A selection of the best readers’ photographs submitted to the Getaway Gallery photo competition for July 2016.
Getaway Gallery is a prestigious showcase of the best photographs our readers have to offer. This year we bring you our biggest competition yet, with travel and equipment prizes to the value of over R160000.
Take a look at our June 2016 Gallery for more inspirational images.
July’s finalists
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- We had stopped next to a dusty road in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park when we spotted this cute baby squirrel. I couldn’t resist taking a few images. – By Cisca van Niekerk, Centurion. Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5 – 5.6 L II, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec.
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- Several giraffe were walking slowly across an open plain at Nxai Pan National Park. The sun had just set and it was that time when the tones in the sky were constantly changing. I found that a low angle worked for this shot of the curious giraffe, and enhanced the colourful sky. – By Stew Nolan, Pietermaritzburg. Canon 6D, ISO 1600, f/9, Canon 100-400 f/4.5 – 5.6L, 1/160 sec.
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- The Kalahari is a magical place and to see a Kalahari leopard is the highlight of any trip to this beautiful land. I spotted this leopard in a tree in the Auob riverbed. She was barely visible as her spotted coat blended seamlessly into the dappled shade of the Camelthorn tree she was resting in. – By Johann Visser, Bloemfontein. Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II, ISO 800, f/7.1, 400 sec.
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- I took this shot of an aged bull in the Etosha National Park at a waterhole near Namutoni rest camp. – By Hilda le Roux, Robertson. Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L, ISO 250, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec.
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- I photographed this African Scops Owl in Bateleur Camp in the Kruger National Park. I had heard their calls the previous night near the chalet we were staying in, and the next day I scouted for their location and found one perched in a tree. We returned early that evening with a spotlight. My wife lit the owl while our children quietly kept busy nearby in the total darkness. I used a monopod for extra stability. – By Jan Saunders, Pretoria. Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5 – 5.6 L, ISO 1250, f/5.6, 1/80 sec.
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- Because of tribal unrest and being situated so close to the South Sudan border, the Surma tribe near the Kibish River in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia do not receive that many visitors. In the early morning the children and women would arrive painted and decorated in flowers to be photographed. My flower boy was one of them, and I took this image in the shallow river with the sun coming up directly behind him. – By Susan Greeff, Gordon’s Bay. Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 24-105mm f/4, ISO 640, f/8, 1/160 sec.
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- I took this shot while on a sunset cruise on the Chobe River in Botswana. We were lucky enough to watch this elephant crossing the river to an island for their evening grazing. After it left the water it spent time applying its mudpack for protection against insects. I was very lucky with lighting and position to be able to photograph this majestic animal. – By Dave Gale. Nikon D610, Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3, ISO 720, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec.
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- This jackal buzzard did a fly-by at Giant’s Castle, Lammergeyer Hide in the Southern Drakensberg. I used a Manfrotto G Clamp to attach the hide’s rail to the tripod’s ball head, which made the camera and lens combination easier to handle. I cropped the image from the bottom and top to create a panoramic effect. – By Jan Saunders, Pretoria. Canon 1Dx, Canon 800mm f/5.6 L, ISO 1600, f/9, 1/1000 sec.
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- A chorus of frog calls drifted on the night breeze around a dam at Lake Eland in KwaZulu-Natal. Standing knee deep in the water, searching for the little frogs making this beautiful sound, I came upon this little frog sitting on a reed. Focusing was made difficult as a lite breeze kept blowing the frog in and out of focus. I was lucky to get this shot, for it soon jumped of the reed, disappearing into the dark water. Afterwards it started to drizzle sending me for shelter. Image taken in Lake Eland Game Reserve. – By Johann Visser, Bloemfontein. Canon 50D, Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 macro, ISO 320, f/20, 1/125 sec.
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- When I was still guiding at Sabi Sabi, I always wanted to capture an image of a leopard on top of this particular rock. We followed this normally elusive cat and as he approached this rock I was just hoping it would happen. A dream came true. – By Kosie Lategan, Tswalu Kalahari. Canon 600D, Canon 70-200mm f/4L, ISO 3200, f/4, 1/80 sec.
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- The early sunrise over a farm in Wellington, Western Cape, saw these colours explode through the lifting veil of mist. – By Nicky Elliott, Hout Bay. Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8, ISO 125, f/16, 1/60 sec.
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- The pride’s females chased this young lion over a dune for misbehaving. After dealing with the young lion the females returned to their little cubs in the dry Auob riverbed. Some time passed before the lion peeped over the dune like a naughty child, only its eyes and ears visible. It built up more confidence when it saw that the females were a safe distance away from him, and sat on the top of the dune staring at the pride and his little brothers and sisters playing in the distance. With a storm building in the background and him siting all alone on the dune, I could not help but feel sorry for the young outcast. Taken in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. – By Johann Visser, Bloemfontein. Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II, ISO 800, f/7.1, 400 sec.
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- We were tracking this pride male north of Moremi, Botswana. A second vehicle joined us and during the course of following him each vehicle would take turns lighting him up. I must have taken hundreds of shots hand-held to get a few sharp ones. To my surprise I got this one while he was exhaling, adding to the shot. – By Clint Ralph, Pretoria East. Canon 1DX, Canon 600mm f/4L IS II, ISO 3200, f/4, 1/500 sec.
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- Angry waves pounded the rocky shoreline in the awakening light of dawn. I set up my camera and tripod well before sunrise to shoot this scene on the Wild coast of South Africa. I used a slow shutterspeed to turn the moving waves into mist on the water. The sun was rising fast and I was only able to get two or three usable photos on this shoot before the light became too harsh for the photo I had in mind. Taken at the Morgan Bay cliffs in the Eastern Cape. – By Johann Visser, Bloemfontein. Canon 7D, Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC macro, ISO 100, f/22, 15 sec.
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- We were on an early morning drive in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The sun was just beginning to rise when this majestic lion joined us on a dusty road, walking alongside us. What a feeling. – By Charlene Bacchioni, Pretoria. Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 300mm f/2.8, ISO 1250, f/6.3, 1/1250 sec.
