Seaside and Website updated

Website Updated

I have updated my website to display a bit more than just salt prints. Saltprints will always be my favourite, followed by black and white and colour. See www.coismeyer.com

Hopefully I will soon be off to the seaside for a vacation. In my opinion well earned. 2012 has been a tough year. Looking at the world economy, the South African economy, unrest, labour disputes etc. etc. One can never really get away from it all but one can not think about it for a while.

Warthog

Warthogs can become quite tame near camp sites, to the point of being a nuisance. They can push over rubbish bins, open fridge doors etc. Then they act all innocent when caught red handed.

GMAM Garratt locomotive

A picture of a GMAM Garratt steam locomotive taken near Germiston, South Africa. An earlier model of the Garratt apparently held the South African speed record for a number of years. It has cylinders both front and back, with each set of cylinders driving four sets of wheels. Thus, 16 in total.

Dragonfly

I photographed this dragonfly in the Kruger National Park. The red against the white flower created a nice picture.

15F Steam Locomotive

15F Steam Locomotive steaming into the Germiston Steam Yard. The rising sun behind the smoke and steam made me want to take the picture. 

Zebra

A picture of a zebra just seems to work in black and white. Perhaps because the subject is black and white. The background changes but the subject remains unchanged.

Flamingo

I photographed this flamingo at the Rondebult bird sanctuary near Germiston. I am for the most critical towards Government both local and national. But I have to say: Well done with Rondebult!

Visit the sites listed in my previous post. UJ's solar car has reached 100km/h on an overcast day. Well done.

Solar race

The  5000 km solar race is continuing with the teams having travelled from Pretoria to Cape Town. There are also a number of hybrid entrants. In respect of copyright I will mot re-post pictures. Follow progress at the following links: http://www.twitter.com/TheRealLoLoMe/ or www.twitter.com/UJHybridCars/ or www.Twitter.com/UJSolarcar/

I studied at the University of Johannesburg, thus my links are biased towards UJ. There are however a number of other sites on the Internet.

These cars are really "Cool". Well done UJ!

Goliath Heron

Goliath Heron with lunch photographed in the Kruger National Park. The Goliath Heron is the biggest of all the herons.

Steam Locomotive Cab

The controls of a 25NC steam locomotive photographed during July 2012. I have always seen them from a distance and never realised that the driver has very little forward vision. This probably explains why they are always peeking out of the side windows. This lady was born during the 1950's.

Wart Hog

This mother and father are teaching their young one how to be a pig. Wart Hogs photographed in the Pilanesberg nature Reserve.

15F Steam Locomotive

15F Steam Locomotive photographed near Germiston, South Africa. This graceful old lady was born during the 1950's. Go steam power!

Elephants

These two elephants photographed in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve had a bit of a disagreement that needed to be resolved. Sadly the park is starting to fall into ruins as a result of a lack of funding and leadership.

Giraffe

My daughter photographed this giraffe in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. Occasionally a giraffe will pick up and chew on a piece of bone for the calcium content. This giraffe appeared to be enjoying its piece of bone, throwing its head back, almost like a puppy.

Tough Springbok

I photographed this Springbok in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. If you look at its back you will see that it appears irregular. Zoom in and you will see that it is an old wound that has healed. The Springbok appeared to be in a worse state than the rest of the heard, but only slightly so. Wild animals are tough. Most humans would probably have died if they suffered a similar wound, probably inflicted by a predator. Springbok reach a height of 75cm at the shoulder and a weight of 35 to 45 kg. It adapts its diet to what is available. It will graze in summer and browse in winter. It has a lifespan of around 10 years.

African Spoonbill

Another picture of an African Spoonbill. I enjoyed the way that it was looking at me over its shoulder, as if to ask "what are you looking at?"

Lilac-breasted Roller

The lilac-breasted Roller must be one of south Africa's most beautiful birds. It perches conspicuously and is quite common in the northern parts of South Africa.  

Goliath Heron

The Egyptian Goose stood in what the Goliath Heron considered to be its spot. The confrontation lasted for about 5 minutes. The heron eventually browbeat the goose into submission. Size does matter.

Black Crake

This Black Crake was feeding near here I was sitting. I enjoyed the way that it would quietly lift the edges of the leaves of the water plants to see what is beneath.

Goliath Heron

The Goliath Heron is the world's largest heron. I photographed this one having a mid-morning snack. The Goliath Heron reaches a height of 150cm. The fish in this picture was about 25cm. 

Yellow-Billed Hornbill

This picture of a Yellow Billed Hornbill was taken in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It was grooming itself. I thought the pose interesting. 

Impala

I watched these two for a while. The fight did not seem to be too serious, with the main object of the game being to push the opponent's face to the ground.

Bee and flower

I photographed this at a pool in the Kruger National Park. The pool is called 'Lake Panic'. I do not know why the pool is called this. My own experience is that I tend to want to stay there too long and end up having to leave in a panic due to the gate closing time approaching.

Old Bridge

A picture of the old rail bridge across the mouth of the Touw River, South Cape, South Africa. No train has crossed this bridge since the track was damaged during severe storms almost 10 years ago.

African Purple Swamphen

Photographed near Sedgefield, South Africa. One of the notable features of this bird is the size of its feet, visible in this picture.

Black Headed Heron

It was entertaining to watch this Black Headed Heron maintaining its balance at the very top of a tree near Sedgefield, South Africa.

I am changing the formula and process that I use to create salt prints. I will be pre-sizing the paper and adding Potassium Dichromate to increase contrast and perhaps changing the tone of the prints by cooling it down slightly from the current plumb red. I may be able to publish a few prints within the next three weeks or so. Time is a bit limited as I do this on weekends. See www.coismeyer.com for more detail.

Yellow-billed duck

I photographed this duck at a pond in Sedgefield, South Cape, South Africa. When people "get their ducks in a row" I have no doubt that this will be the duck at the front of the row.

African Spoonbill

Another picture of the African Spoonbill showing the relative size of the flattened spoon-shaped bill.

African Spoonbill

The African Spoonbill has a long flattened spoon-shaped bill. It feeds by sweeping the bill from side to side in freshwater lakes, flood planes and estuaries. It stands about 90cm tall.