2014 Year In Review [Long Post]

I am now reflecting what a crazy year 2014 has been for me, both professionally and personally. I know I traveled too much away from home, and I say this every year. The single most difficult part of running my business is balancing the time needed at home with my needing to travel in order to earn and income. Since I plan my schedule 12+ months ahead, 2015 is going to be similar to 2014 with the quantity of travel, yet my 2016 year will likely have less travel for me. I absolutely love what I do for a living, and am looking for a better balance so I can stay healthy (mentally and physically).

Camera Equipment

2014 was the year that I sold 100% of my Nikon 35mm equipment. Yes, all of it. As I wrote in an earlier blog post this year, I have moved to medium format gear from Phase One. The first half of the year I was shooting with their IQ280 80 megapixel digital back, and mid-year I switched to their new 50mp CMOS chip product. I am now able to shoot a much higher ISO’s (up to 3200), have better control of my depth of field and also have more frames per second. We aren’t talking 35mm speed, but good enough for me.

International Travel

I started off the year with a safari in Kenya, during its off season time of the year. These off season months are my preferred times to be in the Masai Mara, due to the few vehicles and abundant resident (non migratory) wildlife. The plains have very few vehicles out and about, and thus game drives are much more private. In April I spent the entire month in Namibia, guiding a pair of overland landscape workshops. Namibia never disappoints, and these overland trips were no exception. We had dramatic weather, great light and fun people to travel with. Since 2006 I have logged more than four months of time shooting in Namibia, and I still feel like I have only scratched the surface. I may decide to return in 2016, and if I do it will likely be another overland trip to some destinations that rarely visited.

June found me in the Galápagos Islands, a place that I have visited many times before and always enjoy. I chartered a private motor yacht for the group and we visited most of the islands in the eastern side of the archipelago.

In August I guided a pair of trips in East Africa, beginning with my Great Apes safari to Uganda and Rwanda. We trekked with wild chimpanzees in Uganda for three days and then trekked for mountain gorillas in Rwanda for another three days. It was my first trip with the new Phase One IQ250 digital back, and this meant I could use it in low light situations, hand-held. At the conclusion of the Great Apes trip I co-guided a safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara with good friend and über guide Grant Atkinson. After I finihsed up in the Masai Mara I then headed over to Amboseli National Park region to photograph herding elephant with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop.

To top off the year I was down in the southern ocean, photographing penguins and icebergs. The 20-day expedition visited the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica. The highlight of the trip was South Georgia, which hosts the largest king penguin colonies on our planet. We had hoped for one really good landing, and in the end we had landings at 3 of the 4 largest colonies. High fives all around.

2015 is going to be a fantastic year, filled with new destinations! Here is a quick roundup of my year:

• January - Private safari in the Okavango Delta of Botswana
• February - Tanzania wildebeest migration
• March - Scotland’s Isle of Skye
• April - Moab Behind The Scenes
• May - Tigers of India
• September - Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees, The Ultimate Great Apes Safari
• November - Botswana: The Premier Photographic Safari (two of them)

My Office

The Boss

Masari Mara, Kenya

Intrigue

Masai Mara, Kenya

Intimacy

Masai Mara, Kenya

The Open Plains of Amboseli, Kenya

Stare-Down

Amboseli, Kenya

Elephant Migration

Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Drinking Elephants

Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Chimpanzee

Kibale Forest, Uganda

Chimpanzee

Kibale Forest, Uganda

Chimpanzee

Kibale Forest, Uganda

Chimpanzee

Kibale Forest, Uganda

Silverback

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Silverback

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Namib Naukluft Park, Namibia

Namib Naukluft Park, Namibia

Aerial Photo Over Sossusvlei

Aerial Photo Over Sossusvlei

Aerial Photo Over Sossusvlei

Sea Lion and Pup

Galápagos Islands

Rise Above The Rest

Galápagos Islands

Iceberg and Sun

Cierva Cove, Antarctica

King Penguins And Surf

Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia

King Penguins

Fortuna Bay, South Georgia

Comments

[Andy Williams]

What a year! I'd like to do a similar post, but I fear it would exhaust me. Stunning photos!

[Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images]

Really beautiful work, Andy. Always a pleasure to see your images. Cheers & Have a great 2014!

[Tony Wu]

Beautiful images Andy. I particularly like the monochrome images

[Russ Bishop]

This is a wonderful collection Andy. Your wildlife images reveal such compassion, and the landscapes are sublime. Wishing you all the best in 2015!