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.
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
After a late night in Seattle visiting some friends that reside on Maui and were in town on the ship World, I found a message in my email stating that two out of my four submitted images had made it to the Semi-Final level of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. These two images were taken from my 2008 and 2009 safaris to Tanzania and are presented below:
Nikon D300, 200-400VR @400, March 2009
Nikon D300, 500mm+1.4 TC, Feb 2008
As a final note, the email stated that there were some 93,000 entries for the 2009 competition. I am happy!
BTW, there is still room for the 2010 safari adventure to Tanzania.
Enjoy and happy Photo’ing.
After a brief lull in my photography, I’m back at posting some of the shots from my Feb 2009 Safari to Tanzania. The Ngorongoro Crater is always a magical place for me. With the rich diversity of wildlife confined to an area about 10 miles square, I am always surprised as to what I will see and the animal interactions. So before moving on to the Serengeti, here are a few additional images from the crater and our camp site. Photo credits: Larry B – photos 1 & 5; DeAnne B – photo 6; Katherine H – photos 9 & 10.
After all day in the crater, we are treated to a wonderful sunset from our camp site.
Noon at our camp site
Kelio, our expert guide, was always checking on something for me.
Hippo pool
Flamingo lift-off
Yellow bark acacia tree close up
Running wildebeest
Mother's first kiss
When not shooting, eating or sleeping, we were in the camera tent.
Many photographers, like Larry, tried hard to escape the camera tent.
As we depart the crater, I treat you to the often-seen tourist view of zebras.
After 1 1/2 days in the crater, we say so long to the 8th wonder of the world. and begin our trek to the Serengeti