I've got my eye on you

Whilst in Africa I wanted to get loads of picture of people going about their day to day lives. This is not as easy as you would think, given the time that I had when I was there. Safety too is a big consideration, as there are limitations that control where you can go and what you can do.
However, I may get more opportunity to resolve these issues in the future.

Whilst there, I did mange to visit one or two places and took some photos of animals in parks.

Looking at the options I became intrigued by their eyes. I took a picture of a vulture and the eyes got to me. They were jet black and seemed completely empty. They swallow the light and let nothing escape.
As a consequence I then got interested in the eyes of the animals and birds that I photographed and put together the montage indicated below.

 ISO 100: f/8: Shutter Speed 1/100. Lens 55-200mm

If you look hard enough at this image you can even see my reflection in the eyes of this vulture. The top of its head is slightly 'blown out', but trying to focus on the object and keep the camera still, whilst the bird itself it moving is tricky. Add to this the fact that whenever it moves, the light changes and it becomes a touch difficult to get the shutter speed perfect.

 ISO 100: f/8: Shutter Speed 1/40: Lens 55-200mm

This is the only picture in this segway that shows both eyes. I did this as this monkey looked particularly interested in the camera and I think his intrigue comes out in his expression.

 ISO 1600: f/5.6: Shutter Speed 1/800: Lens 55-200mm

They eye on this chicken really looks like it is made of glass. Trust me, on the blown up version, you can see my reflection in the eye too.

 ISO 200: f/5.6: Shutter Speed 1/400: Lens 55-200mm

What I like about this is the difficulty to differentiate the edge of the lionesses cheek with the surrounding backdrop. These are white lions and with the sun being so high and bright, it really made it difficult to differentiate in the close up settings. Good camouflage then!

 ISO 100: f/5.6: Shutter Speed 1/80: Lens 55-200mm

The eye once again, has a truly reflective, glassy, quality in this image. However, the detail with the hairs and eyelashes, the crinkled skin, etc just brings a level of detail into the image.

ISO 100: f/5.6: Shutter Speed 1/100: Lens 18-55mm

Contrast the other eyes to this of my dog. Maybe it's me, but there is a serenity in this eye compared to the wild (or almost) eyes of the others.

Given that I was not going to get close to the animals and birds, I took my zoom lens with me, to allow me to focus right in on the subjects. With the exception of the last one, where I was able to get up close and personal with my wild pet, were I used my standard 18-55mm lens.
I did consider taking my flash gun, in case of the need to highlight the foreground against a very bright back drop, but this proved not to be necessary.

There were no real health and safety issues to consider, except not to get out of the vehicle when you are near the Lions!