Americas and Eurasia and Africa – Page 38

“From behind” (#3 in single-image series: demoiselle cranes)

Published May 24, 2023 by Pelidoug

“From behind” (#3 in single-image series: demoiselle cranes)

Photographically speaking, birds on the wing are – in equal measure – irresistible, humbling and frustrating.

Their irresistible/frustrating aspect is especially apparent when a photographer attempts to capture/convey how a bird launches itself into the air, or returns to earth/tree-branch/rooftop/ledge/water’s surface…

“Successful results” are guaranteed to be rare events, and one’s “successes” usually prove “qualified” rather than “total”.

This post’s image is one such qualified success…

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“From behind” (#2 in single-image series: switched-on monk)

Published May 23, 2023 by Pelidoug

“From behind” (#2 in single-image series: switched-on monk)

This post’s subtitle owes an apology to Wendy Carlos.

(Wendy, who was originally named Walter, is most famous for her 1968 LP “Switched-on Bach”).

This post includes a musical bonus; like the featured image, it involves Tibetan Buddhism…but not J.S. Bach.

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“From behind” (#1 in single-image series)

Published May 22, 2023 by Pelidoug

“From behind” (#1 in single-image series)

General rule, when photographing animals, humans included:

ensure that their eyes are fully visible, in sharp focus, and looking at “you”, the viewer.

As is true of so many “rules”, this one is worth knowing.

Generally, it is a good idea to abide by it…but sometimes, the better idea is to break it…

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Three of the same (#15 in series: impala)

Published May 10, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same (#15 in series: impala)

This little series concludes in northern Namibia, with a very elegant species of Antelope.

In the 1950s General Motors appropriated its name.

The “real thing” bears zero resemblance to any lumbering, oversized, grossly inefficient “Yank Tank”.

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Three of the same (#14 in series: Burchell’s sandgrouse)

Published May 7, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same (#14 in series: Burchell’s sandgrouse)

Reportedly, this species – a southern African arid/semi-arid savannah/grassland specialist – will sometimes fly 120 kilometres from its nest, in order to find water.

Happily, for many Burchell’s sandgrouse this is no longer necessary; boring humans – well, humans who sink bores – have proved a boon to Pterocles burchelli.

Named after an English naturalist, they are somewhat pigeon-like in appearance…but not in their abilities and behaviour.

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Three of the same (#13: spotted deer)

Published May 5, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same (#13: spotted deer)

As you can see in the image above, when a predator is not obviously present, the level of vigilance/alarm/nonchalance exhibited by its prey can vary greatly, from one individual to another.

This is true even within a small, close-spaced, single-species group.

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Three of the same, with musical bonus (#10 in series: black-winged stilt)

Published May 2, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same, with musical bonus (#10 in series: black-winged stilt)

Two questions arise when considering all three birds in today’s featured image.

The obvious one: “clearly, their wings are not black, so how do they merit their name?”

The other one: “why is Himantopus himantopus in the Guinness Book of Records?”

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Three of the same (#9 in series: Goa, aka Tibetan Gazelles)

Published May 1, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same (#9 in series: Goa, aka Tibetan Gazelles)

This post’s Tibetan Plateau location is higher and wilder than was true of #8 in this series.

The Chang Tang – also rendered into English as “Changtang” – is a very harsh environment, mostly grasslands at more than 4,000 metres above sea level, punctuated by mountains.

Much of it is protected in one of the world’s largest national parks, but climate change’s impact – here, mostly negative – is proving particularly extreme, rapid.

Goa – or Tibetan Gazelle – live here in still-considerable, but declining numbers.

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Three of the same (#8 in series: Himalayan Griffon Vultures)

Published April 30, 2023 by Pelidoug

Three of the same (#8 in series: Himalayan Griffon Vultures)

Dead yaks reputedly provide rather more than half of the food eaten by Gyps himalayensis, but many members of Homo sapiens have also been devoured.

“Live” humans, fear not!

These very large raptors are scavengers, not hunters.

For countless human generations – via so-called “Tibetan Sky Burials”, in which religious rites are meticulously conducted, but the recently-deceased are not buried – Himalayan Griffon Vultures have done high-altitude humans a valuable service.

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