A Moment I Had Longed To See

The charging bull elephant stampeded into the murky water, thrusting his long trunk high into the air.

The sound of splashing ringed in my ears. Blackened water erupted, upsetting the surface and its rival wake, each heaving step pounded in an effortless hustle.

My vision was drawn to the elephant’s emotive eye, its hazy reflection stared back at me, filling my finder.

I watched the backlight silhouette his age showing nothing but moving muscle and wrinkled hide.

His victory song could be heard for miles, the loud trumpeting signifying for his young family to follow.

Witnessing this experience was surely the heart of Africa. A moment I had longed to see.

Photographed in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTO HERE

DOWNLOAD THE LOW RESOLUTION PHOTO HERE

The Golden Elephant

Photographed in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

I really didn’t want to get any closer than this. This guy was huge!

Until Next Time – Happy Shooting

2013 Calendar African Wildlife Art

 

My African wildlife art can now hang on your wall every day of the year! If you are an African lover then this calendar is for you.

Calendars can be printed and delivered by Christmas if you get in early. To order and view the full 2013 Calendar “African Wildlife Art” simply click on the image below. Enjoy.

Solitary Echidna

I’m was so happy to come across this solitary mammal a few days ago. The colour of the Australian bush reflected in its spines, lighting up the shot.

I couldn’t help but focus on the eye at f1.2 (to the non photographers out there f1.2 means there is a shallow depth of field…ie not much in focus) when I saw the Echidna looking back at me. So cute!

The Sunday Times – Whale Photo by Leigh Diprose Published

 

 

 

Published in The Sunday Times – Sunday, 29th June 2012

The article written by Emily Moulton on page 31 reads:

Power and the glory

THIS breathtaking shot of a female humpback having a whale of a time was taken off Albany.

The majestic creature entered King George Sound with her newborn calf a few weeks ago and was seen by whale watchers on board an Albany Ocean Adventures tour.

Fremantle photographer Leigh Diprose was one of those lucky passengers and captured this magical moment of the humpback breaching.

“It was on my bucket list,” Mr Diprose said. “The whale had a two-week-old calf with her and it was fantastic to have witnessed the calf trying to breach the water, then its mum came out of nowhere and started breaching. It was amazing.”

Paul Guest, from Albany Ocean Adventures, said the cow and calf stayed in King George Sound for about six days after this picture was taken – the first time a migrating humpback had done that in a long while.

“Normally they swim right on through,” he said. “It was a little unusual. You could also tell the calf was very young, less than two weeks old.

“Its dorsal fin was still bent over. It straightens up after 14 days.”

If you like the photo feel free to download it:

I release two free photos every month. The full resolution photo of the humpback whale is one of the images you can download for free.

Simply click on the below image to download the photo for FREE

 

 

Feel free to share this page with family and friends.

Until next time – Happy Shooting

Published on the Front Cover of the Great Southern Weekender – Leigh Diprose

Wow! When I got a message from Paul Guest from Albany today I was excited. He told me my photograph had made it to the front cover of the local paper – The Great Southern Weekender. The Great Southern Weekender has a circulation of just over 20,000 homes and businesses. Thanks also to Shawn Haywood from Geraldton (one of my favourite places!) who ended up telling someone in Albany about the photo…who told someone else…and so on….

I would like to thank Albany Ocean Adventures for the true adventure photographing such an amazing animal – the Humpback Whale. Paul was so knowledgeable about the whales and put the boat in the perfect position to take the photo. If you ever get the chance to get to Albany be sure to book a trip whale watching aboard the Silver Star with Albany Ocean Adventures.

Paul Guest from Albany Ocean Adventures

Also I have made this photo FREE for everyone to use. Click on the image to download.

Feel free to share the love

The Front Cover of the Great Southern Weekender

The Inside Cover of the Great Southern Weekender

Until next time – Happy Shooting!

The Africa Series

In celebration of my new website (coming very soon) I’m putting my collection of African photographs together. I captured a series of images over two trips to the Kruger National Park.

The collection will feature animals like lion, elephant, giraffe, wildebeest, impala, white rhinoceros and wild dog to name a just a few!

I can’t wait to share my African wildlife passion with you all. I am always dreaming of my next trip to Africa and have a few ideas in store for the next trip. Maybe I should run a few wildlife workshops over there or do you think the market is a bit saturated? Anyway just thoughts at the moment.

