Flying from one camp to another in the Okavango Delta of Botswana provided a unique view of these giraffes. We’d seen them on the ground many times, and often up close, but to see them in this sort of terrain was a delight.
any and all
Is this a composite: No
Pentax K-7, 1/640, f/8.0, 135mm, ISO400 Cropped and slight adjustments of level/span in LR
Nice image. I like the way the group is balanced by the path on the right.
Do you know whether drones are allowed in the Delta?
Good question. I would hope there are some significant controls over the use of drones but I don’t have any idea. This photo was made from the small 8-seat prop plane that flies between the main camps.
I am a licensed drone pilot, and I try to be VERY responsible and careful around animals (and of course people). Drones are forbidden in our (USA) National Parks and in most State parks, including mine (Florida).
I have not seen any irresponsible drone usage personally, but there are plenty of disgusting examples on Youtube, including people using a drone to tease an alligator, which snapped at it and caused the battery to explode. I suspect the explosion was faked, I find it unlikely that an imact will explode a battery.
There is also footage of an eagle attacking a drone, probably a territorial thing. Both eagle and drone survived to fly another day. That was just an accidental encounter.
But I think that monitoring and controlling drones in a place like the Delta is going to be impossible. They have become so tiny and so quiet that you have to be within a few yards to spot them. Pilots are supposed to keep their drones in sight at all times, and that is the one rule that I regularly break, it is simply impossible.
