gerdavs' photostream  

To experience the fullness of our humanness, we need to turn again to nature and open ourselves to what it has to say to us. (Margaret P Stark)

I have always loved nature and wildlife, but I'm new to photographing wildlife - if what I do can be called "photography". It's an exciting and sometimes frustrating pastime which requires patience and skill, the ability to anticipate and lots and lots of luck - being at the right place at the right time and being ready for the shot!

The challenge is to get wildlife and/or birds in action or interacting and to present familiar animals in a unique way. And this is where the frustration comes in since you cannot set up wildlife or direct them to act when and how you would like them to. Neither can you control the setting!

All the wildlife photographs on my photostream are of animals in their natural environment, ie taken in the relatively wild areas of the Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. We have a holiday home in a private nature reserve that borders the Kruger National Park. When there we are but a stone's throw from the Paul Kruger entrance gate and drive into Kruger almost daily.

You may notice that my husband Willie and I frequently upload similar images. Willie is an accomplished amateur photographer, his wife and daughter's staunchest supporter, a patient teacher/mentor and great companion. He is my best friend. Our daughter Eraine also takes beautiful photographs.

Photography has become therapy in a time of great pain and loss in our lives. We lost our son to cancer in 2008. He was only 12 years old.

By observing wildlife and trying to capture it on camera I'm constantly reminded of how fragile life is. The natural world around us is not only beautiful and wondrous, but also very cruel, sad and unpredictable and such is our lives since we are a part of that world. But life on earth as we experience it is but a fleeting moment in eternity.

What a learning experience Flickr has turned out to be. How little I know! I'm in awe of the amazing talent and passion of many of the photographers on Flickr. Unfortunately I have to keep my Flickr contact list short as "flickring" can be time-consuming, so please do not be offended if I do not reciprocate and add you as a contact.

Kindly note that all my photographs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Should you wish to use any for whatever purpose, please contact me on my flickr mail. None of my work may be copied or reproduced, whole or part, without my written permission.

-----///\\------Please
----///--\\\----put this
---|||----|||---on your
---|||----|||---profile if
---|||----|||---you know
----\\\--///----someone
-----\\\///-----who is living with, survived
------///\-----or has passed away from
-----///\\\----cancer.
----///--\\\---Thank you


Please pick up your copy here for display on your profile.