Images, thoughts, and crib notes from near and far.
Mother and Six Cubs
Nikon D2x, 500mm, f 5.6 at 1/500 sec
One of my all time favorite shots from my 2008 Safari. While it is not uncommon to see a mother Cheetah and a couple of cubs, not often do you see six cubs. Our guides estimated the age of the cubs to be about two months. The great event was seeing the same mother and five of the six cubs in 2009 as they chased down a Reed Buck.
Cheers and happy photo’ing
I will be leading two safaris into Tanzania during 2011. These will offer two distinct seasons of Africa and both will feature opportunities for viewing and photographing one of the great wonders of the world, the great wildebeest migration (as long as Mother Nature cooperates). We will also pursue photography of Cheetahs, Lions, and Leopards as well as huge elephants herds and the incredibility wildlife rich and scenic Serengeti Plains. February 2011 will offer that magic splash of green that comes after the fall rains, while August brings the classic African tans and browns in the landscape. As with all of my Tanzanian safaris, I will be using Thomson Safaris for my logistical and travel support. I have used Thomson’s since my very first adventure into Tanzania and the are simply the best of the best. The proof of this is in the numerous awards that they receive and their ever-constant commitment ecotourism as well as their commitment to the indigenous people of Tanzania. Their most recent awards include the National Geographic Best Adventure Outfitters on Earth for 2008 and 2009 and the Conde Nast World Savers Award for 2008.
Posted in Africa, Safari, Travel, Uncategorized on Mar 29th, 2010
Before I start sharing photos and stories from my Feb 2010 Safari, I wanted to address one question that I am often asked: Why do you always use Thomson Safaris? While they are one of the oldest and most established tour companies in Tanzania, specializing only in Tanzania, I only have to turn to the quality of their guides for the real reason. Sure accidents will and can happen, but there really is no excuse for being careless and not knowing your surroundings. The images below show a proper river crossing, even though we had to drive a little bit out of the way to find a safe crossing, and a not so proper river crossing. Every time I see an accident like this, I am reminded just how lucky I am to always have some of the best guides in the business on my trips. The guides of Thomson Safaris are trained to always put the safety of their clients first and game viewing second. Nuff said and the photos below speak for themselves.
Tarangire River Crossing Thomson's Style
Nikon D3, 70-200VR @ 110mm,ISO 250, f9 @ 1/1250 sec
River Crossing Done the Wrong Way
Photo by Lori Kruger
Cheers and Happy Photo’ing
I’ve been back from an all NIKON safari for about two weeks and I must tell you – the memories remain fresh and sweet, and will for some time to come! Over the years of travel I have come to expect the unexpected yet, these safaris never cease to put a smile on my face. Although we battled a huge attack of Tsetse flies (due to the abnormal rains), all of the photographers brought home the ‘bacon’ as far as photographs were concerned. Steve returned with very nice images of a leopard in a nearby tree and a pair of Cheetahs walking directly toward him while shooting from the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. Kathy and Roger were at the right time at the right place and photographed two female lions taking down a Cape Buffalo, a sight that the guides see once or twice every 20 years of guiding. Of course, I was well out of position and missed the entire take-down, so I just did some cool landscapes with the Nikon 14-24 on the D3. I am looking forward to processing them as b&w’s.
Electronic connectivity from the start, plagued us throughout the trip and as a result, I was unable to post any updates while in county, other than the 6 Feb post below. Now that all have safely returned and the photos are starting to roll in, I will begin posting the results in a few days. For me, I have started the process of wading thru more than 5,000 images taken across three camera bodies. BTW, my 600VR toasted itself while making a sunrise shot of a large male lion perfectly posed on a hillside with wonderfull light, we we decended into the Crater. Something about shooting a 600mm at 125/sec across a bean bag with very low light well; let’s just say it gives me a sinking feeling (we shall see as the power of photoshop goes about some serious sharpening of this image).
Special thanks to the entire safari enthusiasts on this trip including Kathy, Steve, Lori, Dave, Roger, Marla, and Ed. Of course, the trip would not have been a success without the wonderful organization and support of Thomson Safaris and our expert guides, Kelio, John, and Mohammad. Stay tuned for the photos as folks begin to return to their regular lives.
