Coca Cola ad reflected on the gleaming bodywork of a venerable old lady, a 1964 Austin Princess Mk IV, photographed at Cars in the Park, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Canon EOS 400D with 18-55mm IS lens, 1/200 at F8. The 18-55mm lens can be classified as a standard zoom within the range of Canon EF-S lenses that are designed specifically for use on Canon digital cameras with the smaller APS-C format sensors.

This picture of two blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) running across the path of our slowly approaching game drive vehicle was taken using a slow shutter speed to blur the background, emphasising the sense of movement and speed.

In this case I set the camera on TV (shutter priority) at a speed of 1/30th and panned the camera as best I could to follow the animals. In a safari vehicle, with seven or eight other passengers, this can be something of a challenge.

For the image in the previous post (Zebra in Winter Foliage), the shutter speed was faster (1/80th) while the subject was moving more slowly, hence much less motion blur.

Burchell’s Zebra (Equus quagga) moving through wooded grassland, the winter colors of the grass and shrubs warmed by the late afternoon sun, Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana.

I took the picture using a Canon 450D) Canon Rebel XSi 12.2MP) with 70-300mm IS zoom lens at a shutter speed of 1/80th and aperture set on F8. Focal length was 300mm and the ISO was 400.

The relatively slow shutter speed combined with panning the camera to follow the zebra has blurred the background – but not enough to create a real sense of motion blur. So I’ve used some digital manipulation to further soften and simplify the background while keeping the zebra acceptably sharp.

This pair of young male giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) was photographed in Mashatu Game Reserve in the Tuli Block, Botswana. It was quite late in the afternoon, when the soft light from the setting sun gives images a pleasing warm hue.

I used a Canon EOS 450D (Canon Rebel XSi 12.2MP) with a Canon EF70-300mm lens zoomed to its maximum focal length. Shutter speed was 1/50 at an aperture of f8 with ISO set to 400.

This portrait of a Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga) was taken some years ago in the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, a small, semi-urban wildlife sanctuary within the greater Durban area on South Africa’s east coast.

It was the second-last shot I took, quite late in the afternoon, so the lighting was from the side and back, putting much of the background in shadow. The result is a pleasing rim-light along the zebra’s mane and around its ears.

Camera was a Canon Digital Rebel (EOS 300D) fitted with a Canon EOS 80-200mm F2.8 zoom lens at focal length of 110mm; shutter-speed was 1/1000 at aperture of F8.

This photograph of an elephant walking across a partly dried out pan was taken in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. It was late afternoon so the slanting rays of the setting sun have bathed the background in warm light. The elephant is following a path where others have previously crossed and broken through the crusty surface of the pan.

I used a Canon EOS 400D with 70-300mm IS zoom lens at a focal length of 200mm. Aperture was F5.6, shutter speed 1/80th and ISO 200.

Rear light and tail fin of Ford Fairlane 500, taken at local “Cars in the Park” Show, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Canon EOS 450D digital SLR with Canon 70-300mm IS zoom lens, 1/1000th at F8, 165mm.

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.