Favorite Photos Archives - Mihaela Limberea

Favorite Photos: June 2024

2nd July 2024 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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This is post 18 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

The King.

As you may have seen from my Instagram stories, I went on a safari in South Africa, a truly awe-inspiring experience. We spent ten incredible days first in the Marakele National Park, Thabazimbi, and then in the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, where we were privileged to witness animals in their natural habitat, a sight that never ceased to amaze us.

A lion walking in the early morning light.

A lion strolling leisurely through the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve bathed in the gentle glow of the early morning light.

A lion resting in the early morning light.

Captivated by the serene beauty of the wilderness. Witnessing this majestic lion immersed in the soft morning light was truly an unforgettable experience.

Chasing giraffes and zebras! 🦒 Spotting giraffes in their natural habitat is always the highlight of any safari for me. I absolutely love animals with spots or stripes, so this was a dream come true. While some people rushed to look for the Big Five, I went after giraffes and zebras, LOL.

I captured this photo in Marakele National Park, Thabazimbi, our first stop. During our visit, we spent a few days at the Marataba Mountain Lodge, featuring only five suites and offering a breathtaking view of the nearby mountains. Situated in a privately managed area within Marakele National Park, the lodge is approximately a 3-hour and 30-minute drive from Johannesburg.

Imagine the thrill of spotting a young male cheetah on a beautiful golden afternoon while walking just a few meters behind him! It was just my husband, our experienced guide Brendan Vorster (IG: @brendans_wildlife), and me alone in the long grass; the quiet scene occasionally interrupted by the calls of birds and the sound of the wind rustling through the tree leaves. It was an unforgettable experience that we’ll always cherish.

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the fastest land animal, can sprint at an astonishing 93 to 104 km/h (58 to 65 mph). Its body is uniquely designed for speed, with a slender build, long, thin legs, and a lengthy tail. The semi-retractable claws, a distinctive feature not found in other cats, play a crucial role in its remarkable speed.

Lapalala Wilderness Reserve was our second safari destination. We were incredibly fortunate to be accommodated at the Noka Camp, one of the renowned Lepogo Lodges. The five villas, perched on a striking 100-foot clifftop, not only offered awe-inspiring views over the Palala River but also provided a lavish and cozy stay. The lodge, a few hours’ drive from Johannesburg, is completely malaria-free, a key factor in our decision to choose it.

Brotherly love at its finest. These two cheetah brothers always have each other’s backs.

Double trouble. Two young cheetah brothers walk gracefully in the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve on a golden afternoon, the epitome of grace and speed. They moved effortlessly at a seemingly slow pace, yet we could barely keep up with them.

Mesmerized by the gentle strength and protective nature of this beautiful female elephant with her adorable baby following closely behind. 🐘💕

An elephant breeding herd in the breathtaking Marakele National Park, what an awesome sight! The mother in front was very protective of the baby, stirring up dust, flapping her ears, and trumpeting vigorously to keep us away.

Stay tuned, because I’m bursting with excitement to share more from this unforgettable adventure with all of you!

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Favorite Photos: May 2024

4th June 2024 Mihaela Limberea

Garden Photography Wildlife

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Flowers Kungsträdgården Squirrel

This is post 17 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

The sun is finally out, and the gardening season is in full swing! I’m either busy in the garden or capturing its beauty, which leaves me with little time for photo editing. And let’s be honest, who wants to be cooped up indoors when the sun is shining? I guess I’ll have to wait for a rainy day to catch up on some editing, ha, ha!

Here are a few photos I managed to edit from May: first out, the delicate cherry tree flowers in Kungsträdgården. I go there every year to photograph the pink fluffy flowers of the Japanese cherry trees, and this year was no exception. It’s such a joy!

A playful red squirrel because, you know, squirrels 😍.

Vibrant pink peonies from my garden. These peonies are from last year, and I can’t help but look forward to the magical moment when this year’s blooms grace my garden in a few weeks.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: April 2024

2nd May 2024 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Australia Kangaroo Kangaroo Island South Australia Squirrel

This is post 16 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Warning: cuteness overload! This little joey has got me wrapped around its tiny paw. Just look at those big eyes and fluffy ears! 🦘❤️ And that golden light! I feel so blessed to witness moments like these.

A Kangaroo Island kangaroo female (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) tenderly grooms her suckling joey 😍. Incredibly, the mother kangaroo can carry joeys at different development stages in her pouch. She can also provide different nutritional content milk in her four teats to cater to the various joeys’ ages!

This is the same joey as in the first photo. How cute?

