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I've started going through some of my pics from the trip. Here are a few so far. These were all taken with the 80-400VR.

Baboon


Thornicroft Giraffe (unique to Luangwa Valley in Zambia)


Lilac Breasted Roller after sunset (bit of a steep angle here unfortunately)


Vervet Monkey

Nicole

Shot #3 of the Lilac Breasted Roller is a corker. Lovely muted tones everywhere then the vibrant colours of the bird whack you in the face Don't worry about the angle - this is exceptional

The velvet monkey (#4) is my next fave as the composition adds interest (he's peeking out at us) and the dof and strong lines really drag you straight to themonkey.

The giraffe shot is the weakest for me. I'd have like shallower DOF, but it's still a damn good pic. Where are the rest - only FOUR pics.

The Velvet Monkey is fantastic. (I was wondering where they got velvet from, now i know ) Such a well composed image. I think it's great.

The colours on the 'Roller' is amazing. The angle is fantastic, and as Stubbsy said, the starkness of the rest of the image really adds to the beauty of the bird.

The first baboon image is great. I love how you have taken this one. It's good to see him eating something. Picture tells 1000 words.

looks like somebody had fun!

Great Nicole, if this an example of whats to come i cant wait to see them and you have done well,love em all.
Cheers
John

Love the Baboon and the Lilac Breasted Roller Nicole. How common were the Rollers? They're a fantastic looking bird.

Hi Nicole!
In order:

Love the Vervet (Steve, it's not Velvet ) Monkey! The composition and OOF foreground is great!

The Baboon's great. Maybe a smidgeon more DOF would be nice, but I'm not complaining!

The Roller's interesting, although I get the feeling it's a bit over-flashed. Were you using fill-flash on this? [edit: "after sunset" - of course you were using flash - duh!] I don't feel this composition is very strong (especially in the company of the Monkey shot).

The Giraffe shot's maybe a little cluttered - isolating its head would probably have made it a lot stronger.


Please accept those comments as (hopefully) constructive criticism. But I am very jealous!

Now you mention it Dave, I only had a fleeting glance before but the Roller is overflashed. I remember one on NSN being posted about a month ago. I tend to have a habit of overflashing birds aswell.

Thanks for all the comments. I did have lots of fun. There are so many photos I had in mind but didn't get the chance to take. The rollers are fairly common although I didn't get the opportunity to stop for one in daylight. So many things to take photos of!

I didn't actually use that much fill flash on the roller. I brightened it up a bit when processing. I have gone back and looked at other shots on NSN and the colours are reasonably similar. Personal preference I guess but it's always good to have other views!

I have lots of shots with the head of a giraffe more isolated but haven't got to them yet. I quite liked this one though because of the colours of the tree in the background. You will all be sick of giraffes, elephants, lions...etc by the time I am done!

Hi Nicole,
Love to see your shots in Africa.
How nice to go there.
You must have had good time there.
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Regards
Poon

Great stuff Nicole, brilliant !

Keep em coming, this is as good as I'm going to get for a bloody holiday.

Mic.

Wow Nicole, great shots. You must have had a fantastic time! I love the baboon shot. I can't wait to see some more.

Great shots Nicole, the babboon is very nice

That last monkey shot is great.

I'll bet you had a ball Nicole... The eyes in the first monkey are piercing, the colour in the bird wow, and love the pose and capture of the Vervet... Well done, these are terrific, can't wait to see more...

Me too - i really want to see more from your trip. Did you get any landscapes?