Pel's Fishing Owl South Africa

More from my workshop in Africa in November of 2012.

Night Safaris in Africa are always fun and productive. This is a Pel’s Fishing Owl that was illuminated by an old-fashioned high-power tungsten spotlight. Once the correct exposure is determined, it doesn't change unless the distance between the subject and the light source changes; Increase the ISO if the light source to subject distance increases, decrease the ISO if the light source to subject decreases :)

The Pel's Fishing Owl is one of the largest owls on earth. Among the world's owls, it ranks as the fifth heaviest on average, the seventh longest in length and measured wing chord and fourth longest in mean wingspan (1.24 meters or 60 inches). They typically weigh about the same as a Snowy Owl.

Pel’s Fishing Owl Dorsal View (Scotopelia peli, Chouette-pêcheuse de Pel Croatian) South Africa. ©2012 Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. ISO 20,000 @ 1/250s f/5.6 @ 500mm. Hand-held. Full frame image.

Male Leopard Portrait

I just went through a folder full of Leopard images from my workshop in 2012 that went from Sabi Sands Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park in South Africa to the largest mammal migration on Earth (the great Straw-coloured Bat migration) in Zambia.

Funny how I initially rejected all of the images without a direct stare. I love the undisturbed and peaceful nature of this image. My zoom lens adjusted to 116mm and this is a full-frame image, so we were close :) I remember finding this lazy male who spent most of our encounter snoozing. This image was created just after he stood up and yawned, just before he sauntered off directly towards us before veering off to the right.