LOW HIPPOS

In the first morning light the dominant bull blows a splash of water through the nose to impress the others ... and maybe the photographer on the shore as well

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/640, ISO 720

In the bush right outside Masai Mara NP we found this pond completely covered with a green carpet of floating water hyasints. Beeing of considerable size, this was the favorite daytime hideaway for a school of local hippos. The situation offered some very special opportunities to "shoot" hippos in the water from a superlow angle. The first attempt was done in mid day. Knowing that hippos are one of the deadliest animals in all Africa (only malaria-infected mosquitos kill more people) , the approach was done by driving the car all the way down to he shoreline, almost with the wheels into the mud, and then shooting from a relatively safe position from underneath the car, ...with the head up in an oily gearbox and elbows down in the soft mud. Of course the photography this day was spoilt by harsh mid day light, but it certainly gave some very good experience for the next approach.      

Next morning, in the dark before dawn, we entered the muddy shore in the very same way, took position under the car and waited for the morning light to rise with hopefully superb backlight against shady dark slopes in background. We got some nice shots, but the animals were a bit skeptical to the car and so, unfortunately, kept their distance. We had to get closer.

Next morning : third attempt. This time we got out of the car at a distance, sneaked down to he shore in the dark, crawled all the way down to the water with elbows in muddy hippo pooh ... and again : waited for the morning light to come. Knowing about the hippos bad reputation, this was of course ... "a bit risky" !! If an animal was to come from the back heading for the pond to sleep off the day ... and we were between the hippo and the water ... we would be in serious trouble !! This is why a person was posted in the background keeping lookout for possible trouble from the back.  I was prepared to leave my "Big Mama" (the 600) in the mud ... and run for my life !!

Luckily no running in panic this morning

Pictures : Of course the situation offered little variation, and the pictures look much the same. I could have shown you one picture ..... but holding back is not my style.

Mother & son ? Particles in the air are basicly insects

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/250, ISO 2200 

Dominant bull

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/800, ISO 640

Young hippo

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/800, ISO 560

Dominant bull blowing fountain through the nose

D3s, 600 4,0, f/,6, 1/1000, ISO 450

Dominant bull

D3s, 6004,0, f/5,6, 1/800, ISO 560

Dominant bull coming to check us out

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/800, ISO 720

Female with calf. The warm humid breath from the nose can be seen in the cold morning air.

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/250, ISO2000

Dominant male coming close to check us out

D3s, 6004,0, f/5,6, 1/1000, ISO450

Dominant male ..... with morning sun right into the lens

D3s, 600, 4,0, f/5,6, 1/800, ISO 360

African jacana

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/250, ISO1100

Assumed temminck`s stint (temminck snipe / Calidris temminckii), a bird from the cold north on winter holiday in eastern Africa. Any keen birders out there that can confirm it ??

D3s, 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/1000, ISO 1800 

HIGHLIGHTS (??) 2012

Some pictures are hard to take, they take a lot of dedicated work, preparation, creativity, patience and not to forget : luck, ...and in a steady stream of new visual impulses from everywhere in our modern world they are easily forgotten, .... they become "articles of consumption" This why, at some stage, it is necessary to look back and check out what you actually performed ! It`s not been my best year, ...

but I certainly had great fun !!! 

JANUARY

Fighting goshawks (hønsehauk)

Arctic fox (polarrev)

FEBRUARY

Male hen harrier (myrhauk)

Female hen harrier (myrhauk)

MARCH

Willow grouse(lirype)

APRIL

Roseate spoonbill, Florida (rosa skjestork)

Female capercaillie (røy)

MAY

Common bee-eaters on barbwire. Extremadura, Spain (bietere)

Black vulture, Extremadura Spain (munkegribb)

JUNE

Slavonian grebe from floating hide, Finland (horndykker)

Osprey (fiskeørn)

JULY

The larger buzzard chick kills his little brother (musvåk kyllinger)

Beaver (bever)

AUGUST

Grass-snake with frog prey (buorm sluker frosk)

Smooth snake with lizard prey (slettsnok tar firfisle)

SEPTEMBER

Adder (huggorm

Musk ox (moskus)

OCTOBER

Nothing much happened in october really, don`have much to show from this period

Adder`s eye after rain (huggom)

NOVEMBER

Male cheetah, Samburu NP Kenya (gepard)

Female leopard, Masai Mara NP Kenya

DECEMBER

Mother & son ? Graet experience with hippos in Kenya. The pictures and the story has not been blogged so far

Allagator, Everglades NP, Florida US (not blogged so far)

FINNISH EXPLOSIVES !!

D4, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/320, ISO1250

I recently had the pleasure to spend 4 days in Flatanger eaglehides  with my friend Markus Varesvuo. One of those days Markus feels like a pee, and being an educated boy (!!), Markus finds an empty bottle of methylated spirit (rødsprit) and discretely fills it to the brim without no drop beeing spilled. Good job & so far so good !!

