Gorges Lower Bearwallow Waterfall

This is a not so secret but super tricky waterfall to get to that rewarded my journey with more than I could imagine.  The first time I had been to Gorges State Park in North Carolina was for a 3 day hike and on the first day my hiking partner and I had the GPS point for this falls but because of the lack of established paths we still couldn't find this falls!  

So, this last week a buddy of mine who is a ranger in the park set off to try and actually find it.  After about 4 miles hiking on the main path and then about an hour wading through the creek/river upstream towards the falls we came around the bend to this awesome sight.  The climb out along the ridge led us eventually back to the path which was tricky but much less work than the hike in through the creek.  Really beautiful waterfall and if you are adventurous hopefully you can find it too!

Grand Canyon at Twilight

Another epic view from the lookout at Toroweap in the Grand Canyon National Park.  I had set up cameras just before sunset to capture stars throughout the night but this was one of the first images I had taken just as the sun had dropped down below the horizon.  

One of my favorite times of day to shoot is during civil twilight which is the period just after sunset for about 30 minutes or so, depending on the season, where the light still lights catches the landscape but is super soft and also allows for some more detail in the sky without being blown out.  To capture this low of light though I definitely had to work quickly while also doing long exposures to keep noise low.

On this night the light was really just perfect even in the canyon itself which at about 3000ft down from me and can become a black hole during the early and later part of the day.  There is also just something about the color tones present in the desert that I just can't get over.  All the subtle reds, browns and spots of color from water, the sky and vegetation are just so beautiful!

Grand Canyon Night Sky

After driving about 2000 miles from North Carolina over a bunch of days, a blown out tire and a couple nights of waiting for clouds to disperse I finally had a clear night without any light pollution to shoot some stars...and boy was it a treat to shoot out at Toroweap on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon!

This night in particular I was able to shoot all night on the rim about 3000ft above the Colorado River without a soul or a city in sight.  The tree featured in this shot I must have shot from about 10 different angles...it was just so perfect!  This image was made up from about 350 images taken at 30s intervals and one images taken around twilights before all light on the foreground disappeared.

From this one night I took so many images I used up almost all my batteries and cards and hardly got any sleep before having to drive out the next morning, but man was it a spectacular spot!  If you have a 4x4 and fully sufficient for a few days definitely check out Tuweep/Toroweap in the Grand Canyon National Park.  Just be sure to grab a permit well in advance as there is no facilities at the campsite and advance reservations are required for overnight stays.  Tuweep info can be found here https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/tuweep.htm

Night out on Spitzkoppe

Back in February of 2016 I spent a few days solo camping at Spitzkoppe, Namibia with the goal of shooting the night sky and the surrounding area while the skies were clear and the weather was pleasant.  I had been to Spitzkoppe before and had a really amazing time in the park scrambling around the rocks at night shooting the milky way over the Spitzkoppe Mountain, but after looking at the mountain in so many shots after the trip I could only think about how cool it would be to shoot from up on top.  So, on this trip I choose a really epic camp site right on the eastern side of the park at the base of Grosse Spitzkoppe.  After a full day of scouting locations I though I should go ahead and hike up the mountain to shoot sunset and then I'll just return down to the campsite afterwards for the night.  In my excitement for getting up to the top of the mountain I didn't really factor in how much of a scramble it was to get up the mountain as the terrain was almost exclusively big round rocks, gravel and thorn bushes and not to mention there was no clear trail.

After 45 minutes or so of awkward scrambling up the rocky mountain side with full camera kit in tow I pretty much accepted my fate.  The light was gorgeous up top so I set up both cameras to do some long exposures here and there and by the time the light was fading had to come to terms that there was no way I could scramble down the rocks in the dark safely.  I looked through my bag and I had a spare Clif Bar, water and a can of beer, but that was about all the rations I had for the night.  I probably should have been a little more prepared, but I was just so excited to actually get up there and shoot I kinda forgot to stop and plan.

In any case I gathered myself together and made a plan to make the most of the night and shoot until I ran out of batteries.  This shot was taken just at sunset and into Astrological Twilight.  I let the camera set out for about 2 hours capturing images from just after sunset to get a nice glow on the foreground and then also captured the stars once the sky got dark enough.  In post processing I blended 2-3 images together from that sequence to make the final image.

In the end I shot until about midnight then napped amongst some rocks on my pack for a couple hours until the Milky Way rose and then continued shooting until just before dawn when all my batteries were drained.  Long exposures take a toll on batteries and I shot a bunch of hours on probably 5 batteries total.

