Photo of the Day

Bicycle Crossing Male

Mala Mala Game Reserve, South Africa, April 2008

Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO IS, 1/80sec @ f/6.3, ISO 1000

 This was my last frame of the day, as the light had already faded to a point where my shutter speeds were getting woefully too slow for a sharp photograph. I had to use a bean bag on the dashboard of our Land Rover to be able to shoot at 1/80 of a second. We decided to drive ahead of this beautiful male leopard to try to include a shot of another vehicle that was coming to the scene as we were leaving. I love the body language of the guests in the other vehicle, which indicates that this is not a big deal and that leopards are seen all of the time walking down dirt roads. Well, it is a big deal, but after a few days at Mala Mala, you really do have a chance to get some nice moments with these absolutely gorgeous predators.

Photo of the Day

Afternoon Game Drive

Mala Mala Game Reserve, South Africa, April 2008

Canon EOS 1DsMkIII, 24-105mm f/4 L IS, 1/30 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

BR event tomorrow night in Houston

If you are in Houston, please stop by tomorrow night, Thursday July 10 at the Banana Republic store in Highland Village. They are hosting a small party from 6 to 9pm with finger foods and refreshments. I don't expect that the event will be as large as the one that was held in San Francisco in May, but it should be good fun. We will have newborn baby Will in tow for a brief appearance, as well.

 

Where: Banana Republic - Highland Village

When: Thursday, July 10, 6-9pm

Address: 3922 Westheimer Road

The Ultimate Tanzania photo safari

I have been working on putting this very unique safari together for quite some time, and now I am glad to announce this amazing photographic safari. We will be visiting the three absolute best photographic locations in east Africa, in the country of Tanzania. We will visit three stunning wildlife locations on this safari: the World Heritage Site of Ngorongoro Crater and its high density of predators, the wide open plains of the Serengeti, and to top it all off we will be hiking and tracking wild chimpanzees in Mahale Mountains National Park.

 

As you may know, I spend quite a bit of time in Tanzania each year, mostly in the northern part of the country. It is not often that I am able to logistically pull off a trip like this, and I am extremely excited and look forward to this safari in October 2009. The safari is a perfect safari for returning travelers, as well as for a first time safari.

 

 

 

Trip Highlights:

 

October 16-31, 2009

Trip leader: Andy Biggs

Locations visited and what makes each location unique:

Ngorongoro Crater for its high density of predators, as well as high amount of grazers, browsers and birds of prey

Serengeti National Park for its 3 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra, wide open plains and tons of big cats!

Mahale Mountains National Park for its wild chimpanzees, remoteness and extremely comfortable lodging in a beautiful setting on lake Tanganyika

Please be aware that hiking with the wild chimpanzees requires a reasonable level of fitness.

Cost: $14,990

 

Trip details can be found here.

 

I have put a teaser on my web site for a few months now, and I will be sending out an announcement shortly. I anticipate that this safari will not stay open for too terribly long. If you have a measurable interest, please contact me at info@andybiggs.com or use the contact form on the left hand side of this web page.

 

Additional information regarding Mahale Mountains and hiking with wild chimpanzees

 

Tracking chimps in the Mahale Mountains may be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. To fully benefit from the
experience you must start with the correct expectations and be prepared for the physical rigors of such a trip. Feel free to ask us if you have
any questions.

 

The Accommodation

The camp feels like a tropical paradise, natural enough to be unobtrusive and substantial enough to be comfortable. It is a castaway style retreat with unique, airy, wood-and-thatch cabins, comfortable furnishings, and private flush toilet and hot shower facilities at the back of each cabin. Lighting is provided by solar power, and there is also a generator in camp. The food is fresh, simple, and skillfully prepared. Reasonable dietary requests can be accommodated, but advanced notice is a must.

 
Chimp Tracking – Physical Considerations
The camp is located on the lake shore at 2700 ft. elevation. The forested mountains rise behind the camp to 8000 ft. The chimps in the area have a range of 30 sq. km. (almost 12 sq. miles) - from the lake shore to the top of the mountains. Determining where they will be on any given day depends on an unpredictable variety of factors. It is entirely normal to find them behind camp in the afternoon of one day and on an inaccessible ridge high up in the mountains by the next morning. Most guests see the chimps at least once in a 3 or 4 day stay.
 
