Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to experience and photograph Oryx rut in Samburu National park (in northern Kenya). Actually I went there (along with my friend Bent Olsen) fully intending to photograph leopards, but it was the Oryx which interested me the most on this safari. One afternoon we saw a herd of male oryx fighting on a plain with very little bush cover. The light was not very good, but low mountains to the east showed promise for some great morning light. The next morning we arrived early and photographed the Oryx rut in some wonderful light. The Oryx males ran about, resulting in clouds of dust in the air. Great!! The orange backlight was just perfect.
OJL
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| Oryx fight in great morning light. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/5000 sec, f/5.0 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. KLIKK PÅ BILDET FOR STØRRE VERSJON ELLER KJØP AV BILDEPRINT. |
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| Oryx fight in great morning light. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/5000 sec, f/5.0 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Oryx fight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/4000 sec, f/5.0 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Running Oryx. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/80 sec, f/13 and ISO 400. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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There were also other animals and birds in Samburu, and several of these northern species were new to me. One of the highlights for me was a sand-snake in evening light, and lucky for us he wasn't very shy.
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| Sand snake. Nikon D3X with 105/2.8 Macro, 1/800 sec, f/3.2 and ISO 400. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Sand snake. Nikon D3X with 105/2.8 Macro, 1/250 sec, f/3.2 and ISO 640. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Sand snake. Nikon D3X with 105/2.8 Macro, 1/250 sec, f/3.2 and ISO 640. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Samburu man. Nikon D3X with 105/2.8 Macro, 1/200 sec, f/5.0 and ISO 400. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Olive Baboon. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0 + 1,4X Extender, 1/400 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Olive Baboon. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1600 sec, f/7.1 and ISO 800. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Vulterine Guineafowl. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/20 sec, f/13 and ISO 400. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Lioness. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/400 sec, f/5.0 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Grevy Zebra. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1600 sec, f/6.3 and ISO 1000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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| Grey-headed Kingfisher. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0 + 1,4X Extender, 1/2000 sec, f/6.3 and ISO 1000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. Click on the image to view a larger version, buy a print or download the image. |
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Tags: Kenya, Liodden, Lion, Naturfokus, Oryx, Safari, Samburu, Snake
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 30th, 2010 at 01:23
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