Another visit to the Chobe river, Botswana

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Fordsabroad

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Gordon
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I have just returned from my 3rd visit to the Chobe river in Botswana with Pangolin photo Safari's. The last 2 have been on their special deals which cut the cost dramatically. I was a little apprehensive about this visit as it is supposed the be the rainy season (albeit at the end,) however they have had little rain and there was none during my week stay. the temperature was bearable at 35C.
The animal activity was less than my visit last September but still plenty to photograph, especially if you are a birder. I am not particularly interested in our feathered friends but still enjoy photographing them so If I have named them incorrectly please feel free to correct me.
I will post a few pictures over the next few days but for anyone interested in a more varied selection they will be on my Flickr account.
bee eaters by Gordon Ford, on Flickr


Malachite kingfisher by Gordon Ford, on Flickr

African Darter by Gordon Ford, on Flickr

Giant Kingfisher by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
Bee aeter by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
 
Welcome and and looks like you enjoyed the trip :)

TFS these :)

PS I will keep an eye on your Flickr :)

PPS just looked on Flickr....very nice too. How did you get on with the 150-400mm and I note the OM1 mk2 :thinking:
 
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The 150-400 was invaluable and used extensively, often at full stretch. The OM2 was fine but not markedly different to the OM1.
 
Fordsabroad said:
The 150-400 was invaluable and used extensively, often at full stretch. The OM2 was fine but not markedly different to the OM1.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insights :)

I will just have to stick with my 40-150mm and 300mm with x2 & x1.4 TC's as needed.....at this stage I am thinking the x2 on the 40-150 and the x1.4 on the 300 :thinking:
 
Smashing set ;)
 
More fabulous images Gordon. Looks like another great trip. I'm glad to hear it wasn't too wet. Were there many mosquitos at this time of year? I didn't see one in October.
 
Hi Bebop. Very few mossies. In fact it was very similar to the September visit. One or two people commented that the lack of rain could cause a food shortage for the animals later in the year. We had quite a few elephant crossings but not as photogenic as last time - luck of the draw. This trip was all based at the Pangolin Lodge, no time on the boat which was fine with me.
 
Oh that's not so good if they don't get enough rain at some point. Luck always plays a part doesn't it. I didn't get to see any leopards :( Interesting that there was no houseboat.
 
Love the elephant ;)
 
More goodness of what you saw, the monochrome treatments do work well :)

On a side note, I was talking to another OM1 user (at a club meet yesterday evening ~ a photo club IMO like no other... NWPS (Natural World Photography Society) who has upgraded to the mk2 and he remarked that his birds in flight keepers have gone up measurably especially against cluttered backgrounds i.e. the AF is definitely 'stickier'.
 
Box Brownie
I shot most of the images on the OM1 Mk2 which had the 150-400 on it permanently. To be honest I did not shoot as many flying birds as I thought I would. On reflection it did seem to obtain and stick to the BIF very well. As for perched birds It may well be better than the OM1 (which had the 40-150 or 12-100 lens on) but it still struggled to stay on the eye when there were distractions around. This was frustrating especially when using pro capture and waiting for a bird to fly. The bee eaters were a prime example. This may well be down to me and not the camera, I did customise the buttons to help with this but I am sure more practise would have improved my hit rate ( or maybe I am just talking myself into another visit).
I had the pro capture feature customised to a button but forgot to switch it off on a few occasions. This resulted in 50 ish shots of a stationary bird and you cannot disable the feature while it is downloading - user error again.
bee eater in flight by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
Jacana by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
malachite kingfisher in flight by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
Bee aeter by Gordon Ford, on Flickr
 
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