The night was long, cold and kinda uncertain, but turned out to be one of the most exciting nights of photography to date for me even if I was kinda stupid in planning it out.  Finally, I've made this image into a limited edition print which is available at this link.

Blue Ridge Eclipses

2017 and the beginning of 2018 have brought some really special sky events to the Western North Carolina area with both a full solar eclipse and the super-blue moon lunar eclipse of January 2018.  Weather around these parts is so wet and rainy that it's been typical to have rain clouds at least 50% of the time and unfortunately we have some clouds roll in for the solar eclipse last fall.

We were in the path of totality for the solar eclipse and it was really remarkable to view in person (with the right proactive eyewear of course).  Sadly, the clouds rolled in right during the totality event and I had to make due with shooting photos through the clouds and didn't quite get that money shot of a total eclipse.  The shot above turned out quite nice though and was still an amazing event to witness.  And, I didn't ruin any cameras in the process!

However, for the epic partial eclipse super blue moon we had some really break clouds and skies that morning.  I spent the sunrise over at my neighbor's porch which has to be one of the best views of the Blue Ridge mountains anywhere.  The moon set right over the mountains while getting partially obstructed by the earth during a really spectacular sunrise sky.

Partial Lunar Eclipse 2018 | Brevard, NC

Searching for Wild Cheetahs

Another once in a lifetime sighting of a Leopard in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

I’ve been living in Namibia since March of 2014 at the Cheetah Conservation Fund so as you may expect we see lots of cheetahs.  In fact of the 35-45 cheetahs that are at the center at any given time we have six females that live in a large enclosure behind our house, another 10 or so that live in large enclosures next to the offices and another four that live down the road which I regularly jog and walk the dog.  Suffice to say we get lots of cheetah sightings.  However, seeing one in the wild?  That’s another story in entirely.  I’ve visited Etosha National Park many times, the NamibRand, Botswana’s Chobe, Okavango Delta and Central Kalahari Game Reserve and only seen a total of 1 wild cheetah.  In the same time I’ve seen several leopards and boat loads of lions, caracal and african wild cats but the cheetah is really the elusive big cat in this part of Africa.

The last time I visited Etosha in March 2016 I was inundated with stories from fellow safari goers about coalition of males that had been seen around the Namutoni camp on a daily basis.   Did I see them?  Nope.  By the way, a group of males is called a coalition and is usually 2-5 brothers from same litter that bond and stay together for life.  Females are solitary except during mating.   So, when I set out again last month (August 2016) I of course had goals of seeing cheetahs, but not much hope.

Luck was on my side though as after five days in the park on safari by myself I not only found a cheetah I almost ran into a coalition on the road!  It was about 2 hours after sunrise and I had moved away from waterholes and was driving along the pan away from Namutoni camp which is a very stark white sand/gravel road.  After several kilometers on the road I had put the windows up and the A/C on as it was already hot and dusty when I went around a turn and right in the middle of the road was a beautiful young male cheetah.  I expected to startle him, but he didn’t even look my way so I switched off the car and immediately grabbed my camera. 

Over a few minutes the cheetah didn’t even as much as glance at me, instead focusing on a slightly obstructed herd of zebra and springbok.  At this point I realized he was stalking them and my heart began to race a bit.  The first thoughts were - is my shutter speed set correctly?  Should I use a Teleconverter?  Is the car in the right spot and can I move it without disturbing the events about to unfold?  Of course as I’m fumbling with my camera two more cheetah emerge from the left side of the road and move into a full stalking mode with the first.  At this point all three cats begin to stalk the prey through the grass very low and very deliberately.  Heart still racing a bit I grab some shots and then decide I have to move the car and quickly move the two ton truck slowly but loudly along the road into better position.

In position, I watched as another spectator joined me - a young black backed jackal was also watching the cats hunt in hopes of scavenging a meal later on.  We now both watched as the cats moved through the bush closer and closer.  Slowly the cats moved silently through the thicker bush trying to remain undetected by their unsuspecting prey.  Two of the cats crouched so low into the grass that I lost track of them for a few minutes.