In the evening Eagleman (Ole Martin Dahle) comes to take us out from the hide, and in the dusky twilight inside the hide he struggles to top up the methyl spirit burner (rødspritbrenneren) for the next day`s use. Of course Eagleman finds Markus`bottle (!) and with experienced hands the burner gets topped up.

We did not use the hide the next day, somebody else did ..... and remembering the smell from my childhood days as we peed to put out a bonfire in the forest, my honest concerns & compassion goes to our successors the next day. Of course, in comparison with average Norwegian brew, this Finnish fuel may be highly inflammable.... but there was nothing about this in the local news the next days ! 

Pictures : The eagles were a bit "slow" this time and there was little "eagle-action" !

D4, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO 2000

D4, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/250, ISO 2200

Early dawn with light snow in the air

D3s, 200-400 4,0, f/,0, 1/30, ISO 10 000

D3s, 200-400 4,0, f/5,6, 1/400, ISO 1800

D3s, 200-400 4,0, f/4,0, 1/1600, ISO 6400 (flight shot mode)

The late afternoon sun glow in the slopes behind .. makes : a golden jay (nøtteskrike)

D4, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/320, ISO2500 

Vi har etter hvert sett mange ørnebilder i Norge, og jeg tenker noen ganger at jeg bør prioritere å sette fokus på andre prosjekter....... men så melder altså abstinensen seg. Jeg har nå kommet ut av tellinga på hvor mange ganger jeg har vært i Flatanger, og jeg tar i dag bilder som likner påfallende på de jeg har fra før. Likevel klarer jeg altså ikke å holde meg borte. I tillegg til å gi fantastiske naturopplevelser har Flatanger vært viktig for meg og min utvikling som fotograf fordi Ørneredet har vært et knutepunkt for naturfotografer i hele Europa, og mye av mitt Europeiske nettverk, som jeg i dag har stor glede av, har sitt opphav i Flatanger.

Takk Ole Martin, du er en betydelig aktør i Europeisk naturfoto.

LEOPARDS & GENETS

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/640, ISO 2000

Masai Mara NP

Vi har nettop hatt en fantastisk flott "nær leoparden-opplevelse" på bakken... leoparder i trær er OK, men å se den bevege seg med skjerpede sanser gjennom høyt gress på bakken ... og attpå til : på kloss hold ... gir en enestående opplevelse av dette atletiske, utrolig vakre, myte-omspunnede og tross alt : relativt farlige dyret. Etterat den passerte oss trakk den inn i tett bush mot elva på andre siden, og jeg forstod at vi kanskje ville få muligheten til å fotografere dyret når det kryssa elva. Vår sjåfør utførte en manøvre med bilen som ikke engang Pål Anders Ullevålseter hadde klart med en motorsykkel, og ganske riktig : der oppe på svabergene ved den Afrikanske bekken ... kom katten ruslende . Den nærmet seg krysningspunktet og ja .. det var helt åpenbart at den kom til å hoppe. Fokus ble sjekka og ganske riktig : Katta tok sats og svevde som en skiflyver i lufta fra det ene til det andre svaberget. Kameraene raste med 10 bilder i sekundet, dvs kameraene til Arnfinn Johansen og Tommy Solberg gjorde dèt, .... ikke mitt. Selv om jeg presset på utløseren så fingertuppen var hvit i neglrota var min kasse dørgende stille !! Forklaring : Fulle minnekort !! Av en eller annen grunn var menyen innstilt på kopi til kort nr 2, ikke overflow !! Gutta jubla, og jeg satt nok igjen med litt blandede følelser... men jeg SÅ jo katta hoppe, det er det viktigste... og dessuten : da har Arnfinn og Tommy mer eksklusive bilder. Velbekomme gutter !

Pictures of leopards are taken in November / December in Kenya this year.   

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/640, ISO 1400

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/640, ISO 1600

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/640, ISO2000

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/400, ISO 1800

Female leopard with impala kill. Samburu NP

D4, 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/800, ISO 1250

Samburu NP

D4, 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/500, ISO1000

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO 900

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO 6400

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO1600

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO 800

Only 6 m distance. Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO 3200

Masai Mara NP

D4, 200-400 4,0, f/6,3, 1/640, ISO 1400

Masai Mara

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/160, ISO2800

Masai Mara NP

D3s, 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/320, ISO 1400

Masai Mara NP

GENET :

Genets are widespread throughout most of Central & Eastern Africa, but although pretty common and although I have been some 15 previous times to Eastern Africa ... I had never seen a genet before ..... until I visited Samburu NP in Kenya. These cat /-marten looking predators are strictly nocturnal, and my genet, a common genet, was busy chasing insects around a lightbulb in a tree by the tent. 

Beautiful animal !!!  

D800E, 70-200 2,8, f/8,0, 1/250, ISO 6400

Samburu NP

 D800E, 70-200 2,8, f/8,0, 1/250, ISO 6400

Samburu NP