Cheers and happy photo’ing
Randy
Yes, it is 6 days before wheels up and the start of another wonderful photo safari into Tanzania. This Feb will bring a farily small but very focused group of photo safari enthusiasts to the wilds of Africa. At this point I always start checking weather and migration status realizing that the rains in the the Serengeti will drive the herds in a variety of directions. It is not uncommon for these herds to move some 30 miles or more per day to reach the fresh grass that is reach in nitrogen, which will spawn the brith of hundreds of thousands of young wildebeest. From the current weather patterns, it looks like we will be right in the middle of the migration. Seeing millions of Wildebeest across the Serengeti Plains is a sight that simply can not be adequately described in words.
For a great summary of the migration check out WATCHwild.com. This link presents a great annual summary along with a flash based interactive map of the migration path.
For now, I am busy doing some dry runs on packing and figuring out how to address the new bag restrictions associated with travel from Europe to the US (see previous post). For the first time, I am seriously consdering checking my Nikon 600mm. Not very happy about that, but I guess that is why I have insurance! I am also in the final days of delivering a number of large high-res prints in support of a beauty salon in Seattle. It has been a fun and challenging time in the studio and I continue to learn more and more about throwing light in the studio.
Looking at my safari schedule, I will have very limited email access so live postings will not be as frequent as usual. Those of you that have my sat phone, use it if you need it.
With lots of personal events happening this past year, I intend to find time to do some personal reflection as I sit around the camp fire looking at the stars and pondering life. Other than Namibia, I can think of no other place that I have been to that has clear skies and stars so bright that a flashlight is not needed during the night hours. What a great place for reflection.
Cheers and happy Photo’ing
Posted in Africa, Photo of the Week, Safari, Travel on Dec 20th, 2009
Proud Massai Warrior on the Serengeti Plains
Nikon D300, 17-55mm @ 31mm, ISO 200, 1/200 sec @ f8
Posted in Africa, Photo of the Week, Safari, Travel on Oct 25th, 2009
The Sands of Namibia
Nikon D300, 17-55 @ 17mm, ISO 200, f10 at 1/160 sec
Deep in the sand dunes of Namibia, I was presented with a rolling light show of highlights and shadows as the sun rose from my left. With the camera having significantly less dynamic range than the human eye, it is always a challenge to record an image that depicts, as close as possible, the scene as it was seen by the eye. As many of you know, I am a technical shooter. Shooting in the deserts of Namibia was truly a personal and technical challenge for me which resulting in pushing my photography skills to a new level. Amidst a sea of sand, I worked hard to incorporate an artistic approach in many of my images. I found myself paying a great deal of attention to lines, shapes, highlights and shadows to tell the image story. Thanks to JP Caponigro and Andy Biggs for pushing me into this artistic journey!
This image is a good example of the use of hyperfocal distance knowledge to achieve the desired zone of focus. Using hyperfocal tables, I was able to determine that focusing on the sand, 10 ft in front of me, the hyperfocal distance would be 5.37 feet (using f10 and the D300 at 17mm), resulting in a near focus limit of 3.48 feet and a far focus limit of infinity. After determining these values, I simply reset the focus to 5 feet and shot. To make all of this easier, I now use an iPod for my hyperfocal distance calculations rather than lugging around 10 pages of tables. Thank you Mr. Apple.
Cheers and happy photo’ing
Sunrise over Namibian Mountain Range
Nikon D300, 17-55 @55mm; ISO 320, f 7.1 @ 1/640 sec
Windy Ridge - Skeleton Coast
May 2009 – Nikon D300, 17-55 @17mm, ISO 200, f 10 at 1/250 sec
Windy Ridge Sunset, Skeleton Coast, Namibia, looking toward the ocean.
Posted in Africa, Photo of the Week, Safari, Travel on Jul 11th, 2009
Red Dunes (Dune 43) of Namib-Naukuft Park, Namibia
Nikon D300, 70-200VR, 95mm @ f9 1/640 sec, -2EV
While shooting in the sand dunes of Namibia, I found myself in an environment that was largely reds and blues. After looking at the large histogram for general exposure, I always shifted to the RGB histograms for evaluation. More often than not, I found that I was blowing out the reds. A simple drop in EV solved the blown channel. Usually using only a -1/3EV to solve normal exposure problems, I was very surprised by having to drop down into the -2’s for a correct exposure. While post processing, I was also surprised by the white balance of the camera. I always shoot in auto WB mode and correct during post processing. When shooting in extreme conditions, it is not uncommon for me to use either a white balance card or a color checker to help with setting my white balance in post processing. What surprised be was how far off the color temperature was when I started the post processing. I am going to attribute this to the high amount of reds from the sand. The lesson here is to use all of your tools, both in camera and out of camera. Learn when the in-camera meter is smart, when it is dumb, and take the necessary actions to get the shot.
Cheers and happy photo’ing