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About Andy

 

I am an avid adventurer, conservationist, teacher, and outdoor photographer whose photography celebrates the African landscape and its rich wildlife, people, and culture. My photographic safaris allow my travelers to not only enhance their understanding of photography, lighting, and wildlife, but to develop a life-long admiration for Africa ‘s beauty and culture.

Banana Republic recently used my photographs as the cornerstone of their Urban Safari campaign, and my images were seen in all 750 stores around the globe, as well as in their billboards, catalogs and annual report. I was also the winner of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year in the ‘Wild Places’ category in 2008 and a highly commended in the ‘Creative Visions of Nature’ category in 2007.

I launched Gura Gear in 2008, in an attempt to deliver lightweight camera bags to the market. I was looking for a lightweight camera bag to hold all of my photographic gear, and there was nothing desirable on the market that suited my needs. After spending 2 years with many prototypes, the Gura Gear Kiboko bag was born. More products are now available on the Gura Gear web site.

 

 

 

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Entries in Safaris (140)

Sunday
Nov012009

Back home from safari in Tanzania

After two weeks of excellent photography in the east African country of Tanzania, I am back home. I had 10 travelers with me, and I have to say that this was one heck of a group. We got up early each day, had some excellent experiences, took some great photographs, and above all else took the time to laugh until our bellies ached. Thank you to all who came on this unforgettable safari!!

I will be sure to post some photographs in the following days. My favorite images are almost all chimpanzee photographs from Mahale National Park, and all are high ISO images that require delicate processing. I will try my hands with the new Adobe Lightroom 3 beta application, but I may end up having to rely on my standard high ISO processing workflow with Photoshop CS4 and different plugins.

Time for a cup of coffee. It's early and I am jetlagged.

Monday
Sep072009

Safari Testimonial: Paul Robishaw

Recent safari traveler Paul Robishaw wrote to me with the following:

"Wow!  Just WOW!!

I had hoped that the 2009 Botswana would be a good one and a great learning opportunity.  It was all of that and so much more!

Andy, I have been fortunate in my life to have experienced many fantastic adventures in remote, exotic, and ecologically-pristine locales.  The Botswana safari is right up there at the top of that list!  It was truly amazing!  We spent 12 days in the bush, and each of them seemed better than the one before.  The wildlife sightings, the scenery, the camaraderie . . . I could go on and on.  The last day came way too soon for me.

I’d like to compliment all who helped make the Botswana photo safari such a fantastic one!  Kudos to you, Grant Atkinson (our naturalist guide/driver/geologist/historian/local expert/ good-humor man), the folks at Wilderness Safaris, James and Nicky at Eyes on Africa, as well as the entire staffs of the Kwetsani, Savuti, Chitabe and Mombo camps.  The courtesies, personal care, and professionalism extended by all were truly extraordinary.  The food and accommodations excellent, as well.  I slept very well and put on more than a few pounds.

As you know, I’ve already signed on to another African adventure with you.  This time I’m bringing my wife so that she can experience and enjoy what I did.  Don’t know how are at encores, but I trust you.

One of your African trips should be on everyone’s Bucket List.
"

Here are just a few of Paul's images from our July 2009 Botswana safari:

 

 

 

 

You can see my 2010 African safaris online here. I have spots available on some of my safaris and not on others. If you are interested in one of these safaris, please email me at info@andybiggs.com while there is still space available. My safaris book up early!

Friday
Aug212009

New Thomson Safaris catalog is out

The new Thomson Safaris catalog will be out soon, and one of my more recent hippo photos has graced the front cover. Check it out:

Hippo, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, January 2008

Canon 1DsMkIII, 400mm f/4 DO IS, 1/1000 @ f/5.0, ISO 400, handheld

My 2010 and 2011 Tanzania safari schedule is now published for those photographic safaris that I lead in conjunction with Thomson Safaris. Thomson Safaris really is the best safari company to work with in Tanzania, and I am honored to represent the photo-specific trips in our catalogue. We have a few people who run photographic safaris: Christ Gamel, Randy Hanna and yours truly. If one of our safaris doesn't work with your schedule, I can easily setup a safari for you that can take advantage of many of the features of our photographic specific trips: great guides, great vehicles, great accommodations and an itinerary to make sure that you are at the right place at the right time.

Tuesday
Aug182009

Botswana trip report

As promised, I have a short safari trip report from my latest trip to Botswana.

Itinerary

We visited 3 different camps: Kwetsani, Savuti and Chitabe, plus 3 additonal nights at Mombo as an optional extension. These camps were a mixture between a wet camp (Kwetsani), wet/dry camps in the Okavango at Mombo and Chitabe, and also a camp outside of the delta at Savuti.

Camera Gear

There was an even mix of Canon and Nikon equipment. Canon bodies varied from 40D's, 50D's to 1-series bodies, while the Nikons ranged from a D90 to mostly D700's and D3's. The lenses were all over the board. We had a few Canon 500mm lenses, numerous Canon 100-400mm and 70-200mm lenses, and on the Nikon side the most popular lens was the 200-400mm f/4. Here is what I took:

Nikon D3, D3x and D300 camera bodies.