Below is the very first lioness I photographed in the wild.

I can remember my heart pounding so hard I had to put the camera down frequently as I was shaking so much with excitement. The large warming sun was setting and the beautiful last light was fading fast.  I watched the big cat walk care free through the golden African grasses almost like a scene out of the Lion King. Stopping suddenly to raise her head she spotted a lone zebra camouflaged within the scrub ahead.

Seeing an opportunity, crouching and crawling low to the ground she covertly stalked the unsuspecting victim. Minutes passed and the lioness ended up within striking distance from the Zebra happily grazing the edge of an open plain. Holding my breath to control my breathing my finger mashed the shutter button. A sweet smile rose upon my face as I watched the preview appear on the back screen. The shot was taken. My first wild lioness photograph. I was proud as punch!

Retiring the camera and heavy lens to my lap I watched the lioness waiting patiently, hidden from the view of the unsuspecting Zebra. I don’t know what the lioness was thinking but her anticipation to launch into a chase was nail biting. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.

Over the next 10 minutes or so the zebra grazed without a worry and the lioness stayed hidden amongst the grasses. At this point the light had faded and I was wishing I had a camera with better noise reduction. Still with a smile on my face I headed back to camp. I couldn’t resist stopping multiple times on the way back to look at the photo I had just taken – after all I had just successfully photographed one of the animals on my bucket list.

Until next time.

Happy Shooting!

Free Fine Art Photography – July 2012 – Albany Ocean Adventures – Humpback Whale

The latest FREE fine art photograph is ready to be downloaded.

July 2012 – Albany Ocean Adventures.tiff

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Impala

Painting Photoshop Style

Decided I would have some fun painting after a long night of editing weddings.
Here is the result. What do you think? Did I go too far?

Giraffe

My latest African photo forming part of my Black and White African series.

Enjoy.

White Rhinoceros

 

Burchell’s Zebra

A quick break from wedding photography….

Here is another black and white photograph to add to my African series. Enjoy.

White Rhino

I remember being so scared on this day. These two HUGE White Rhinos decided to walk a little bit to close to my car. With horns as big as my arm these animals can do serious damage.

As they came close my instant reaction was to put my camera and lens inside the car while staying perfectly still.  For a good 20 minutes they both just stood near the car. I heard each giant breath exit their mouths and the sound  seemed to be coming closer. My legs were shaking now! I was thinking just how fast is this car?

If I turn the key will I have enough time to get away, then I remembered that they can run 60km/h!  I couldn’t start the car or they would charge.  I would be crushed for sure!

I braved the risk of being crushed alive to get some shots (as any photographer would). This one was before I put my camera away! After about 20 minutes of what seemed to be a staring contest they moved on. Each THUD was felt as their feet hit the ground with weight as they walked passed the rear of my car.

All I can say is that I’m glad I got the shots!

Got to love Africa hey?

Lioness

“If you only visit two continents in your lifetime, visit Africa twice” – R. Elliot

Happy Shooting! Enjoy

African Elephant

What is with my mind only being creative at night???? It seems like I only post images late at night!

I searched my Elephant data base and found this image which was perfect for a bit of B&W and a touch of film grain.

My thoughts are the blacks in the image are a little bit too crushed but hey I kind of like that.

Thanks for taking the time to view my images.  I really enjoy your comments so keep them coming!

Impala – The rest of the herd

With these images I wanted to get really close rather than show a whole herd of Impala. Sort of like animal portraits.

Let me know your thoughts of these 5 images. Which one do you like the most?

Until next time….

Happy Shooting!

 

 

Impala

Here is the start of some more wildlife images from Africa.

You should see a herd of Impala developing on the blog (Saturday)….I have so many shots!

Enjoy

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Horse

African Elephant

I would be quite content to sit down and watch elephants all day. Each individual animal has such a different personality. They are true entertainers.

The trick is to try and portray the elephant’s personality in a photo….its kind of like taking photos of people I guess.

You know what they say…..never work with animals or children! (They are so wrong)!

Until next time

Happy Shooting!

Leigh Diprose

African Elephant

With this photo there was no way I was going to go any closer. Earlier in the day I had photographed a herd of elephants who decided that it was a good idea to charge me. At this point I had the memories fresh in my mind. Squashed car = bad. The car was in reverse and ready to go. I think I just need a bigger lens – don’t we all?

Enjoy