture: f/13Focal Length: 24mmISO: 200Date Taken: Apr 8, 2010, 4:57:45 PM This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Copyright Ian Weatherburn Photography.

Hole in the Wall (Mono)

The magnificent Hole in the Wall rock formation off the east coast of South Africa is a great tourist destination.   If you ever come to South Africa you have to do yourself a favour and travel to the Eastern Cape.  It is very rural and rustic but such a beautiful part of the world with incredible scenery and friendly people.  The roads are hell, so a good 4x4 is recommended but this makes it all the more fun as you really get to see the scenery as you travel around.  Magnificent beaches, great fishing if you like that kind of thing and all round fantastic photographic opportunities.

This photo was taken near sunset and I was practically all alone on this stretch of beach by the Hole.  Not once did I feel unsafe and even walked back to my car after dusk, so South Africa can be a safe place to vist. Really, you just need to be sensible.  I remember this holiday like it was just the other day.  It was really great spending time with some good friends (Cathy, Lance and family), who have now sadly moved away to Cape Town and we don’t see them anymore.

But I shall always remember walking down the hill and wading through the river. Setting up my tripod and trying to get the best viewpoint possible with an incoming tide was challenging.  The monochrome conversion of this photo really does bring out some of the incredible detail more than the colour one, and in full-size at 22in wide it really looks great.  I think I need to print and frame as soon as possible.

Eastern Cape (Transkei)
South Africa

Additional EXIF Info
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
Lens: Canon 24-70 f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/125s
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 200
Date Taken: Apr 8, 2010, 4:57:45 PM

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Copyright Ian Weatherburn Photography.

Filed under photography, africa coast eastern cape hole ianweatherburn landscape rock sea south africa wall weatherburn photog photography