Nikon 24-70mm, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR and 200-400mm f/4 VR lenses. 1.4x II teleconverter.

There were many different approaches for stabilizing one's camera equipment, and I will be writing up a separate post just on this topic. I used many different methods, and I have much to say on the topic. I was able to try out multiple solutions from multiple vendors, and the most interesting product from Novoflex, called their QuadroPod, made quite an impression on me.

 

My D3 + 200-400mm + 1.4x on a 4th Generation Designs Mongoose 3.5a, supported by the new Novoflex QuadroPod kit.


Who Came on the Trip

All photographers who joined the safari were non professionals. For the first time ever, the trip was 100% men. I typically have a few married couples on each of my safaris, the rest are men and women who are traveling without their significant other or spouse. The conversations at time were, well, a bit different than normal. Our head guide was the man himself, Grant Atkinson, who accompanied us throughout the entire safari. He is the most amazing guide, as well as photographer.

  

Grant Atkinson, our head guide


The Safari

Kwetsani was the first camp on the itinerary, and here we met up with our specialist guide, Grant Atkinson. Grant works for Wilderness Safaris, and is one of the best guides and photographers! Kwetsani is primarily a water camp at this time of year, and as such was intended to give us a chance to photograph the Okavango Delta’s more aquatic habitats. We had helicopter flights each day and we also went out in aluminium boats in search of up-close kingfishers and jacanas. We made use of mekoro (dugout canoes) to photograph trees, islands and papyrus, and one group had a great elephant sighting from the canoes. On game drives we photographed a very good looking male lion that was on the floodplains at sunrise. We spent twenty minutes with him, and everyone got great shots. The lion really turned it on for us by crossing water right in front of us. You can see one of my photos of him here.

We also managed to photograph a leopard for a few minutes, and banded mongooses on foot (that is us who was on foot!). The leopard that we saw jumped right across the road in front of us, which would have made for an incredible image. The problem was that all 3 of us in the vehicle were setup for longer lenses and just didn't get our shorter lenses out quickly enough to make the shot. This is a funny story, which I will illustrate in a future blog posting.

 

 Lion walking on the floodplains, Kwetsani Camp, Botswana. July 2009

Nikon D3, 200-400mm f/4 VR, 1/200 @ f/5.6, ISO 3200


At Savuti we had the rare fortune of being able to visit an active wild dog den in the area. These den visits are limited to one vehicle from the camp per activity, which meant that we all got to see the dogs with their 13 pups. Also in the area were the local lion pride, all 9 of them, feeding on a freshly-killed giraffe. Kane, one of our most experienced guides, tracked them to the site of the kill. Another photographic highlight took place when a large herd of elephants took to the water of the Savuti channel right in front of the camp, and we put aside our teatime meal to try capture the action as the elephants swam, drank and played. More information and photos can be found on the Wilderness Safaris web site.

Two male cheetah provided more great photo opportunities as they patrolled their territory with us following.

At Chitabe we had two big male lions alongside each other in perfect afternoon light, then a group of four lions the next morning playing in the grass and another single male on the move who stopped to drink water. On our last afternoon there we had a fantastic sighting of a young male leopard feeding on a baboon in a tree. There were also some excellent sightings of elephants, zebra and wildebeest.

Mombo was our last camp, and there we found some silhouetted giraffe at sunrise, as well as red lechwe antelope splashing through water. We had several sightings of the well-known female leopard Legadema, which included her resting in a tree with an impala kill. We actually saw her on 4 out of our 6 game drives. Amazing! We had fun crossing a deep channel in the Landrovers with Pete (the Mombo guide) driving the other vehicle. Perhaps some of the best photo opportunities came about for us when spending time with one of the local lion prides, which consisted of 4 adult females, and their 8 young cubs. The very cute lion cubs made great subjects. More good reading on the even can be found on the Wilderness Safaris web site.

We also had male lions and several hyena sightings at Mombo.

 

Paul "the strongman" attempts to pull Pete "P.T. Boat Captain" out of a deep water crossing.

Something we all had many giggles about, for sure. Mombo Camp, Okavango Delta.

 

What worked and what didn't work

There were a few equipment failures on this trip, primarily between me and another Canon shooter. There was a malfunctioning shutter on a Canon 1DMkII camera, which resulted in 5% of the final image being overexposed on an edge of the frame. The camera is now in for service as a result.

I had some issues with my 200-400mm lens when being used with my brand new 1.4x II teleconverter. Funny things would happen that I just couldn't figure out any rhyme or reason. Sometimes the lens wouldn't focus, sometimes the lens wouldn't stop down and sometimes the lens would have a wobbly vibration reduction. Frustrating, to say the least. I encountered similar behavior this past January in Tanzania, however I thought I had isolated the problem to a specific teleconverter. If anybody has heard of this behavior, please drop me a line before I blow my brains out.

