The boy that could shoot...

  I mean with a camera, not a gun!  Jake has completely blown me away with how quickly he has learned how to use a camera.  Not just any camera, my Nikon D7000, complete with a 150 - 600mm zoom lens on board.  It's heavy to say the least.  I quite a bit of time while we were away explaining the manual settings and how to play with light.  I also tried to explain how to make sure that you catch light in the subjects eyes and a bit about the rule of thirds and framing.  Jake has decided that he prefers manual focus, to the auto-focus that I always use.  On the down side, our next holiday is going to have to include a second camera.  Jake will definitely need his own camera, so that I don't have to share mine ;o) There were some situations when it was VERY hard parting with my camera, but I think that Jake more than did it justice...

The majestic king...

Eye contact (almost) - there's something chilling about having one of these massive beasts look you in the eye...

 These were the 3 male lions that sat in the road next to our car...

 I mean, seriously, look how well he managed to catch the light and how clear these pictures are...

 Alright, I do also have a lot of pictures of random things on my memory card, like this, but I guess that's all part of the fun in learning...

 Oh you also get shots like this a lot when a young boy's got your camera.  Lion boy bits...

 This little honey badger put on a great display in the dying sunshine for us at a little water hole near the road.  He actually ran across the road, but we got such a fright, we weren't ready for him.  It was a good opportunity for Jake to learn a bit about ISO settings and hence these pictures are a little grainy...

 Did I tell you that one of these guys came and sat next to me on our stoep one evening?  Jake was inside and I was sipping on a glass of wine, reading the news on my phone, when I heard sniffing next to me.  We'd been raided by mongooses (mongeese?) that morning and I presumed that there was a mongoose visiting us again, so got quite a fright when I saw a honey badger right there.  These things can bite!  When I moved, he shuffled backwards, hissed at me and then disappeared down the steps, all while I was trying to call Jake as quietly as possible, so as not to scare the badger off.  Jake missed it...

  A dwarf mongoose...

More nuts... this is a buffalo, in case you're interested...

 The huge lion pride, where we had the camera on completely the incorrect settings, but were too excited to notice until much later that day...

 Looking straight into my soul...

 Another pic showing Jake's sense of humour...

 An attempt at panning, also in the fading sunlight...

  I know it's not a great shot of either of us, but this is the only shot of both of us from our holiday.  My camera's too heavy for selfies on my own, so it's quite nice that Jake knows where to press the buttons and help.  Technically, this was a joint pic...

 What I really love about looking through Jake's pictures is seeing how he manages to get them so well in focus.  When there's lots of plants and grass in the frame, they're all at different heights and distances and so you have to have a pretty good eye to focus on your subject properly...

 Peeking through the gap...

 Lion love...

  A giraffe got their attention.  These lions were hungry and they stalked a bit, but didn't ambush...

 A young male enjoying the sunshine...

 One of the females in full on stealth mode...

 They're so aware that you're there, watching them.  You have to be so quiet, which is difficult when you're excited...

 Dozing in the sunshine...

 Seriously - this would be impossible on auto-focus and I think I'm starting to need glasses...

 Look at that light in his eyes...

 Yawn...

 A female closely watching the giraffe...

 OK, I know this isn't a great shot, but again, not an easy shot to get into focus.  I love that "don't mess with me" look...

 Gorgeous...

 More lions in a bit... how cute are these baby hyenas???

 One really good thing about Jake getting into his photography too, is that when something was on his side of the road, it was nice knowing that he could get the shot for me...

 Peek-a-boo...

 They were so sweet, we actually visited them a few times...

 The didn't stray too far away from their mommy and their den was in a pipe under the road...

 A huge croc lazing in the evening sunshine at Lake Panic...

A fat hippo getting ready for a swim, also at Lake Panic...

 A brown hooded kingfisher...

 More lions - I did tell you that we saw 104 of them, so I didn't mind sharing my toys when we got to see them again...

 There are 3 lions in this shot.  The one that's feeding on the left shot (below the male's hind leg) was so aggro, she wouldn't let any of the other lions (there were 7) near the carcass.  She landed up being chased away by 3 males, after she got into a tiff with one of them...

 I always thought that the females did the hunting and that the males ate first, but we saw it twice, where the males were waiting for their turn...

 One of the females with a very dirty face...

 Jake loves birds and there are some truly amazing birds in Kruger.  It's not always easy to get good shots of birds in flight, but Jake did OK with this hooded vulture, don't you think...

 And so to Jake... thanks for the amazing holiday.  I loved every second of my time with you, it was so special and I can't wait for our next adventure!  I love how much you love animals and nature and I am constantly amazed by your knowledge of it all.  I hope that you continue to learn more and keep up the amazing work with the camera - who knows, we might still have a pro in the family!!  I love you with all my heart XXX

 So, what do you think of Jake's hidden talent?? I have to confess that I did tweak them in Picasa, but I haven't cropped anything.  Other than minor highlights, shadows and saturation adjustments, these are as Jake saw them. 

 Love, 

Sue XXX