YOUR PHOTO

Centipedes and Cape fur seals… from the Kruger to Cape Cross. Photos like these has you travelling back there in the blink of an eye.

Bon appetit!

On a quick weekend to get away from the pandemic-ridden world, Piet van Rensburg and his wife Amanda from Pretoria came across a bunch of greedy lilac-breasted rollers in the Kruger National Park.

“We camp with an Echo 3 offroad trailer and spent the night in Lower Sabie. That day we drove out on a dirt road east of the camp. There was quite a bit of wind when we came across a flock of lilac-breasted rollers feasting on centipedes. Some of the lilac-breasted rollers even flew in front of the car for a bite before sitting on a branch next to the road again. I also saw one catching a chameleon. I took this photo with my long lens and a teleconverter, without needing to crop it afterwards.”

Even if you visit the game park for the big animals, you’ll still have many other special moments along the way – as Piet can testify.

As a general rule of thumb, it’s wise to avoid using the centre of a photo as a focal point, as it can be quite boring. But that also depends on what happens inside the frame…

This photo has plenty of other dynamic elements. You first see the insect curling out from the bird’s mouth, and that immediately gives life to the photo – you know instantly that worm stands no chance.

The lilac-breasted roller looks a little odd as you don’t see the entire bird. If you focus on this for a moment, the bird looks almost like a stuffed trophy

– while its eye is watching you closely.

The background plays an important role in a photo. The branches in the background are nicely out of focus, but you can still make out leaves – something that gives a spontaneous depth to the photo.

The two leaves on either side of the bird’s head resemble the centipede’s legs, and then you cant’ but look at the poor creature again, which in turn curls in defiance against the lilacbreasted roller…