All kangaroo photos were taken at the Ecopia Retreat wildlife sanctuary in February 2024.

Squirrel on a mission: curiosity never looked so cute! 🐿️💕

Always looking ahead, even when the view seems a little bit nutty 🐿️🌳.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: March 2024

4th April 2024 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Australia Birds Dolphin Kangaroo Kangaroo Island South Australia

This is post 15 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Boxing Kangaroo Island Kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) at sunset

When you and your mate have a disagreement and need to settle it like true Aussies 🇦🇺🥊😂. I always wanted to photograph boxing kangaroos, and one February evening, I was finally lucky enough to find a pair of joeys sparring playfully while the sun was going down. (And the light disappeared quickly; I had to bump up the ISO to 12.800 to freeze the action in low light).

A Kangaroo Island kangaroo joey (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) grooms itself at sunrise on Kangaroo island, South Australia.

Another joey, grooming itself, same magical evening. So cute!

White-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) in flight

White-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) photographed at the wildlife sanctuary created by Ecopia Retreat on Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

A wild bottlenose dolphin emerges from the sea to breathe, expelling stale air through the blowhole on top of its head before inhaling fresh air.

This is the first time I’ve photographed dolphins, and it took me a while to figure out the best way to do it. Unfortunately, they disappeared before I could perfect my newfound technique. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for this fantastic experience!

Photographed off the North Coast of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

Eastern osprey (Pandion haliaetus cristatus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia

I was fortunate enough to come across this rare eastern osprey (Pandion haliaetus cristatus), also known as the fish hawk, on Hanson Bay beach in Kangaroo Island (South Australia) in February 2024.

Unfortunately, they are a rare sight nowadays. They are listed as vulnerable in South Australia, and only 50 breeding pairs are estimated to be left in the region.

Sadly, human activities such as coastal development and competition for food with fishing production negatively impact their nesting sites and breeding.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: February 2024

6th March 2024 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Australia Kangaroo Kangaroo Island Sheep South Australia Sunrise Sunset

This is post 14 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Two young Kangaroo Island kangaroos practicing their boxing skills

Two young Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) practicing their boxing skills.

Wait, what? Kangaroos? Does it mean that I’ve been to Australia again?

Indeed I was, and too short a time it was! Three weeks on Kangaroo Island flew by in the blink of an eye, and now I’m back home, sorting through thousands of photos. I’ve just started, so it’ll take some time until I’m done and can begin processing the best photos.

I love this photo because it was the first time I’d seen boxing kangaroos, and managed to take a few pictures in that golden light.

We were on our way to Seal Bay for a 7am appointment with the research team when we came across these sheep grazing peacefully as the sun rose. Everything was bathed in gold; it was breathtaking.

Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and couldn’t afford to stop for too long. I literally jumped out of the car and quickly took a few photos, hoping some would be good enough 😅.

This may not be a masterpiece, but I love it. It has so many things I love: the golden light, the kangaroos, the grass tree to the left, and the flowering eucalyptus to the right.

The composition could be better, and I did move around a lot, trying to get a better angle, but the roos were skittish, and this is the best I could do.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: January 2024

5th February 2024 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Birds Flowers

This is post 13 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Close-up of white calla on a light blue background.

Another year, another month, other photos. I took this photo of a calla back in July when there was plenty of natural light. I usually take a lot of shots during spring and summer, which I can later edit during the long, dark winter days.

For this particular photo, I decided to give it a cool edit to complement the winter season.

Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) in the snow.

Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), winter edition. I love how the few remaining leaves poke through the snow and add a splash of color to the wintery scene.

Wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea) striking a pose. Nuthatches have such a graceful way of landing and taking off, pausing for a few seconds while posing like a model on the catwalk!

I photographed this common redpoll female (Acanthis flammea) back in 2022 but only got around to processing it now. When I looked through my photo library for an image to edit, I realized I hadn’t seen many redpoles last year. I’m not sure why. I do hope they’ll return that year; they’re so beautiful and always fun to photograph, especially the males; they have pink breasts!

Blackbird female (T. merula). I shot this in the darkest December last year at ISO 12.800. It was 11am, and the brightest light you could get was some kind of grayish twilight. You wait and wait for the daylight to appear, and then, suddenly, the sun starts to set, and it gets dark again.

As mentioned above, I rarely shoot in November/December because it’s too dark. As you can see, you can still get beautiful photos, but I find it’s too much work; it’s not worth it. I ran the image through Topaz Photo AI to reduce the noise and then Nik Color Effex to retrieve some feather details.