Coalition of three male cheetahs stalking prey as young jackal watches from a safe distance

However, as the cheetahs moved closer several of the very skittish zebra noticed something amiss and alerted the rest of the herd to a danger.  I don’t think the zebra actually saw the cats, but they are so quick to even get scared of their own shadow that I think something set them off and that was the end of the hunt.  As the zebra began to cluster together and snort and make loud noises in the cheetahs direction the cover was blown.  It was a sad conclusion for me, but fortunately the cheetahs decided to hang around the area and I followed them for another hour or so as they moved around in search for a shady resting spot to avoid the unrelenting Namibian sun for the rest of the day.  They cats even led me to a spot where they were marking and clawing at a play tree presumably a hot spot of scents for other cheetahs in the area.

Cheetahs marking a play tree, Etosha National Park, Namibia

As the cheetahs finally moved away into the bush where I could no longer keep track I relaxed into a nice drive back through the park and eventually back to camp.  The first thing I did when returning to camp?  Back up all the photos to my computer and external drive and text my wife and friends back at CCF about the sighting - it had been a remarkable day and I wanted to make sure everyone knew despite how jealous they would be. 

Zebra watch from safe distance as coalition of three male cheetahs leave after unsuccessful hunt

Seeking Solitude in the Central Kalahari

Storm passing over Passarge Valley

We drove for 250km through Botswana at first on tar road, but after 100km we turned off onto a 2 track dirt road, we wouldn’t see tar for 5 days.  With each additional kilometer we were heading deeper into the remote vastness of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.  Had we packed enough fuel, water and food?  We felt confident planning it out, but now after 5 plus hours to get to our first campsite and only seeing 1 other vehicle we might have second guessed ourselves if we weren’t simply entranced by the massive remote wilderness we had entered.

Our first night Eli and I camped in Passarge Valley.  When we arrived that night we relished our newfound solitude.  We had passed the only other campsites on the way in at 40 and 20km away respectively.  Compare to other campsites where you are rubbing elbows with others while washing up at the camp sinks or chatting up people while setting up camp.  In Passarge we had the whole valley to ourselves.  No fences around the campsite, no bathroom (except for a toilet seat on a hole in the ground) and no showers (except for a bucket hoisted up on a pulley).  The best part by far though was no other people to distract you from nature.

Storm passes over Sunday Pan

The fun of camping for me is the do-it-yourself mentality and also getting back in-sync with nature’s schedule (i.e. being mindful of the sun and moon’s movements).  One can get these experiences in their backyard, but after so many camping experiences I’ve always wanted to find the more unique locales.  Being out in CKGR brings all the joy of backyard camping and adds on little things like not having basic amenities available, extreme solitude, and of course, the option of lions in your camp.

Lion tracks in the sand just next to our campsite in Passarge Valley

I had heard stories of lions and other predators in your camp before and always of hoped it happened at a convenient time as opposed to while making dinner for example.  Our second morning as we headed out, sure enough, we saw lion tracks in the sand over our truck's tracks.  Two sets of huge tracks led directly from our camp out towards the main road.  No telling when they came through as we heard nothing that night.  I’m not sure if I was more excited to see the tracks or concern that we had two huge male lions wandering around our camp without making a sound.

Looking for Deception

That day we drove out of Passarge and made our way to Deception Valley.  Eli was especially excited to visit Deception as it was the main encampment for the Owens Researchers in the eighties where they explored the park for many years and wrote Cry of the Kalahari following their time there.  Deception Valley did not disappoint.  The huge open plains within the main part of the valley held some of the largest herds of springbok we had ever seen.  In addition, were tons of Oryx, Ostrich, and many other herbivores.  Perfect food choices for a predator.  We enjoyed the expansiveness [sB1] of driving around Deception and Sunday Pan and only saw a couple other vehicles containing no doubt other like-minded adventure seekers.  We saw so few vehicles that when we did spot someone both cars would stop for a moment and have a chat about their animal sightings, the general awesomeness of the park or to trade supplies.  Our last day as we were driving out of the park a group of four guys in a rental 4x4 covered top to bottom in mud had proposed to trade us some wine and cash in exchange for some of our fuel.  We had 3 full jerry cans so we agreed as we were heading out that day, but were a little concerned as the guys said they were extremely low on fuel and had another 4-5 days in the park.  For reference, we only spent 4 nights in the park and used over 100 liters of fuel and traveled 1100km!  I hope they made it through okay, although based on their wine supply I’m sure they did just fine.

While the Deception campsite was nowhere as quaint as the Passarge site, we did enjoy the proximity to both Sunday Pan and Deception Valley.  We had neighbors next to our campsite, but the sites were spaced far enough apart to still feel alone and the amenities were still of the same spartan nature. 

