Photo Details:Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides) perched on boulder, Mashatu Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Botswana.
Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 100-400 F5.6 IS zoom; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter Speed: 1/500; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 800

Photo Details: Young elephant (Loxodonta africana) stirs up dust before a mock charge on our vehicle, Mashatu Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Botswana.

David, our driver and guide, knows the elephants in this region sufficiently well that he didn't even have his hand on the vehicle ignition keys at this stage. For the rest of us, it was adrenaline-pumping stuff. Even a sub-adult elephant is awesome when it comes at you, trumpeting and flapping its ears, only to stop about three meters away!

Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 100-400 F5.6 IS zoom; Focal Length: 100mm; Shutter Speed: 1/250; Aperture: f8; ISO: 400

Nikonians.org, the worldwide home for Nikon photographers, has launched its new home page with an eye-catching and easy to navigate design. The new page features easier to read links, a news feed, and an elegant graphics interface.

The revamped design coincides with the sixth anniversary of Nikonians.org. “We have worked on this new design for the last six months” said Nikonians co-founder Bo Stahlbrandt. “The new site will make navigating the different sections of Nikonians even easier”.

With over 36,000 members from 130 countries and 40,000 visitors per day, it is the largest community of its kind

Well Worth Visiting
Even if you're not a Nikon user, the site is well worth a visit for aspiring and established photographers. It includes photo galleries, a shop and, what I found particularly useful, some excellent articles.

Although I use Canon cameras, I've always admired Nikon equipment and own a superb Nikon Coolscan V film scanner.

In any event, I don't pay much attention to those whose mantra seems to be "my brand is better than yours". In addition to Canon, I've owned and used Pentax (6x7), Olympus, and Hasselblad cameras - and enjoyed all of them, albeit for different reasons.

It's not that I never wanted to own a Nikon. But I've worn eye-glasses most my life, so manual focusing was never a strong point, and was delighted when the Canone EOS range was launched with truly functional auto-focus. Because of this I switched from Olympus to Canon in about 1989 and have never had any reason (or money!) to change.

Rugged Workhorses
So, although I've never owned a Nikon camera, I did spend a year in the early 80s working for a weekly magazine where our "pool" equipment comprised those rugged workhorses, Nikon FMs with MD 12 motor drives. They were solid as rocks, reliable, simple, and a pleasure to use.

Photo Details: Lioness (Panthera leo) uses her back paw to relieve an irritating itch behind her ear, Mashatu Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Botswana.
Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 100-400 F5.6 IS zoom; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter Speed: 1/200; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 800

Those looking to buy digital cameras for the first time will find some of the jargon, such as "camera memory" and "megapixels", clearly explained.

A good understanding of these terms will make camera reviews more meaningful. So the second part of the article recommends various camera reviews from the many that are available on the Web.

These in turn are categorised according to the buyer's level of experience and requirements:

• For first-time users looking to buy digital cameras
• For more experienced photographers in the market for digital cameras
• For pro or semi-pro photographers wanting to buy digital cameras

Photo Details: Elephant (Loxodonta africana) at waterhole using its trunk to suck up and then pour water into its mouth, Mkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 80-200mm f2.8 zoom; Focal Length: 200mm; Shutter Speed: 1/640; Aperture: f4; ISO: 400

Photo Details: Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) lying in long grass, Ithala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 100-400 F5.6 IS zoom; Focal Length: 210mm; Shutter Speed: 1/1000; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 400

In the first phase, now started, the WWF is selecting the 32 finalists for the tournament, which will take place throughout the month of March. You can vote for five animals from a list of 100 that includes everything from ants to rattlesnakes, so many tastes are catered for!

Two years ago, the WWF held another contest for the World's Cutest Animal. Finalists on that occasion included the cheetah, giant panda, tiger, polar bear, with the giant panda turning out the popular winner.

Photo Details: Inquisitive baby elephant (Loxodonta africana) pauses briefly to check us out before scampering off to join it's mother, Mashatu Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Botswana.
Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 100-400 F5.6 IS zoom; Focal Length: 180mm; Shutter Speed: 1/400; Aperture: f7.1; ISO: 400