Category Archives: Uncategorized

by Diane | August 14, 2020 · 9:09 am

The Great Migration

In Tanzania in February/March, millions of Wildebeest migrate to have their babies. They follow the rains to the Southern Serengeti to feast on special grasses, rich in nutrition.

The predators are well aware of this and follow the migration. The cheetah was awakened from a nap by wildebeest running by – food!

This cheetah is hungry and has a hungry little one to feed. I’ve seen 2 cheetahs take down a calf, but this one is going alone to get an adult!

Defeated, time to look for something smaller.
© Diane Kelsay

She leaves her little one behind for another chase and gets lucky.

She carries the kill along while trying to reunite with the little one but can’t find the kitten.

Unheard of for fear of losing it, she puts the kill down and calls and calls while searching. Finally reunited, they look for a safe place to enjoy their meal.

Looks good, time to eat.
© Diane Kelsay

They take turns eating while the other one guards.
© Diane Kelsay

We were all worried that the little one was lost. It was stressful. They were miles apart from each other. We stood watch over the kill until they came back. We all cheered when we saw them.

Link to our Tanzania Photography Safari, timed to intersect with the “birthing” of a million baby wildebeest and a host of predators!

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Tagged as cheetah, cheetahs, Nature Photography Adventures, safari, tanzania, Tanzania photography safari, Tanzania photography tours, Tanzania Safari, wildebeest, wildebeest birth, wildebeest calves, wildebeest migration

by Diane | July 20, 2020 · 10:22 am

The Okavango Delta, Botswana

Okavango Delta – a wealth of wildlife and scenery in waterways and savanna.

Lesser Jacana
© Bob Harvey

Carmine Bee Eater
© Diane Kelsay

Hornbill
©Bob Harvey

Bushbuck
© Bob Harvey

Serval, usually a rare find but promising here.
© Bob Harvey

Wild dog, also good chance to find here.
© Bob Harvey

Lion cub doing “cute Kitty”
© Diane Kelsay

Same lion cub practicing “fierce”
© Diane Kelsay

The cubs at play
© Bob Harvey

Daddy’s paw
© Diane Kelsay

Saddleback stork fishing
© Bob Harvey

Leopard at twilight
© Diane Kelsay

Link to our Botswana Photography Safari

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Tagged as bee eaters, Botswana, Botswana photography, Botswana safari, jacana, jacanas, Lion, lion cubs, lions, Moremi, Moremi Game Reserve, Nature Photography Adventures, Okavango Delta, Okavango wildlife, savanna, savanna wildlife, serval, servals, wild dogs, wildlife photography

by Diane | June 2, 2020 · 3:22 pm

The Chobe River and Chobe National Park, Botswana

The Chobe River is a special place for nature photographers and nature lovers. One side of the river is Botswana, the other side, Namibia. Beautiful birds are nesting along the both shorelines.

Malachite Kingfisher
© Diane Kelsay

Malachite Kingfisher
© Bob Harvey

White Fronted Bee Eater
© Diane Kelsay

Pied Kingfisher
© Diane Kelsay

And the nest robbers go after the eggs.

Water Monitor Lizard
© Diane Kelsay

The Southern Red Bishop searches the reeds for building materials.

Southern Red Bishop
© Bob Harvey

He builds several nests for his home show and invites the female for a look.

Inspection of the nest.
© Diane Kelsay

Elephants love the water, where they drink, eat, cool off and play.

Riverbank mud bath.
© Diane Kelsay

And sometimes their life ends in the river. Dozens of Nile Crocodiles feasted on this elephant for a day – and then for some reason, moved it about a half mile upstream during the night, and then cleaned up what remained.

And of course, the mighty Fish Eagle. Sometimes the call is the first sound of the morning.

Along the riverside, lions like to roam in and out of the trees, along the sandbars…

The roar was the loudest we ever heard.
© Diane Kelsay

Clearly she was busy grooming and didn’t want to respond.
© Diane Kelsay

Looks like he is waiting for her.
© Diane Kelsay

The river is loaded with hippos. Lots of action!

Hippo looking for trouble!
© 2018 Diane Kelsay

It’s a beautiful river.
© Diane Kelsay

Link to our Botswana Photography Safari

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Tagged as bee eaters, bird photography, birds, Botswana, Chobe National Park, Chobe River, crocodiles, elephants, hippos, kingfishers, lions, Malachite Kingfisher, Namibia, nature photography, Nature Photography Adventures, Nile crocodile, photo tours, wildlife photography

by Diane | May 9, 2020 · 8:41 am

Mom & Me

It’s time to celebrate our moms. They feed us, then teach us how to feed ourselves by grazing, browsing, fishing, hunting… They protect us from predators and teach us how to get along in our environment.

It’s really special to watch and photograph moms and their young. Do take the time to study the behavior, not just catch a quick photo. You will end up with many choices of great moments.