People who are in good shape for hiking up and down steep hills will have the best chance of being able to see the chimps.   Every effort will be made to accommodate those who are moving more slowly, but typically it is not possible for the group to split up if one person becomes tired. The whole group will have to turn around, or find less steep paths. It can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 5 hours of hiking to find the chimps. The chimps often use the groomed paths, but it is just as likely that they will be crashing through the underbrush over uneven ground. Trackers must be prepared for all hiking conditions. Walking sticks are available at the camp, but you need to bring a good light-weight pair of hiking boots that provide plenty of traction – preferably with ankle support. 

William Darden Biggs

Our family welcomes William Darden Biggs into the world. He was born on Wednesday, June 25, weighing in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces. For those that have sent me emails over the past few days, my apologies for not returning them in a timely manner. I will continue to take time off to be with my family, and will be back at it in the coming weeks. We are extremely happy to have Will in our lives, and his big brother Christian is eager to have a playmate. I know they are going to be great friends in the years to come. Fatherhood is a wonderful gift, and I am blessed to have two gorgeous little men in my life. Leslie and baby are doing great!

Printer profiling: Wondering what media type to choose?

If you create your own ICC profiles for your inkjet printer, you should be interested in understanding which media type to select when printing off targets that are ultimately read by your spectro. Scott Martin of Onsight has created a nifty image entitled the Onsight Media Selection Image that helps you determine which is the best media type to use.

thumnail of Onsight's Media Selection image 

Why does this matter? From Scott's web site:

"This 5×7 color image is intended to be used by advanced users to determine a media’s optimal media selection prior to the profiling process. If you have a 3rd party paper and you aren’t quite sure which media selection to use in the printer driver, simply print this image without a profile several times with different media selections. When the prints come out run your finger across the smudge test area to see if the the ink is drying at an acceptable rate. Compare the final prints for maximum black density (DMax), color gamut, shadow detail and dot smoothness. You’ll want to choose the media selection that delivers the best DMax without loosing a significant amount of shadow detail (loosing 5% or less is OK), or without a course dot pattern caused by what I call “micro pooling” (where dots touch due to excessive ink)."

Scott adds:

"Once you have determined the optimal media selection then one can print a profiling target and generate an ICC profile that delivers optimal results. I do this constantly onsite on my client’s printers (as well as my own) and keep a running list of the results. By doing so, I often find that I can get better results than with a paper manufacturer’s recommendation. Hats off to those that question conventional wisdom and do there own quantitative testing."

You can download the image from Onsight's web site by clicking here. 

My 2009 Safari schedule

I was looking at my 2009 schedule today (yes, I plan my time way way way in advance), and boy do I have a busy schedule ahead of me. Check this out:

January 2009 = 3 weeks in Tanzania

May 2009 = 3 weeks in Namibia

July 2009 = 2 weeks in Botswana

October 2009 = 3 weeks in Tanzania

So eleven weeks of safari time for Mr. Biggs. I think I need to save up some brownie points with Mrs. Biggs. It's just work, right?

Namibia workshop availability

A few spots have opened up on both of my Namibia trips next May 2009. There is 1 spot available on my Namibia May 9-19, 2009 workshop with John Paul Caponigro, and there is 1 spot available on my May 19-27, 2009 workshop. You can read more about each safari below. Keep in mind that if you wish, you can join both back-to-back safaris for one heck of a journey!! If you have ever wanted to visit and photograph one of the most photographically rich landscapes on the planet, Namibia is the place for you. Namibia took my breath away back in 2006 when I visited for the first time. Now Namibia is part of my safari mix every year, with its captivating sand dunes, people and wildlife.

 

Namibia Photographic Safari

Northern and Central Namibia

Trip leaders: Andy Biggs and John Paul Caponigro

May 9 - 19, 2009

 1 spot available

 

Namibia Photographic Safari

Southern and Central Namibia

May 19 - 27, 2009

2 spots available