Fast action and beautiful portraits on the Chobe

I am going through my images and trying to decide which images best captures what we witnessed and photographed over the last 5 day CNP safari on the Chobe River.  It is indeed a tough task as one of the clients remarked that every single session delivered something very special.  The birds are here in their hundreds and as the water level drops on the till recently covered grass flood plains they descend on unsuspecting fry and frogs creating a feeding frenzy at times.  Some of the highlights for me from a sightings perspective were the few occasions we witnessed a Coppery-tailed Coucal carrying prey to its nest across the river.  Twice we saw it carrying frogs and once a Green Water Snake.

Then there was the Leopard sighting further up the river, which was really special given that cat sightings and especially Leopards are so high on all our lists of animals to photograph.

Chobe River. It is indeed a tough task as one of the clients remarked that every single session delivered something very special. The birds are here in their hundreds and as the water level drops on the till recently covered grass flood plains they descend on unsuspecting fry and frogs creating a feeding frenzy at times.

Some of the highlights for me from a sightings perspective were the few occasions we witnessed a Coppery-tailed Coucal carrying prey to its nest across the river. Twice we saw it carrying frogs and once a Green Water Snake.

Then there was the Leopard sighting further up the river, which was really special given that cat sightings and especially Leopards are so high on all our lists of animals to photograph. The feeding frenzy and dive-bombing Pied Kingfishers is a scene I will remember for a long time. Of course then there are always the numerous African Fish Eagle sightings and the challenge of photographing the African Skimmers cutting through the glassy surface of the water with their sharp beaks. Yesterday afternoon we were treated to see an African Fish Eagle attacking a flock of White-faced Ducks, hunt down an unlucky individual and fly off with it. Unfortunately it happened out of decent photography range but to be a witness to this was very special.

But I think what is the most gratifying are the comments from the clients, now friends, on how their photography improved from the first to the last session. The rating system CNP uses and teaches works, and helps the clients to “filter” the sightings to assist them in deciding what will work and how to compose the scene to capture a first class image. The sightings and photographic opportunities you are presented with on this wonderful Chobe River is indeed world class and to do this from the comfort of the photography chairs on the boat makes it so much easier to capture. Here are just a few images I decided to share with you to give you an idea of what the river is like and what you can expect on a CNP Safari.

There is fast action photography and also opportunities for beautiful portrait and landscape photography. CNP will assist you with your photographic knowledge, help with camera settings and guide you on possible scenarios developing at a scene but you press the shutter release button to capture that winning image.

The images in this post have all be shot from the CNP Photography boats.  Join me on a CNP Safari to some of the most exciting photography destinations on the African continent.

www.cnpsafaris.com

neal@cnpsafaris.com