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Tagged as Africa, baby animals, bears, bison, brown bears, cheetah, elephants, giraffe, grizzly bears, howler monkey, jabiru stork, leopard, Lion, mothers day, Nature Photography Adventures, penguins, rhino, rhinos, safari, wildebeest, wildlife photography

by Diane | April 15, 2020 · 10:59 am

N’Giresi Village, Tanzania

The local village of the Wa Arusha tribe are cousins of the Maasai, but unlike the Maasai, are a farming community. We offer a visit to this village as a pre-tour for our Tanzania Adventures. This time, I went with Kristie and we had a great experience. This is not a show, this is real village life.

We walked several miles through the village through banana and coffee plantations. These ladies walked uphill about 3 miles from the market with heavy loads on their heads. And we were tired from carrying our camera bags?
© Diane Kelsay

We visited a traditional healer and she showed us her collection of medicinal plants. It was very dark, only an open door. I asked her to hold up the pretty plant into the light and caught some light on her face too.

The healer’s house with a pile of cornhusks.
© Diane Kelsay

Drying the corn.
© Diane Kelsay

Lunchtime for the goats.
© Diane Kelsay

We asked for a demonstration of how to process the coffee beans (the coffee they served us was amazing)

Shelling coffee beans.
© Diane Kelsay

Tossing the beans into the air for the shells to fly off. The shells are light skins and she assists by blowing them as she tosses.
© Diane Kelsay

Then they are dropped into the roaster. She stirred them over the fire until roasted just perfectly. We could see why this coffee was so great. Everything is done on the farm.
© Diane Kelsay

Many people like to search for the chameleon while walking down this road.
© Diane Kelsay

It was Saturday but some of the village children were in school. Others were not. I’m not sure how the system works. When we approached the doorway, the noisy kids milling about all went to their seats and looked like model students.

Listening intently to the teacher. Then they sang us a song.
© Diane Kelsay

Kristie really loved the children. See her quote below.
© Diane Kelsay

“These kiddos stole my heart from the very first. How I wish I could be in Tanzania today. Something in my soul is telling me to get back there as quickly as I can. I miss the people, the animals, the landscapes and the rhythm of life”. She posted this on facebook and I asked permission to copy it here. Kristie is right on with everything she said. We have many friends in Tanzania and look forward to every visit. When I go back to this village, I will bring a print for the healer. She was amazed to see her photo on the back of the camera. I’ve emailed the guide so he can show her but they love getting prints. Everyone appreciates our visits and the few dollars we bring to the community.

Consider joining us on a Tanzania adventure in the future and we will introduce you to the people, the animals, the landscape.

Link to our calendar

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Tagged as Africa, Africa photography, Maasai, Nature Photography Adventures, people photography, tanzania, Tanzania people, Tanzania photography, Tanzania Phototography Safari, Tanzania Safari, Tanzania villages

by Diane | April 5, 2020 · 11:25 am

It’s Spring – A Challenge

Tired of being inside? It’s spring outside! We are usually gone during spring, so we are making the most of our lockdown with daily walks and finding lots of new life to photograph around our place.

View from the deck. I took my time moving around and arranging the greens and lavender. In the past I’ve been in a hurry and just took documentary shots.
© 2020 Diane Kelsay

Same tree, cardinals frequent. NOT an easy shot. I had to open the door to the deck and hide inside. There were many misses – out of focus, branch in front of his face, oops he flew away (they are fast).

I hope you will go outside and find things. Even if you have a small yard or apartment common space, there are insects, new growth, blossoms, birds, even reflections in rain puddles and drops on leaves. Have fun creating and take good care of yourself. Post your photos on facebook, send them to me at diane@naturephotographyadventures.com.

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Tagged as bee photography, bees, birds, flower photography, flowers, insects, Nature Photography Adventures, spring

by Diane | March 26, 2020 · 1:01 pm

Textures All Around Us

Post 2

My first trip outside with the camera was on an overcast day to photograph the texture of the River Birch tree.

Watching closely from the kitchen window, I waited for the sun to come out and photographed it again.

It’s important to observe how light changes texture, especially side light.

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by Diane | March 20, 2020 · 2:54 pm

Textures All Around Us

Textures

It’s always easy to spot beautiful textures when we travel.

Why? Because we are looking!

At this time of hanging around our houses, we challenge you to go find some interesting textures. They are everywhere and art can be created. To stay healthy, we all know the rules now, but exercising the mind and body is an important part of staying healthy. We will spend the next week finding some things to photograph around the house, our gardens and woods, and even some of the things we have brought home from far away places. Watch for the next post to see the results.

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by Diane | February 3, 2020 · 1:34 pm

Spots!

I had so much fun cropping the feathers, that when I went to print some cat photos, I started looking hard at the differences in their spots. Such gorgeous designs. I love cats! Can’t get enough cat photos.

Some look sharper than others, has to do with the hairs. Can you name these 4 cats? Hint: an obvious one is missing, think of others. Send me an email – diane@naturephotographyadventures.com with your IDs and if they are right, I’ll give you $100 off the next adventure you sign up for.

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by Diane | January 7, 2020 · 12:05 pm

Feathers

Some of my favorite moments in processing bird photos are when I zoom to 100% to check details. Birds are beautiful, yes. But when you look at the endless designs, colors and details of the feather patterns, gorgeous abstracts appear.