Autumn at Kenmo

It was Tuesday morning when I got the call. "We need some good autumn colourful images for the publication".... mmmm.. I had done some autumn images at Zoo Lake the previous week but that wasn't quite going to be spectacular  enough for what we needed. Where to was the question? I had seen quite a few spectacular images from Kenmo Lake in the Southern Drakensberg but I had never been there before. It is situated just outside a small town called Himeville which is a few kilometers from Underberg. I quickly made some enquiries about where I could stay and the plans were made.

I left Johannesburg on the Friday morning and after one or two quick stops, I arrived in Himeville just in time before sunset. Early Saturday morning, about an hour before sunrise, I was at the lake... with about 100 other photographers. This was a photographers hot spot with everyone finding their spots to capture the magic that was about to unfold.. I immediately headed to the opposite side where everyone was setting up. I most certainly didn't want the same shots as everyone else. It was overcast and very misty and I was worried whether the light would be any good. Did I mention that it was cold? One degree in fact! My fingers where numb and carrying the tripod didn't exactly help.

My first view. Misty, cold and overcast

I walked to the far embankment and waited for the light... and then as if a magical wand had been swung, the sky was a bright pink and the view around me sublime..

As the morning progressed I witnessed many different magical scenes. I took countless images and it would be impossible to show them all here. I have chosen a few of my favourites from the morning but this is only really a sample of what I saw. It was a feast for the eyes. The ever changing colours and views from the plethora of colours that kept unfolding in front of me. A true gourmet meal for the eyes.

I returned on Sunday morning and it was a different world. The sky was clear with not a single cloud to be seen. A completely different scene was about to unfold before my eyes. There were not as many photographers present this morning and I had a bit more freedom moving around without getting photographers in my shots.. :) :)

The "Burning Bush"

The wives of 2 of the photographers I bumped into struck some poses for us.

The Barnyard - Photography in low light

The ultimate challenge for many photographers is to be able to capture good images in low light conditions. There are generally quite a few factors which count against being able to capture a good image. The biggest problem is generally being able to freeze the action to get a clear, sharp image with enough light to expose it correctly. I have always enjoyed entertainer photography because of the bright colours and the ambiance that can be captured.

The Barnyard Theatre's Story - Where did it all begin?

In 1996 the first Barnyard Theatre was opened by the Möller family on a dairy farm just outside Plettenberg Bay. Louis and Sybel had both been involved in the performing arts most of their lives, Louis as co-founder and producer of, amongst others, Carte Blanche, and Sybel Coetzee as a freelance actress and TV presenter.

In 1989 they took stock of their hectic lives with two young boys and decided that family comes first. As a result they decided to open a dairy farm close to Plettenberg Bay. After a few years of farming they longed for a way to combine their two loves – the footlights and the farm. Then 1996 saw the birth of The Barnyard Theatres. Why Barnyard? Louis had built a beautiful, rustic American-style wooden barn on the farm, which Sybel and Louis converted into a theatre with an old-world atmosphere, heavy wooden beams, a horseshoe gallery, big tables with welcoming lanterns and wood chips on the floor.

In 2003 Louis joined forces with well-known South African musician Duck Chowles and together they formed The Barnyard Theatre Production Company. Having produced, amongst others, the mega-hit Roll Over Beethoven, Louis instinctively knew Duck belonged in the Barnyard stable. Duck Chowles now directs and produces all Barnyard Theatre Productions.

The Barnyard Theatre concept is 19 years old this year. 

I recently had the opportunity to attend 2 different shows at the Barnyard in Gateway, Durban and whilst they do allow photography, no flashes are allowed to be used. This was the ideal opportunity to use my "low light king" camera, the mirrorless Sony A7s. I chose to use the 70-200 F4 lens as this would allow some widish shots from where I was sitting as well as being able to zoom in to the entertainers.  To be able to get shutter speeds of about 1/400 and an aperture of at least F8 I would have to use ISO's of between 5000 and 40 000... Yes, ISO40 000. Of course, not to much of a problem with the A7s. This is the camera that has revolutionized the DSLR Video market. Full frame and the ability to shoot at these incredible ISO's with additional lights or flashes.

Here is a selection of images from the shows that demonstrate this combinations' abilities. No fancy editing or processing, just through normal RAW processor and PP.You be the judge... any good?

From the first show...

  The more recent show...

