Photo of the Day

Lioness in a Tree

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. January 2009

Nikon D3x, 200-400mm f/4 VR, 1/320 @ f/8, ISO 800

1 Spot available for Botswana safari this July

2 spots 1 spot just become available on my July 19-28, 2009 Botswana safari. Please read below for trip details.

Botswana: The Premier Wildlife Safari

• We will have private vehicles during the entire safari, with only 1 person per row of seating.
• A virtually unlimited amount of weight per person. Bring as much gear as you can, but please keep it within reason! Standard weight allowance is typically only 44 pounds by comparison.
• This safari offers superb game viewing and photographic opportunities in some of the best areas in Southern Africa.
• We will have the option of photographing aerial shots from a helicopter (additional cost).
• This itinerary focuses on a real wildlife experience from the surroundings of your premier accommodations.
• The reserves you will visit offer an insight to the fantastic wildlife in Botswana.
• Game viewing is done in open 4x4 vehicles and you will be led by some of the leading guides in Botswana.

If you are interested in joining this fantastic safari, please contact me right away. You can use the contact form on this blog, or by sending me an email to info@andybiggs.com.

Photo of the Day

Gang of Three

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. January 2009.

Nikon D3x, 200-400mm f/4 VR, 1.7x TC (550mm), 1/500 @ f/8, ISO 640

Safari recommendations from a past traveler

Martin Doonan just posted a wonderful blog entry about his own thoughts and advice for how to prepare for an African photographic safari. Martin writes:

"First, get to know your camera. I was surprised that people weren't fully familiar with the functions of their camera. They have expensive gear and don't know how to use it to its best. Out on safari is not the time to learn. Based on what I experienced, these would be my top things to learn (this should all seem a bit basic): RAW shooting, Av & Tv, metering and compensation, depth of field control, servo focus, thumb focus button, ISO setting & auto-ISO, panning & tracking subjects, manual exposure."

This is wonderful advice, and something that he easily summed up in a few sentences.

You can read more on Martin's blog here.

A Brief Tanzania Safari Trip Report

Greetings from Karatu, Tanzania! I am winding up two back-to-back safaris in Tanzania, and I am headed home tomorrow with a plethora of potentially great photographs for my portfolio. Here are some random thoughts from the past 3 weeks.

From a quality of wildlife standpoint, this is likely the best Tanzania safari I have ever been a part of, as we had wonderful leopard sightings on both of my safaris. My first safari ended in the Serengeti and my second safari started in the Serengeti, which means I had 8 nights of private bush camping in one location. These 9 days represent absolutely stunning and breathtaking photographic opportunities: leopards in trees, leopards near our vehicles, lions with 9 cubs playing about, a lion taking down a wildebeest, cheetahs out on the short grass plains, great behavior from zebras, a wildebeest giving birth to a new calf and excellent hippo interaction. These are only what comes to mind, and there are so so many other great scenes that we were able to watch and photograph. I also spent 4 nights at Ngorongoro Crater, as well as time at Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara had absolutely stunning giraffes, and we had a scene with 27 giraffes all sitting or standing out in an open clearing. Wonderful compositions!

I am more energized after this trip as a result, and cannot wait to get home to be with Leslie and the kids. I am sure that I won’t have time to process any images for a week, as being away from home for three weeks requires spending quality time with my family. I will try to quickly process some images when I have a chance, just for quick blog photos.

From an equipment standpoint, I primarily used my new Nikon D3x camera on a 200-400mm f/4 VR lens. I had the 1.7x teleconverter on it much of the time, and when I needed a little extra reach or when I wanted to fill my subject in the frame, I used my D300 with the MB-D10 portrait grip and the EN-EL4 battery. My D3 wasn’t used as much, and I am not sure why. I think I valued larger file sizes over the better higher ISO image quality of the D3. I do have some scenarios where I did use both at the same ISO and on the same lens, so I will be able to demonstrate which one looks better on different size prints. I don’t like to evaluate images on the screen, because this isn’t important to me. My only goal for my photography is the final printed image, and I primarily print in two sizes: 10x15” and 20x30”. Sometimes larger if I can get away with it.

All of my equipment was transported to Africa in a Gura Gear Kiboko camera bag. When I arrived I took out most of the dividers in the bag and then attached lenses to cameras and I was ready to shoot “out of the bag”. There were numerous other Gura Gear owners on each safari, and I heard nothing but praise about the bag’s design and use in the field. I will write up some real use stories on Gura Gear’s blog when I return home.

