Contributors Gallery

Herman Bos
Herman is an honorary officer for EKZN Wildlife, coordinator for the Marine region, and an active member of Port Natal BirdLife. He loves the outdoors, especially in his 4X4 and spends a lot of time in rural KZN working on rural upliftment mostly in conjunction with NGOs. Herman photographs as a hobby and takes photos whenever the occasion presents itself, especially when travelling or on birding outings. He uses a Canon a 350D for close-up and scenery and a 450D with a Canon 70–300 mm EF stabilised lens for wildlife and bird photography. Herman’s photos are mostly hand held or from a car and he enjoys taking scenic, portrait and where possible, behavioural shots. Herman’s favourite birds to photograph are those that fall in front of his lens and his favourite location is from his office window into the trees outside. Herman has photographed in Namibia, Mozambique, the Kruger Park, and all of the EKZN parks. His favourite shots are of a Grey Heron in flight and Purple-crested Turaco. To date Herman has contributed around 170 photographs to Roberts Online.

Hugh Chittenden
Hugh Chittenden is a keen bird photographer and his interest in both breeding biologies and feeding habits is reflected by the inclusion of many photos on these pages. Hugh uses Canon cameras and lenses, and has contributed over 2200 photographs of 380 species to this project. Now retired, Hugh lives in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal.

Pieter de Waal
Equipment : Canon EOS30D , Sigma 170/500 lens and Canon 500EF USM IS lens.

Photography is a hobby which has developed from Pieter’s strong interest in wildlife, particularly birds. He has been photographing seriously over the past 12 years, initially concentrating on mammals but recently focusing more on birds. Pieter photographs as often as possible and prefers photographing from the car or stalking but enjoys using a hide when possible. He generally uses a beanbag or hand held and will occasionally use a tripod. (When all else fails he has the use of a bi-pod in the form of his wife!) Pieter prefers to take photos of birds in their specific habitat or behaviour and is currently practicing flight shots. He is particularly keen to capture the graceful flight of his favourite Bee-eaters. The Kruger National Park is Pieter’s favourite place owing to its accessibility and the variety of birds but the Okavango panhandle and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park are very special places for bird photography. He has also photographed in Namibia, Ndumu, Hluhluwe / Umfolozi, Cape Town and Mapungubwe. At this stage Pieter is still looking for his greatest photograph, although his shots of a Martial Eagle with Monitor Lizard catch come close, unfortunately not on digital. To date Pieter has donated over 250 photos to Roberts Online.

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Alan Knott-Craig
Alan has been photographing birds since January 2007 as a hobby. He mostly uses a Nikon D3 with a 600mm lens and 1.7 teleconvertor, mounting on a Wimberley, car-window mount or tripod. Alan photographs mostly from his Ford 250 Truck but also enjoys hides. Alan enjoys taking portraits, as well as flight or action shots. His favourite bird families are the Shrikes and Herons, and his favourite locations are Zebula and Boggoms Bay, while Mala Mala and Kimberley have produced some excellent photographic moments. Alan has also photographed in Mabalingwe, Kgomo-Kgomo, Borakalalo National Park, Marakele Reserve, Polokwane, Marievale, Vogelsfontein, Pretoria, Graaff Reinet, Hoggsback, Cintsa, Morgan’s Bay, George, Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Wilderness, Hartenbos, Calitzdorp, and Mozambique. Alan has many favourite images, but action shots of the Black-shouldered Kite at Kgomo-Kgomo rate as some of his best. To date Alan has contributed around 900 photographs to Roberts Online.

Clare Mangan
Birding, outdoor adventures and photography are Clare’s passions in life. She photographs birds with a Panasonic DMC F27 mainly for identification purposes and to keep a photographic record of her sightings. She does not have any large lenses so relies on basic equipment to get a good shot. Clare enjoys getting away on weekends and holidays and loves spending this time in the pursuit of identifying and photographing birds. Clare lives in KwaZulu-Natal and has photographed birds up Sani Pass, in Oribi Gorge, the Drakensberg, Umfolozi, the Cape, and the Kruger National Park. She is still in pursuit of her best photograph but one of an immature Green-backed Heron is one of her most memorable to date. Clare has contributed around 60 photographs to Roberts Online.

