I photographed this Impala Lily (Adenium multiflorum) at Ndumo Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. I tried a number of different compositions, usually focusing on one of the foreground flowers that faced the camera. This image was the last one, where I focused instead on a flower from the side, while throwing the foreground out of focus. I only noticed the delicate strands of spider silk when I looked at the picture on my computer.

Camera used was a Canon EOS 450D Digital SLR with Canon 70-300mm IS zoom lens, mounted on a tripod. Shutter speed was 1/100, aperture F5.6, and ISO was 100.

The Impala Lily is a succulent species that flowers in the southern Africa winter, adding welcome splashes of brilliant pink, white, and crimson colours to the otherwise rather drab winter vegetation.

While staying at Mbotyi on South Africa’s spectacular Wild Coast I found these patterns in the beach sand, sculpted by a small stream flowing into the sea. The resemblance to slightly misshapen trees in a forest – something out of Lord of the Rings – was quite eerie.

The photograph was taken with a Canon EOS 450D Digita SLR camera and the basic Canon 18-55 IS kit lens. Focal length was 24mm and I shot at 1/400th at an aperture of F8.

“Not another sunset picture…” I hear you say. ‘Fraid so. But not all sunsets are created equal and I like this one because it’s so typically African. I was at Spioenkop Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal and as the sun sank lower in the sky, I hurried off to find a position where I could get the sun setting with a typical acacia tree in the foreground. This was easier said than done and a good lesson in how important preparation is – I should have left more time for scouting or, better still, found a suitable location the day before.

In any event, I feel the image works reasonably well and like the way the water in the foreground and, behind that, the receding hills and mountains form layers, giving a sense of perspective and distance.