Lions in the bushes

One day going on a tip from park rangers we came across, we headed to Sunday Pan in search of what was described as “some lions in the bushes.”  We both laughed when the guys told us that, because Sunday Pan is huge!  And of course all there is, is bushes.  Regardless, it was the only tip we had, so we headed there.  With Eli’s eagle eye spotting he eyed the top of a lioness’ ear amongst the grasses and under some bushes no less!  As we settled in to watch, not one but six lionesses emerged from the bushes and made their way to the road where they proceeded to lay about for the next day and a half.  We watched the lionesses that morning, returned that evening and even came back the next morning on our way out of the park to check in.  Sure enough, they had only moved about 50 meters or so in the 2 days.  With so many opportunities to take photos we both got some nice shots especially in the evening when they all perked up and appeared interested to hunt, but unfortunately never did.

Group of 6 lionesses in Sunday Pan

Other animal sightings included a great encounter with an adult female cheetah, two sets of male lions, lots of bat-eared foxes (sightings everyday), many birds of prey including various eagles and falcons and, as I mentioned before, impressively large herds of herbivores.  The animal sightings were really amazing and almost every sighting we had to ourselves which made the peaceful solitude of the wilderness even more special.

Long Road Home

After 5 days in the park we had to start the 250km track back to Ghanzi.  While our fears of running out of resources was passed we had used up just about all our water on the last day which could have put us in a bind should we have gotten stuck on the way out.  In any case, after we traded the fuel for the wine we headed out and after about 6 hours made it to Ghanzi and had the most refreshing shower.  While the bucket shower was enticing at the campsites, the fear of using all the water overrode that notion.  We made it out unscathed and with lots of photos, stories and experiences.  However, returning to civilization that night we realized we need to bring more water next time for showers - we smelled.

Oryx Dune

On a week long trip through the Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia, Sossusvlei was one of highlights I was most looking forward to.  Despite only having a couple nights in the area I made the most of it and was out and about shooting for two afternoon/evenings and two extremely early mornings (starting at 4am).  Summer in the Namib desert is pretty brutal to anyone when the sun is high and Sossosvlei was no exception.  One morning I woke at 4am and was on the road at 4:30 to reach Deadvlei by sunrise and by 8am I was packing it in for the morning.  With not a cloud in sight most days the harsh lights gets harsher as the sun moves up so I choose wisely and decided to drive or lay around during hot hours.

The shot above was something I remember being extremely excited about at the time and even now looking back it was a perfect combination of light and subject.  There isn't much wildlife in the desert (compared to the game parks) so when I set out my capture priorities wildlife wasn't even on the radar.  I spent most of the days shooting landscapes and some creative graphic-type shots.

Sparse Landscapes

As the sun was just about touching the dunes in the west I decided to start making the 60km back to camp.  This lone Oryx grazing came into vision off the road and was like a beacon against the dunes.  Not seen was the shadows of the other dunes creeping into the landscape by the minute.  Shooting at 400mm from the car I had to work quick, but the Oryx cooperated happily standing and grazing.  What the Oryx was actually finding to eat in the sandveld is beyond me, but there is a reason the Oryx is the national animal of Namibia.  They can pretty much survive in any habitat Namibia has to offer from sand dunes to overgrown thick thornbush.

Wild Dogs in Botswana

Epic Botswana Safari

Our friend Annemarie, Stephanie and I just got back from an amazing road trip and safari through Etosha National Park, the Caprivi part of Namibia and Chobe National Park in Botswana.  We spent about 12 days on the road and covered almost 3000km by the end of the trip.  While the majority of the trip was met with some amazing wildlife sightings the last day of the safari was by far the best sighting of the trip.

While in Etosha we saw tons of elephant, giraffe, all sorts of antelope and even a leopard and a couple rhinos.  In the Caprivi region we saw many hippos, crocodiles, lots of nice birds and of course elephants and interesting antelopes.  It was only in Botswana in Chobe National Park that we really started to see some special sightings.

Hot Savuti

On our 10th straight day of safari we had seen a lot of really nice wildlife, however, the heat of Savuti which is deep in the heart of Chobe NP was starting to get to us.  Up until we reached Savuti we had camped and stayed in lodges that were in nice scenic areas or right along the river.  Savuti, normally a marshy area fed from the Savuti Channel, was completely dry and was surrounded by deep hot sand.  The drive into Savuti from North Botswana was about 2 hours of 4x4 deep sand driving mostly in 2nd gear.  The sand was hot and the car was working hard so was also hot.  Once we reached the camp it was midday and not a cloud was in the sky.  Our campsite was a deep sand pit under a tree and it must have been 100+°F in the shade.

