Beforehand on this collection, I talked about my visits to Andasibe NP, the place I shot lemurs and chameleons, and to Tsingy Rouge NP, the place I shot lovely formations made by erosion. I additionally talked about taking pictures sifaka lemurs and baobab bushes in Kirindy Forest reserve and about visiting a number of secluded stops on my method to the southern a part of Madagascar. This time, I will speak about two quick however fruitful visits: one to Isalo Nationwide Park and the opposite to Ranomafana Nationwide Park.
Isalo is a Nationwide Park within the Ihorombe area of Madagascar. It’s a sandstone panorama dissected by wind and water erosion into rocky outcrops, plateaus, in depth plains and as much as 200 m (660 ft) deep canyons. The park was created in 1962 and has been administered by the Madagascar Nationwide Parks authority since 1997. It consists of landscapes thought-about a part of the subhumid forests ecoregion. This ecoregion is house to quite a few endemic species and has been given Essential/Endangered standing as a result of solely small areas of native habitat stay, and most of these are extremely fragmented.
As you’ve got seen in earlier articles, this fragmentation of ecosystems and, thus, the endangerment and fast decline of endemic species is, sadly, very typical of Madagascar. Ecotourism is thus a strongest and necessary software to protect what’s left of the delicate habitats and delightful species of this poor nation.
Isalo may not have infinite panorama images points of interest, but it surely does have some good areas with unbelievable rock formations, the principal of which is the well-known rock arch. As with many areas in Madagascar, this arch could be very crowded at sundown with vacationer teams and locals however surprisingly empty throughout dawn.
The arch could be photographed from either side. The better japanese aspect is mainly linked to the street and is thus more durable to shoot when it is crowded, however attending to the taking pictures spot on the western aspect requires some agility and a little bit of climbing and is thus a lot emptier, even throughout sundown. Thus, I selected to shoot the arch from the west throughout sundown and from the east throughout dawn.
The japanese aspect of the rock arch throughout a cloudy dawn.
Canon 5D4, Canon 11-24mm F411mm | F13 | 4 sec | ISO 200
The western aspect a couple of minutes after sundown, beneath a robust post-sunset glow. This phenomenon occurs when the western horizon is evident of clouds. The glow is surprisingly purple and displays fantastically off of brighter surfaces such because the rock arch.
Canon 5D4, Canon 11-24mm F413mm | F13 | 8 sec | ISO 200
Aside from the arch, there are eroded rock formations close by, surrounded by fields the place termites construct large mounds, which may function good foregrounds.
A termite mound beneath post-sunset glow. I took this shot proper after the arch shot because it was positioned simply two minutes away.
Canon 5D4, Canon 11-24mm F413mm | F13 | 4 sec | ISO 200
As for wildlife, Isalo has a small selection, together with the sportive lemur and the red-fronted brown lemur, which I had already seen and photographed. It additionally has a decent-sized inhabitants of the ring-tailed lemur, maybe essentially the most well-known of this primate household.
Attending to the ring-tailed lemurs was a little bit of a problem, and it took some precarious mountain climbing to get to the purpose the place they had been hanging out. Nonetheless, nothing excessive. Upon attending to the lemur group, I received loads of fascinating poses by the lemurs, which had been tremendous cute and enjoyable to shoot.
“Why hey there!” It looks like this lemur was a high mannequin in a earlier life!
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F4.5-6.3238mm | F8 | 1/1600 sec | ISO 400
I deliberately left some unfavorable area on high of the body since that is the place the lemur is wanting.
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F4.5-6.3150mm | F5 | 1/1600 sec | ISO 200
I’ll speak about ring-tailed lemurs rather more extensively within the subsequent article, however for now, I’ll say that it isn’t solely their magnificence however their great behaviors that make them a pleasure to shoot. One such habits is licking the branches for a style of pheromones. Each female and male ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands that secrete pungent substances, which some lemurs discover irresistible!
Like different lemurs, this species depends strongly on their sense of scent and territorial marking with scent glands, offering communication alerts all through a gaggle’s house vary. The males will take part in stink fights by dousing their tails with their pheromones and ‘wafting’ them at opponents. Moreover, lemurs of each sexes will scent-mark bushes, rocks or different objects by merely rubbing their faces and our bodies onto it. I assume the eyes say all of it.
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F4.5-6.3421mm | F6.3 | 1/640 sec | ISO 800
What I will speak about subsequent wasn’t the subsequent cease in my journey after Isalo. That cease deserves its personal article, so for now, I will skip it and discuss concerning the final cease – Ranomafana NP. The park protects greater than 41,600 hectares (161 sq. miles) of tropical rainforest at elevations starting from 800 to 1,200 m (2,645 to three,937 ft) and is house to a number of uncommon species of crops and animals. Out of those species, I had a extremely good time taking pictures the golden bamboo lemur, a medium-sized lemur endemic to the realm.
Golden bamboo lemur. These guys are tremendous quick and leap round continually, however now and again, they’re going to cease and permit a shot or two. I feel they’re completely lovely!
Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6300mm | F5.6 | 1/160 sec | ISO 800
This was the second bamboo lemur I shot (the primary was the grey bamboo lemur in Andasibe (see the primary article within the collection), but it surely was essentially the most photogenic, and by far the more durable one to shoot. I needed to run throughout slender trails by way of thick vegetation, typically solely to seek out out the lemur had already gone away. However I used to be very pleased with this ultimate shot: a golden bamboo lemur inside a heart-shaped leafy body.
It is exhausting to beat cuteness in a heart-shaped body. This was a tough shot technically, because it was very darkish contained in the thick vegetation, and my digicam discovered it exhausting to focus. Just a few photographs turned out good, and that is my favourite. Chances are you’ll keep in mind framing as one of many strategies I mentioned in my panorama composition collection—I might say it is much more helpful in wildlife images!
Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6300mm | F5.6 | 1/250 sec | ISO 2000
Within the subsequent, ultimate article on this collection, I will discuss concerning the crown jewel of my Madagascar go to: Anja Reserve.
Erez Marom is knowledgeable nature photographer, images information and traveller primarily based in Israel. You may comply with Erez’s work on Instagram and Fb, and subscribe to his mailing record for updates and to his YouTube channel.
If you would like to expertise and shoot a few of the world’s most fascinating landscapes and wildlife with Erez as your information, check out his distinctive images workshops in Madagascar, Greenland, the Lofoten Islands, Namibia and Vietnam.
Erez additionally affords video tutorials discussing his photographs and explaining how he achieved them.
Extra on this Sequence:
Chosen Articles by Erez Marom:
