At low tide on the reef all along the Kenyan coast, huge numbers of fishermen make their living searching for shellfish and reef fish. This patient man was pictured at Mtwapa a little north of Mombasa.
Canon 1D MkII with Canon 300mm f2.8L IS lens and Canon 1.4 extender.
ISO 500 1/8000 at f6.3
The sun rising out of the Indian Ocean at the beginning of the rainy season is breathtakingly beautiful. Over a twenty minute period before the sun appears, the sky is a subtle and ever-changing display of greys and silver, tinged with increasingly dramatic hues of red, orange and blue as the growing light plays on the clouds. Then the sun itself moves dramatically into view, adding its own brilliance to the scene.
This shot was taken at 6.28 a.m. on 21 March 2010 at Mtwapa beach, near Mombasa, Kenya.
Canon EOS 40D with Canon 10-22mm EFS lens at 22mm; ISO 200 f10 1/100
The Social-Weavers (Genus Pseudonigrita) are a different genus from True Weavers (Genus Ploceus), but apart from their colouring – true weavers are mainly predominantly yellow – the social-weavers seem to exhibit similar behaviour. According to Stevenson & Fanshawe’s excellent book, Birds of East Africa, the Social-Weavers are small birds (4.5″ – 5″) which occur in large flocks, often feeding together on the ground. Their nests are tightly woven balls of grass which hang from the very ends of the the thinnest branches of large trees, often hundreds of pairs breeding together. The sexes are alike.
The Black-capped Social-Weaver (Pseudonigrita cabanisi) is a ‘small attractive weaver with a black cap and tail contrasting with a brown back and wings, a white bill with a greenish tinge, and red eyes. White below with black streaks on flanks and belly. Flocks inhabit drier country than the Grey-capped Social-Weaver from 200-1300m, including quite arid areas if large trees are present for breeding.‘
I spotted this fellow on a trip to Buffalo Springs Game Reserve, Samburu, Kenya. He was one of many busily constructing their nests in a tree that was overflowing with nests. The shot shows him leaving the nest with some sort of grassy or flowery stem in his beak. Having arrived with it and considered it, he flew away with it again. Presumably, it didn’t match the decor.
Canon EOS 1DMkII with Canon 300mm f2.8L IS lens, ISO 200 f4.5 1/2500
Welcome to the revamped dgcPhoto site, complete with a new theme and a new look.
I’ve been rather busy with other things for a while, so I thought a makeover was more than overdue. I hope you like it.
In many ways, the site is the same as before except that with the new theme it’s easier to navigate and more efficient to load. And the layout is far cleaner.
I’m currently using two cameras: the truly excellent Canon 90D I bought several months ago that is streets ahead of any other camera I’ve owned over the years, and a Canon 100D that I’ve had for a couple of years — a really lightweight little workhorse. I am also using my iPhone SE far more than I expected. The latest OS makes it an incredibly versatile camera.
Keep checking out the galleries; the old ones have been reinstalled and new ones are being added.
What were the ‘other things’?
Check out ‘My Novels’ here or in the menu above where a couple of clicks will take you to the world of ClarkeFiction and details of my seven edge-of-the-seat thriller novels and my wife Gail’s wonderful fully illustrated children’s books.