Because the channel was dry there were only two manmade water points in the area to visit.  Each waterhole had just enough water to supply the animals, but not enough water to fill the waterhole.  It was a strange sight to see elephants crowded around the small hole in the middle of the waterhole drinking the water as fast as the pump could get water through the pipe.

After 2 hot days of driving safari we had a few nice sightings of single spotted hyenas, loads of male elephants and plenty of wildebeest, tsessebe antelope and interesting raptors.  We even had a nice sighting of a Marshal Eagle feasting on a recently killed Guinea Fowl in a tree.

Lion Wakeup Call

On our final day we woke around 5am to the sound of Lions calling each other.  The sounds gave us some good motivation to get up, pack up and start the search for the nearby lions.  Just as we left the camp we noticed that there were two sets of Lion tracks walking along the sand road next to our camp nearly 20 feet next to our tents.  Motivated even more by the close sighting we set off in the direction of the lion's call.

Only about 1-2km from camp we found our single male lion resting under a bush.  We could still hear the call of the other male lion maybe 2-3km from us, but we elected to stay with this lion for a while and enjoy the nice sighting.

Energized by the sighting that morning we safaried around for the morning and returned to camp before lunch when it was too unbearably hot to be out anymore.

Finding Wild Dogs

After spending the hot part of the day at camp we packed up and set off around 4pm for our last safari drive of the trip.  As we stopped by the sightings board at the park gate we noticed a single green pin the southeastern part of the park.  Green meant Wild Dogs were spotted that morning.  Stephanie hastily grilled the park ranger on duty when they were spotted and exactly where.  They had been spotted early that morning at Rhino Vlei - a dried up waterhole about 10km away.

We set off immediately at quite a clip.  If the dogs had been spotted in the morning there was only a small chance they would stay in the same area for the duration of the day as they are quite nomadic.  However, because of the heat there was still a chance they could decide to only move at the cooler dusk and dawn.  We drove probably a little too fast for the park, but it was still hot so almost no animals were on the roads.

We arrived at Rhino Vlei about an hour later and started the search.  After only about 30 minutes we drove down a side road near the former waterhole and passed a huge tree that grew like a shrub with tons of shade underneath it's canopy.  As soon as Stephanie and I finished verbally agreeing that the tree looked like a nice shade spot we spotted a wild dog nearly 10 feet in front of the truck just aside the tree and next to the road.  We found them!

We switched off the truck immediately, but the dog didn't care about us at all and just lied there.  After repositioning the truck for a better viewing spot we settled in to watching as five adult Wild Dogs slowly emerged from the tree and then three additional pups.

The shock of actually finding the dogs still hasn't worn off.  Since first coming to Namibia almost two years ago this animal has been at the top of the animal sighting wish list.  We ended up spending about an hour and half with the dogs as they rested in the shade.  The pups played here and there which was amazing to witness.  It was only when the sun was just touching the horizon when the dogs all spring up into action.  Being such a social animal all the dogs started nuzzling, licking, playfully biting and rubbing against each other along with communicating with their trademark squeaks.

Savuti challenged us mentally, but the rewards far surpassed all the challenges and in the end made the trip.  It was an epic ending to an epic trip as the Wild Dogs and then us drove off into the sunset.

Dead Tree Island

Deep in the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta stands Dead Tree Island.  We drove to the island, but for most travelers getting to the island was blocked by a seemingly impassable deep water crossing about 40 yards long and who knows how deep.  When we approached the crossing, however, we were lucky enough to encounter another local safari operator who showed us the line to take through the water to the island.  The line through the water was definitely circuitous, but our hired Hilux loaded down with camping kit made it through the water just fine (even if the nose of the car did dip below the water for a moment).

The island's name was immediately evident as we drove around and saw all the leafless tree branches reaching into the sky.  The delta floods annually and this area in particular was one of the areas that would flood first so there was lots of little pools around the trees and very little tall grasses or brush.  We would have liked to stay around the island for much longer, but as the location was about an hour from camp and there were several deep (and deeper) water crossings along the route we played it safe and returned to camp in time for sunset.