What I continue to find amazing, and I really do take advantage of this, is that the Nikon D3 has usable and publishable images at ISO 1600, 3200 and 6400. This is something that continues to blow me away, and is the primary reason that I have the D3 on my main lens (instead of the D3x) in marginal light.

In conclusion it was a fantastic trip with high-quality sightings, and a wonderful group of photographers who all had the patience to wait for the good things to happen.

You can see my 2010 African safaris online here. I have spots available on some of my safaris and not on others. If you are interested in one of these safaris, please email me at info@andybiggs.com while there is still space available. My safaris book up early!

Friday
Aug072009

Workshop and Safari openings

As you can tell from my schedule on my main web site (here), most of my safaris and workshops fill up and fill up early. Here is a quick status of those workshops and safaris in the next 12 months, found below. If you are wondering what your 2010 year will look like, my recommendation is to consider an African photographic safari! You can read my past safari testimonials online. I wish I could put all of the testimonials online, but there just isn't enough room (seriously)!

2009

October 8-11: Adobe Lightroom and the Fine Art Digital Print (Sold Out)

October 16-31: Ultimate Tanzania Photo Safari (Sold Out)

2010

February 25 - March 9: Tanzania Photo Safari (Sold Out)

March 6 - 18: Tanzania Photo Safari (Spots available)

May 15-23: Galapagos Islands (1 spot available)

July 21 - August 1: Botswana, The Premier Wildlife Photo Safari (Sold Out)

August 3-12: African Wildlife Photography Bootcamp (Sold Out)

Tuesday
Aug042009

Namibia trip report (Part 6 - Namib-Naukluft)

This is the 6th trip report from my latest safari to Namibia You can read my Namibia trip report (Part 1 - Skeleton Coast) entry, Namibia trip report (Part 2 - Serra Cafema) entry, my Namibia trip report (Part 3 - Namib-Naukluft), Namibia trip report (Part 4 - Lüderitz and theSperrgebiet) and finally my Namibia trip report (Part 5 Namib Rand and Wolwedans) if you have not already done so.

Since I had already visited the Sossusvlei area on my first trip, I will only post images from my second round in the area in less than 2 weeks. I did take more time to photograph people from my group performing their work, so most of my images from the second visit to the area had less to do with 'portfolio' types of images and more images to help me illustrate and market future trips to Namibia.

I am also writing up an overall Namibia trip summary with more detailed explanation of my experiences with the Sony equipment. Overall very very positive, with some small nits here and there.

I have started a waiting list for a 2010 Namibia trip in either May or September of next year, so if you are interested in such a trip please send me an email to info@andybiggs.com or use the contact form on this blog. John Paul Caponigro will be the leader for this exciting trip, and the trip will likely include Kolmanskop, Sossuslvei and the Skeleton Coast. A truly amazing trip, as I cannot wait to return to the Skeleton Coast in future years.

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/10 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

 

Mary Grace on the dunes

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/100 @ f/11, ISO 320

 

Sossusvlei Angles

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/30 @ f/8, ISO 100

 

Wood, Sand and Shadow

Sony A900, 16-35mm, 1/80 @ f/8, ISO 100

 

Thumbs Up!

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/60 @ f/5, ISO 100

 

Gemsbok and Dunes

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/250 @ f/9, ISO 320

The Spooky Old Tree (remember that book from the Berenstain Bears?)

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/30 @ f/11, ISO 100

 

Trekking 'Big Daddy' and backlit subjects

Sony A900, 70-400mm, 1/2000 @ f/5.6, ISO 250

 

The Trip ends (boo hoo!)

Sony A900, 16-35mm, 1/320 @ f/2.8, ISO 250

Sunday
Aug022009

Back home from Botswana

Well, after 12 nights in the African bush, I am back home and trying to get back on local time. Thank you to my travelers for such an amazing safari experience, and you make my life and job so enjoyable. I took over 6,000 photos on this safari, split between my Nikon D3 and D3x camera bodies. My D300 sat on the sidelines as a backup camera that never needed to be used. I have many images to process and share, as well as my experiences and issues with some of my Nikon equipment. Additionally, I used and can report on many different methods of stabilization a camera and super telephoto lens for safari vehicles in southern Africa.

In a nutshell, I have much content to write about in the coming weeks!

I have received many emails while I was away, and many were related to availability of my safaris and workshops in 2010 and 2011. I will return your emails in the fastest way possible. I am glad to be back home with my family, and will get cracking when I get to the office in the morning.

Friday
Jul172009

Heading back to Africa!

I am heading back to Africa this afternoon for another safari adventure. I am leading a safari for 10 people in the country of Botswana. We will be splitting our time between 3 camps, all in and around the Okavango Delta. I have a 3-day extension to Mombo at the end of the safari, which will certainly be a treat. We have scheduled a decent amount of helicopter time from my friend Peter Perlstein of Okavango Helicopters, and I hope we are able to come home with some great aerial wildlife shots. One can only hope.

I will have no access to email during my safari, so please understand that I will reply to all emails when I return.

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