Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Michele Nel
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Michele Nel »

Richprins wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 8:21 am Drive safe, Michele! 0/*

0()
Thx..flew to Windhoek this morning..but driving to Etosha tomorrow . :)


Michele Nel
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Michele Nel »

Lisbeth wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 10:38 am Thank you, Michele and enjoy your trip to Namibia \O
Thx Lisbeth..hoping for a green Etosha and lots of birds. :)


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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Michele Nel »

Alf wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:51 am Hope you have a wonderful trip
Thx Alf...:)


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Peter Betts
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Peter Betts »

Hi Michele ..please let me know what the campsites are like in Etosha now ..I heard that the small ablution blocks cant handle the masses of Overlander trucks these days and the maintenance of facilities has fallen off completely ..sad if true as Etosha is awesome


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Mel
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Mel »

Oops... missed your great birds ^Q^

... and your departure. Enjoy Etosha [O]


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Michele Nel
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Michele Nel »

Peter Betts wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 7:30 pm Hi Michele ..please let me know what the campsites are like in Etosha now ..I heard that the small ablution blocks cant handle the masses of Overlander trucks these days and the maintenance of facilities has fallen off completely ..sad if true as Etosha is awesome

We last camped in September 2019 - the campsites and ablutions were acceptable . Not the best but acceptable. This time round we stayed outside the park at Mokuti Lodge so I cannot comment on the campsites.


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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Michele Nel »

Another little tale....:)

Make the Effort.

The night of the 31st December found me sitting on the balcony at Gharagab, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. My better half had long since retired for the night and I was relaxing and enjoying the absolute quietness of the Kgalagadi. I had noticed lightening in the distance earlier in the evening but all of a sudden there was an almighty bolt of lightening that made my hair stand up on end. I had been on the brink of going to bed so I thought I would just sit for a few minutes enjoying the force of nature. More lightening bolts followed…bigger and better. We had travelled a fair distance that day in temperatures in excess of 45℃ and I was absolutely drained. I was too tired to even think about how I would capture this on camera when one more bolt of lightening lit up the entire camp. It was spectacular and with that I decided that I had to make an effort to capture it on camera. Fumbling in the dark so as not to wake my better half I managed to find my 6d, 16-35mm F 2-8 lens and tripod. Now I am in a rush and the quieter I was trying to be the more noise I was making. I got the tripod and camera set up and tried to think the process through. Focus …I needed to focus the lens. I switched my lens to manual focus and set the focus ring on infinity. I used manual mode on my camera and set the aperture to 2.8. ISO 100 . I set the shutter speed at 20secs and set my camera to 2sec self-timer. I was getting some shots but I was missing most of the lightening. I realised I needed to be more in control of opening and closing the shutter. I switched to bulb mode and then needed to find my intervalometer/remote control. More rummaging and fumbling in the dark but I found it and connected it to the camera. I decided not to try a specific shutter speed but I opened the shutter and closed it straight after the lightening bolt had struck. Immediately after that I opened the shutter again to catch the next one and then closed the shutter. Surprisingly enough this worked really well. All I wanted was an in focus record shot of what was happening in front of me.
Some shots were obviously better than others but this is the shot that made my night.
IMG_6229.jpg
All of a sudden I felt a bit uneasy … I felt I was being watched. I decided it was time to pack it in and I disappeared inside well satisfied with myself and my efforts. I was no sooner in bed when I heard the following…

phpBB [video]


I was indeed being watched…by two lions. What a way to end 2019.
My resolution this year is to “make the effort’. No matter what, make the effort to get the shot, you never know what you may get.


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Richprins
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Richprins »

Good gravy, Michele! ^Q^ ^Q^ ^Q^

Quite worth the effort indeed! :shock:


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Peter Betts
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Peter Betts »

fantastic lightening sequence


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Flutterby
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Re: Tales of the Kgalagadi.

Post by Flutterby »

Fantastic shot!! ^Q^

Have you tried layering all the shots you got so see the effect? ;-)


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