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Work: +27 31 303 1422

Kevin McDonald
Kevin photographs as a hobby and uses a Canon 40D DSLR and EF 100-400mm L and EF 70-300mm IS lenses. Kevin photographs from a hide for breeding studies, and opportunistically from a car, hide or while stalking, with a tripod, monopod or window mount where possible. Kevin enjoys all types of bird photography including landscapes and bird habitat, as well as portrait and flight shots. He particularly enjoys photographing birds of prey, including owls. Kevin’s favourite habitat for bird photography is savannah bushveld and his photo locations include the Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Hluhluwe-Umfolosi Park, Dlinza Forest, and his own back yard in Eshowe. He has also travelled to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and the Caprivi Strip. Kevin’s best photo, a flight shot of a Jackal Buzzard, resulted from spending a day in the Lammergeier Hide at Giants Castle, KZN. One of his best photographic experiences was photographing Pels Fishing Owl from an open boat on the Okavango.

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Phil Perry
Phil is a hobbyist wildlife photographer and travels to locations based on their potential for wildlife photography. He uses a Canon EOS 40D and 50D with 100-400mm zoom and 400mm f4 Canon lenses. Phil photographs mostly from the car or hide, using bean bags as support or hand held, and enjoys taking action and behavioural shots, as well as portraits. Phil’s favourite birds to photograph are Vultures, Falcons, Eagles, Herons, and Bustards. Phil has travelled extensively in South Africa and to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, India, Nepal, and Malaysia. His favourite locations are in his words, Sabi Sands for leopards; Okavango for unrivalled tranquillity in a mokoro (herons, kingfishers); Namibia for stark beauty of the landscape (korhaans, Meyer's Parrot); Serengeti for sheer biomass (vultures, Grey-crowned Crane, Kori Bustard); Masai Mara for long lines of zebra and gnu (Ruppell's Vulture, Secretarybird); Kalahari for those wonderful salmon-pink dunes (Lanner Falcon, Martial Eagle, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk), and South Luangwa, Zambia for great hide photography (Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Lilian’s Lovebird). Phil’s best photographic experience resulted from repeated visits to Sabi Sands over 3 or 4 years to follow the resident leopards and where he was able to watch and photograph a leopard cub grow to adulthood and have cubs of her own. To date Phil has contributed around 285 bird photographs to Roberts Online.

Contact:
Web: http://www.pperrywildlifephotos.org.sz
Blog: http://www.conservationsense.blogspot.com/

Emile Streicher
Emile photographs as a hobby and his favourite places are the game parks in KwaZulu-Natal – Mkuze, Hluhluwe Umfolozi and Ndumo. He loves sitting in a hide near water, patiently waiting for birds to appear. Emile’s best experience was following a Narina Trogon on foot at Bonamanzi and eventually getting close enough to not have to zoom. Emile’s favourite birds are the kingfishers. To date Emile has donated around 35 photographs to Roberts Online.

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Bruce Ward-Smith
Bruce has been an amateur wildlife photographer for about 30 years, focussing on digital bird photography in 2005. Bruce uses Canon 1D MkIII and 40D bodies with 100-400mm F4, 300mm F2.8 and 500mm F4 Canon lenses. Bruce prefers shooting in RAW and uses image correction and enhancement techniques to get the best results. Bruce photographs mainly from the car using a homemade support with the 1D MkIII and 500mm F4 lens, on foot using the 100-400mm lens for hand-held shots, and occasionally from a hide with the aid of a tripod. Bruce enjoys all kinds of bird photography but favours portraits and capturing bird behaviour in their natural environment. Bruce is an accomplished birder and has photographed over 500 species all over southern Africa. Locations include the Okavango, Northern Cape, the coast from Cape Town to Zululand, northern KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, the Karoo, Gauteng, the far north from Mapangubwe to Pafuri and throughout the Kruger National Park to Mpumalanga. Namibia, Caprivi and Mozambique are next on the list. Although, Hornbills are one of Bruce’s favourite bird families, the photos he values most are of a Woodwards Batis taken at Kosi Bay after sitting in the hide for days, and a White-starred Robin shot at Natures Valley after many early morning searching hours. To date Bruce has contributed over 900 photographs to Roberts Online.

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Gina Wilgenbus
Gina has been just a birder’s spouse for years but since receiving a Canon 30D, 300mm fixed lens and 1.4mm extender as a gift, has had something to do on birding trips. Gina does not use a tripod but shoots her photographs either from the car window or on foot in the bush. Gina enjoys taking action shots and angles that show identifiable features of birds. LBJ’s are her biggest challenge. Although Gina loves the Guineafowl family, she has yet to capture that perfect shot. Gina’s camera has visited the Kruger, Kgalagadi, West Coast, Augrabies, and Karoo National Parks, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and most of the birding spots around South Africa. One of Gina’s favourite locations is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, although even in her own garden, the Canon is always ready for action. Gina’s most memorable shot was taken in Mozambique, the day after she got her camera, where she encountered, after a sudden stop, a Eurasian Bittern within touching distance from the car window. To date Gina has contributed around 700 photographs to Roberts Online.

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