Visit to Giants Castle - Drakensberg

I recently had the opportunity to visit one of my most favourite spots in South Africa. Giants Castle Nature Reserve is known for its magnificent San rock art, fabulous hiking, invigorating climate and the vulture hide. This KwaZulu-Natal nature reserve is an historic place and home to the Bearded Vulture. This beautiful reserve was named in honour of the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, whose silhouette resembles that of a sleeping giant.

The vulture hide is situated high on the side of one of the peaks and affords people to be able to observe and photograph these majestic birds. The site is frequented by both the Cape and Bearded vultures as well as on occasion, other birds of prey.

I arrived in somewhat cloudy and wet weather and was hoping for the best. The road up to the hide was at times very slippery and the 4x4 really worked! We quickly set up in the hide and then scattered the bones we had brought in the area in front of the hide. 

The waiting game began! Within minutes the crows and starlings were there and these can become rather annoying pests. They pick up and fly away with the bones, as if they were out shopping for their evening meal. 

Front view of the hide

View down the valley from in front of the hide

One of the pesky Red Winged Starlings

We hadn't been there for long when I noticed some ears rising over the horizon. The Black Backed Jackals had come for their meal. Although they are at times also active during the day, they mostly rest up in holes dug by other species such as ant bears (aardvark), as well as other shelters like rock crevices, under bushes etc. They are very active at night and are often seen at dusk and dawn. In areas where they are protected they are also active on cool overcast days, but in areas where they are persecuted by man they tend to be shy and hide away. Well this was an overcast day and there was easy food to be had so they were coming in for their lunch.

A bit of rivalary for the lunch but no serious damage done.

We had been watching the skies for any signs of the vultures that I had actually come to photograph and eventually we spotted a couple of birds doing the circling pattern for which they are so well known. A couple of Cape Vultures had arrived and were doing fly byes to see if there was something for them to snack on. 

The Cape vulture is one of the nine different vultures recorded in Southern Africa. Its conservation status is classified as “Vulnerable”. What makes this species so important is that it is endemic to this region and is found nowhere else in the world. If our Cape vultures become extinct, there are no replacements! Cape vultures used to occur all over southern Africa, even on Table Mountain, but now their population is declining and there are only six big breeding colonies left. Cape vultures are big, bulky, creamy-white birds with long, muscular un-feathered necks. Some people call them ugly! Their bald heads and long necks help them to keep clean while scavenging and accessing juicy morsels from right inside the carcass. Males and females look alike. Young birds have brown eyes which change to the yellow colour of adulthood at about five to six years of age when they become ready to breed.

Gliding past looking for food.

Coming in to land

Flaps open, brakes on, landing gear down!

Their bald heads easily seen and this one an adult with coloured eyes

The scavengers check their competition out.

The crows were coming and going and then one of them seemed rather odd to me. I took the binocs out and there, coming in was a Jackal Buzzard. The adult South African Jackal Buzzard is strikingly plumaged. It is almost black above with a rufous tail. They have a weeah ka-ka-ka call like that of Black-backed Jackal, hence its name.

A beautiful bird

 I was still waiting for what I had really come to see and photograph. I had caught a glimpse of a juvenile Bearded Vulture fly past earlier and I was really hoping for an adult to arrive. The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey, and the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), its closest living relative. It is not much more closely related to the Old World vultures proper than to, for example, hawks, and differs from the former by its feathered neck.

Whilst it is a vulture and feeds off carcasses it usually disdains the actual meat and lives on a diet that is typically 85–90% bone marrow. This is the only living bird species that specializes in feeding on marrow. The Lammergeier can swallow whole or bite through brittle bones up to the size of a lamb's femur and its powerful digestive system quickly dissolves even large pieces. The Lammergeier has learned to crack bones too large to be swallowed by carrying them in flight to a height of 50–150 m ) above the ground and then dropping them onto rocks below, which smashes them into smaller pieces and exposes the nutritious marrow. They can fly with bones up to 10 cm in diameter and weighing over 4 kg or nearly equal to their own weight.

A juvenile Bearded Vulture doing a fly by.

The adult is a lot prettier than the juvenile

A magnificent bird.

I stayed in one of the chalets in the Giants Castle reserve and while sitting on the patio having some much needed refreshments, this sight was in front of me.

A truly wonderful experience. It is no wonder that the hide is booked up for about a year in advance.