I also used my D700, primarily as a grab shot camera. What a great backup to a backup camera, eh? The D700 doesn’t fit my shooting style, but I would definitely keep it if I didn’t already have a D3. I would love to use the D700 as a dedicated infrared camera, but I am already carrying too many cameras as it is, and the D700 would be an expensive luxury item as a dedicated IR camera. I will be selling the D700 when I return home, because the other 3 cameras make the most sense for my style of photography. Please let me know if you are interested in picking up my D700.

I am sitting at Gibbs Farm in the Ngorongoro highlands, preparing a presentation for my safari travelers. The presentation will primarily consist of editing techniques: why images are chosen and why others are not, and then my own Adobe Photoshop Lightroom workflow on how I actually process my raw files. After the two hour session, we will finish up the day with cocktails out on the veranda with some Maasai portrait photography of two Maasai friends of mine, dressed in traditional clothing. I will have two strobes on light stands, an umbrella and some reflectors and diffusers. A great way to end our safari in a relaxed setting, for sure.
I am looking forward to returning to Tanzania in October, as well as for more safaris in 2010.

While I was away on safari, I had 2 cancellations on my July 2009 Botswana safari. Please send me an email at info@andybiggs.com if you would like these spots. I will also announce my February 2010 Tanzania safaris when I get home, but I will need to write up the travel dates and itinerary details first. If you are looking for the photographic trip of a lifetime, I highly recommend Africa!!

Safari report: Lake Manyara

We had a wonderful day in Lake Manyara National Park yesterday, and we hopefully will take home some great photographs to go along with the experiences.

Lake Manyara is quite dry at the moment, which is normal, but we didn't see a plethora of elephants that we would normally see. We did have the fortune of seeing a group of giraffes, 27 strong. What an amazing sight! I don't think I have ever seen that many giraffes in one location, and Lake Manyara giraffes are special in that many of the sightings happen in open clearings. This means that you can take photographs of the giraffe when they are not eating, and you have unubscructed views from head to toe. I typically find that giraffes are difficult to photograph, primarily because of composition reasons. Their necks are long, and the horizon gets cut off as a result. I typically look for a location to shoot from that is either higher or lower than my subject, as to have a clear background that does not interfere.

We are off for Ngorongoro Crater today, and will checkin at our camp on the crater's edge. After a quick lunch, we will head down into the crater (which is actually a caldera) for an afternoon game drive. We will have a full day of wildlife photography in the crater for the next day, as well.

My Safari Begins in Tanzania

Greetings from Arusha, Tanzania! I arrived in Tanzania a few evenings ago, and will begin my first of two safaris in the morning. I am running a few errands today, getting ready for what will certainly be a great time out in the bush.

I am shooting with 100% Nikon equipment on this trip, and here is what I have packed into my Gura Gear Kiboko camera bag:
Nikon D3x
Nikon D3
Nikon D300
Nikon D700
200-400mm f/4 VR
70-200mm f/2.8 VR
24-70mm f/2.8
17-35mm f/2.8
1.4x and 1.7x teleconverters
SB800 x 2

Yes, all of this fits into the camera bag, and when I am on my first game drive a camera + 200-400mm will go into a Kinesis L521 long lens bag, and the other 3 lenses and cameras will all be in a ready-to-shoot configuration. I will remove many of the dividers in the Kiboko bag, and each camera will have a lens attached. So 4 cameras and 4 lenses will be at the ready.

I also brought a pair of SB800 flash units, 2 Manfrotto 001B light stands, a Wescott umbrella and some swivel mounts. I will be shooting some portraits on the trip, and this is a nice and light setup.I have the 1.4x and 1.7x teleconverters, and this is more of a test than anything else. I own the 1.7x, and borrowed the 1.4x. I am interested in finding out if there is a loss in optical quality and a loss in focusing speed between the two teleconverters. There is only one way of finding out, so I have brought both of them with me.I have four cameras for a reason, as well. I am interested in learning the ins and outs of these Nikon cameras, and how they fit the line of work that I am in. I don't plan on keeping all of these cameras after the safari, and I will be writing about my experiences with all 4 of these great cameras, both the positives and negatives. There is much to like about all four of them, for sure, and it will be interesting to see which ones stay and which ones go. All but the D3x were purchased used from friends of mine, and I doubt I will lose much in a sale.

Photo of the Day

Lion in the grass, Mala Mala South Africa, April 2008

Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO, 1/640 @ f/5.0, ISO 640