To get away shooting in low light with a high ISO, you do need to shoot to the right (of the histogram), as noise hides in the darker areas. It helps if you have a lens with a large aperture (f/2.8 or F/4) to let in more light, but unfortunately, I don’t. My Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens’ largest aperture is f/7.1 at 500mm.

On the other hand, problems are good; they force you to get creative and work around them. As I always say, creativity thrives on constraints. Look past the issues and see the opportunities!

As an avid birdwatcher and photographer, I always try to capture the beauty and grace of these magnificent creatures. Birds are fascinating creatures that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and taking their photos can be a challenging yet rewarding experience.

Overall, these photos are just a tiny glimpse into the incredible beauty of the natural world. By taking pictures like these and sharing them with others, I hope to inspire a love and appreciation for nature that will hopefully last for generations.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: December 2023

26th December 2023 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Birds Blue tit Ibis Kangaroo Island Lorikeet Squirrel Wildlife

This is post 12 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Scaly-breasted lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) sitting on a branch

Scaly-breasted lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus). I love parrots, and this one was so much fun to photograph! It didn’t sit still for a moment, jumping nosily around as these parrots do, but it did take a break for a few seconds, and I was ready with the camera!

Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) standing on top of a dead branch.

I photographed this Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) on my January 2023 trip to Kangaroo Island but haven’t edited it until now. Many believe they’re a feral species introduced to Australia, similar to foxes or hares. But these ibises are, in fact, native Australian birds.

A cute tiny blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) stopped by and posed so nicely for me. A blue tit weighs around 11-12 grams. A lot of attitude in such a tiny package, wouldn’t you say?

And a couple of squirrels, of course! A good ending to the year.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: November 2023

3rd December 2023 Mihaela Limberea

Photography Wildlife

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Bee Birds Flowers Reflection Squirrel

This is post 11 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Baltic Sea reflections. I hoped to photograph some beautiful swans that day, but they were nowhere to be found.

Instead, I stumbled upon the most breathtaking reflection of pine trees and birches in the sea, which looked like a Monet painting. I tried to do justice to that feeling in the editing.

Close-up of a a tiny snail peering down over the edge of a cone flower

A macro shot I haven’t gotten to process until now, a tiny snail peering down over the edge of a coneflower. I usually take lots of photos during spring and summer, when the light is good in Sweden, and then process many of them during late autumn and winter when there’s hardly any light. It’s a way of reducing my frustration during that dark time and enjoying spring and summer again.

This is another shot from the archives that I just processed. I had almost deleted it. It wasn’t a bad photo, but there wasn’t anything special about it. Something about it made me give it a three-star rating and keep it to try processing it on a rainy day. Now I’m glad I did; I love it!

Another photo from the archives, a European honey bee feeding on an allium flower.

This November has been one of the darkest I can remember, and the snow came first at the end of the month. I use only natural light, so taking photos this time of the year is a challenge. The sun goes up around 8am, and it starts getting dark at 2pm already this time of the year. Unless it’s sunny or snow, there’s no real light in between, just some kind of grey curtain hanging over the world. On heavy overcast days (and we had many of these this month), you wait and wait for the daylight until you realize it’s getting dark again!

I’m glad I still have many photos left to process. Other people may be stressed by having many unprocessed photos, but I don’t. I know November will come, you see.

What a difference some snow makes! It acts like a giant reflector, hides messy backgrounds and dampens colors.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: October 2023

2nd November 2023 Mihaela Limberea

Millesgården Photography Wildlife

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Animals Autumn Birds Fall Nuthatch Squirrel

This is post 10 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

Glowing autumn foliage at Millesgården, Stockholm, Sweden

Autumn has never looked more stunning than at Millesgården. The vibrant colors of the garden are simply breathtaking, and that Lensbaby Velvet 85 lens creates the most delicious blur and bokeh. Can you believe this is a real place?

I usually use my Canon RF50mm F1.2 L USM lens at Millesgården or the Canon RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM one, but this time, I wanted to test my new toy, the Velvet 85. I bought it for flowers and still-life photos, but I was curious about other images.

All Lensbaby lenses use only manual focus, so it’s best to take lots of photos to make sure you nail the focus – especially when shooting at large apertures, as I do. I love to shoot for the blur, and I usually love F/1.8 to F/2.8, but I noticed that F/2.8 to f/4 works best for me when using a Lensbaby – for flowers.

