wild - Kaleel Zibe

20,000 gannets, a tent and a lot of beer: the gannets of RSPB Bempton Cliffs

Kaleel — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 16:44:47 +0000

In mid July I spent a very enjoyable couple of days filming gannets with my friend and fellow pro wildlife photographer, Alan Hewitt. There are about 22,000 gannets at RSPB Bempton Cliffs as well as 180,000 other seabirds, including puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes and even a random albatross seen shortly before we arrived. Living near the Farne Islands, we’re used to having puffins and the like coming out of our ears, so it was the gannets that were the real target of this trip, as they don’t nest on the Farnes.

It’s a bit of a trek across the North York Moors for us to get to Bempton, which is near Bridlington in Yorkshire, but it was well worth it. This is a place where you can happily film and photograph the birds from the cliff top without having the issues that Bass Rock suffers from: namely landing costs and weather stopping play. Bass Rock is, arguably a better experience because of the sheer number of gannets that nest there are the angles you can get to photograph them – with the large caveat that it costs a fortune and boat trips are often cancelled due to bad weather.

Alan’s one-pot. Photo courtesy of Alan Hewitt

So, back to Bempton. Day 1 was a bit grey and the gannets didn’t rise very high above the cliff, so it was difficult to get really good, engaging shots. Nevertheless, we got some decent footage and got our eye in for our return the following day. Alan and I retired to the tent to contemplate the day’s images and put the world to rights over a one-pot extravaganza of food rustled up by chef Alan, washed down with a large quantity of beer and wine.

Day 2 was a much better proposition. The weather was much brighter and the gannets were flying over the tops of the cliffs, perhaps due to the stronger wind. There are various viewing platforms to see different parts of the reserve and the gannets were more obliging. Evening 2 was spent much as evening 1, where the conversation and booze flowed while we edited our images and footage on camp chairs in the sun.

Champion.

As you can see I’ve made a film about the gannets wrote some music to accompany it. I hope you like it.

The post 20,000 gannets, a tent and a lot of beer: the gannets of RSPB Bempton Cliffs first appeared on Kaleel Zibe.

A Few Days In Safari Paradise 2016

Kaleel — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 16:51:43 +0000

2016 was another fabulous year on safari! I thought I’d collect some of my images and a short film I made together in one blog post to show you what an awesome spectacle the Masai Mara is and what fun we had photographing the incredible wildlife. 2017 will be our fourth year of running this incredible safari. If you like what you see, why not come with us on the next one?

Here’s the short film I made about our trip. Amazing animals, great company and awesome memories. Best viewed in full HD and with the sound cranked up!

And here are a few of the many images. Hope you enjoy them!
Kaleel

Cheetah, having just killed a young wildebeest – Lemek Conservancy

A group of zebras at a waterhole – Enonkishu Conservancy

Sunsets in the Mara are awesome, not least because of the trees – Lemek Conservancy

Sun shade – Mara North Conservancy

When was the last time you cleaned your ears?! – Mara North Conservancy

Another magnificent Mara sunset – Mara North Conservancy

The Milkyway from our camp. Part of a timelapse I was shooting – next to Enonkishu Conservancy

That’s gotta hurt – Masai Mara National Reserve

Lioness on the prowl – Ol Chorro Conservancy

Bitey – Masai Mara National Reserve

Baby hippo having a laugh – Enonkishu Conservancy

This is actually a frame-grab from the 4K film footage in the Kenya video, which was mostly shot in 4K on a Nikon D500 – Masai Mara National Reserve

Cute cubs – Lemek Conservancy

Supermodel – Masai Mara National Reserve

Hide & seek part 1 – Masai Mara National Reserve

Hide & seek part 2 – Enonkishu Conservancy

Family portrait – Lemek Conservancy

Chin rest – Lemek Conservancy

I finally got my hippo on the camera trap! Glad I wasn’t this close in person… – Enonkishu Conservancy

Trunk and twig – Ol Chorro Conservancy

Baby zebras are so cute – Masai Mara National Reserve

Wildebeest river crossing – Masai Mara National Reserve

Acacia tree breakfast – Mara North Conservancy

Spiderman! This is a red headed agama lizard – Mara North Conservancy

Cheetahs on the hunt – Masai Mara National Reserve

Dik dik, the best named antelope! – Ol Chorro Conservancy

Zebras on the march in Enonkishu Conservancy

Did I mention the sunsets? – Lemek Conservancy

Why not come with us in 2017 or 2018?

The post A Few Days In Safari Paradise 2016 first appeared on Kaleel Zibe.

A Pot Full of Grey Wagtails

Kaleel — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 09:35:58 +0000

Pelargoniums aren’t the first place you’d think of if you were trying to locate the nest of a pair of grey wagtails. Thankfully, this pair in Northumberland don’t think like this and have successfully raised a brood of chicks this year. It certainly makes nice photographs!

Nice floral arrangement

Tasty

Open wide

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