Pets
A Sneak Peek Through the Lens of Londolozi’s Guest: Cheryl Grace – Londolozi Blog
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Cheryl is a frequent repeat guest that initially crafted her trips to Londolozi as a part of a six-day photographically orientated trip led by Londolozi alumni ranger Ryan Hilton. It is clear that this stimulated a love for African wildlife and is key in her returning at least once a year.
“The trips with Ryan were designed to achieve the perfect blend of shots you know you want and add creative and maybe lesser-known vantage points to fine-tune the level of expertise. My desire was to not only capture memories but to develop the “photographer’s eye” at an accelerated pace through hands-on participation with a skilful and experienced photographer.”
“Every year I try to build on my personal portfolio with a diverse body of work. By pre-visualizing, composing, exposing, and conceptualizing a wildlife photo one hopes to capture an image that that depicts motion and emotion under varying lighting conditions.”
“Wild dogs are not commonly seen, as well as cheetahs in the bush. On the first evening game drive, we found a pack of wild dogs and on the following morning game drive we came upon a female cheetah and her sub-adult perched on an abandoned termite mound. Photography perfection!”
“Our week was filled with excellent sightings of leopards, leopard cubs, lions, elephants, zebras, jackals, hyenas, specific bird species, cheetahs and wild dogs. With each wildlife contact, the goal was to avoid getting just another “stock” photo. Instead, my goals included getting an eye-level perspective point of view, capturing wildlife “actions” or interactions even if the animal was not in action, and confirming that with each image the animal’s eye was in crisp focus while maintaining ideal composition. A good photo to me was an image that communicates something that words cannot.”
“Africa is the big show, and Londolozi is the ultimate nature and wildlife photo expedition.”
Enjoy this selection of images by Cheryl…
The rarely-seen Ntsumi Female leopard settled comfortably on a termite mound as a hyena lingered by. In 18 years of being a Ranger at Londolozi, our ranger Alfred Mathebula had never seen this leopard in the bush. It was an unforgettable moment for him and the guests.
This female was born in the Sabi Sabi camps and became territorial in central Shaws, after inheriting a piece of her mother’s territory.
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A pack of dogs suddenly awake at the site of an impala herd wandering nearby. This wild dog needed a good post-nap stretch before the hunt begins.
The Three Rivers Young Male wanders off to explore climbing trees and pauses for a pose in the morning light.
One of two cubs to survive, the sister lost at five months. Still dependent on his mother, but is growing into an impressive young male.
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As the African Fish Eagle pauses for a brief moment to scan for feeding opportunities, a photographer must act quickly to seize the opportunity in challenging lighting conditions.
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
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One of the most famous leopards in the world is the Mashaba female. Here she is looking for her cubs from a higher perspective. At 14 years old, she is nearly her time making moment with her invaluable.
This 1:1 close-up of Zebras intertwined gives the viewer an intimate perspective of how a zebra “hug” is actually restful while equally giving both animals a 360-degree of their surrounding.
On our first morning game drive, we approached an old termite mound to find a sceptical, yet fearless cheetah directly staring into our camera’s eye.
While there are plenty of opportunities to see and photograph elephants, this close-up of elephants intertwining becomes living art.
In the early morning light, the Avoca Male Lion stops to gaze into the territory that he protects on a daily basis.
A leopard cub glancing up toward the higher branches of a tree, plotting which is the best route up.
Cheetah sitting up sunset. While this cheetah is enjoying the warmth of the setting sun, there is always an instinct to gain elevation to scan for any threats.
The gorgeous Ximungwe Young Male before he became known as the Ntomi Male.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female’s second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
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One animal in the bush that loves being a model for a profile photo is the magnificent zebra. If you wait long enough for their skittish nature to subside, you can catch this nonchalant pose.
The Nhlanguleni Female leopard has private playtime with her three-month-old cub. No other Safari vehicle was present, so this special intimate moment was shared only with our vehicle.
Initially skittish she spent a lot of time in the Sand River, now relaxed she makes up the majority of leopard viewing west of camp.
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Sean Zeederberg
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