It turned out that F/2.8 is the only aperture I love for this type of photo. F/1.8 is wonderful; the blur is insanely soft, but it only suits some photos, and getting the focus is really tricky. F/4 and up is fine; it’s pretty easy to focus, but as more of the background comes into focus, some of the magic disappears. Hence, F/2.8.

St. Martin fountain by Carl Milles at Millesgården, Stockholm, Sweden

Another shot from Millesgården. It is such a magical place in the autumn! This is the statue of St. Martin on the lower terrace.

Millesgården was the home of Swedish sculptor Carl Milles (1875 – 1955); he designed and built it, and it is now a museum with Milles’ antique collection, sculpture garden, and art gallery. The garden is inspired by Italy’s Mediterranean gardens, and it’s a work of art in itself. Carl Milles and his Austrian wife Olga, an artist herself, spent the winters in Italy that both loved.

Squirrels! As soon as there are fewer squirrel photos on my Instagram or Facebook accounts, someone will wonder where the squirrels are. Somehow, I became the squirrel whisperer. Not a bad thing when it comes to social media.

This is a photo from last year that I hadn’t processed. I thought it would make a nice Halloween card and processed it accordingly. You can see the card here.

A red squirrel eating a hazelnut atop a pumpkin

Just squirrel-ing around and finding its inner peace, ha, ha!

I had a few pumpkins out in the garden to get some photos for a squirrel Halloween card, but I wasn’t pleased with the images. They were fine, like this one, but didn’t work for a card, so I gave up in the end and used that photo from last year.

I love photographing wood nuthatches (Sitta europaea); they usually strike a pose when landing and again before taking off, checking their surroundings. I can always count on them to sit still long enough for me to get a decent photo.

Did you know that nuthatches can forage when descending trees head first? Inveterate hoarders, they store the food in the bark of the trees, then conceal it with moss or small pieces of bark.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Paris Is Always A Good Idea

2nd October 2023 Mihaela Limberea

Photography

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Eiffel Tower Paris Travel

This is post 9 of 18 in the series “Favorite Photos”

This series contains my favorite photos processed in a particular month.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris viewed through the crown of a tree

This month’s favorite photos are all from my recent Paris trip.

We went to Paris for a few days at the end of August. It was supposed to be a vacation, but I had the camera with me and, you know, a photo here, a photo there, and I suddenly came home with hundreds of photos. Oh, make it two thousand.

This is the photo I like best at the moment. I circled the tree for about twenty minutes, testing various angles until I got the picture I wanted. My husband knows the drill, so he found a bench nearby and read a book on his cell phone during this time.

We went to the Eiffel Tour in the afternoon (4 p.m.), mostly to scout the area.

I’d done my due diligence, and everybody said the best time to photograph the tower was at sunrise. So, I didn’t plan to take photos that afternoon; I wanted to check out the place, find the best angles, and so on. Get the lay of the land, so to say.

However, I spent the rest of the afternoon taking photos. The light was softening as the afternoon wore on, and one doesn’t argue with good light.

Here’s a tip: take photos when you see something you like, even if you’re “only scouting.” Don’t think, “Great spot, I’ll come back tomorrow morning“. You never know what’s going to happen. We did come back at 6 a.m. the day after for the sunrise, but it was almost cloudy, and there weren’t any spectacular colors or dramatic clouds in the sky. I got a few photos that morning, too, but my favorites are those from my scouting afternoon.

Door detail in Paris, showing a lion head

Paris architecture, what a dream! I love walking around and enjoying the beautiful buildings and their small details like this lion head. I probably have hundreds of similar pictures!

How do you photograph an icon? I admit to some performance anxiety when I stepped off the subway at the Trocadéro station. Thousands, no, millions of people have photographed the Eiffel Tower. Was there any way of finding a new way of capturing its’ essence?

Sometimes, the best way is to simply focus on something in front of it, like this pigeon. Even if only a blurry portion of the tower is visible in the background, it’s still recognizable. I’m happy with how this this photo turned out.

Ah, the Parisian metro! I love those signs and probably took too many photos of them. Sorry, not sorry!

All photos taken with Canon R5 and Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. This is the one if you can only bring one lens on a trip.

This is the lens I usually use when going on a short getaway, typically to cities. A few days in Rome, Athens, or Paris with hand luggage only? Not a problem. The 24-105 mm lens is very versatile: 24mm is perfect for larger scenes, 50mm for street photography, and 100mm for details and blurred backgrounds.

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

Mihaela Limberea

Post series: Favorite Photos

Favorite Photos: June 2024

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Favorite Photos: May 2024

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Favorite Photos: April 2024

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Favorite Photos: March 2024

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