Ground level Lizard

Photography can become a great adventure at times. This was one of those adventures along the Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth national park in Uganda.

I spotted this Nile monitor also referred to as a water leguaan from the boat as we passed an enclave on the banks of the channel, and hopped off into the shallow water to get a closer look. I decided that this would be a great opportunity to use a smaller lens and get up close and personal. The lizard had incredible colouration and patterning on its skin and I wanted to bring that out.

Nile monitor by Corne Schalkwyk

This in turn meant getting closer that I would normally do in the wild, especially since the water was full of crocks, undeterred I sneaked up (basically crawled) up to the monitor lizard, that surprised me by holding his position. I’m very happy with this photo that really brings out the colour and skin texture as I played around with focus points. 

If you want to visit the area contact Premier Safaris at reservations@premiersafaris.com or have a look at the western wonderland trip on their website at www.premiersafaris.com