Off for Africa

Well, I am off for Namibia and Botswana in the morning. I will respond to emails when I return, and I won't have access to my emails at any time during these two back-to-back safaris.

Photo of the Day

Helicopter Time

Canon 1DsMkIII, 15mm fisheye

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana, April 2008

Here is the helicopter we use in Botswana. It is a Jet Ranger 2-blade configuration, and Peter Perlstein the pilot is one of the most professional people in the business. He also tells great bush stories. When we fly with him, we are able to take the doors off, and 3 photographers can shoot at a time. Each photographer has his/her own spot to shoot from, all with fantastic views. In my own experience, a minimum of 1/1000 shutter speed is required to pull off a sharp image. 4-rotor helicopters might be less, but 1/1000 is a safe place to be if you can pull it off. Shutter speed priority should be used over aperture priority, or full manual mode if you are comfortable with it. In my experience shutter speed priority is better than manual mode because the light is always changing. I prefer to use 2 cameras, something like a 24-70 or 24-105mm on one camera and a 70-200mm on the other.

A toast to the future from Banana Republic

Here is a nice article on Banana Republic worth reading:

A Toast to the future from Banana Republic

"Last year, BR launched a three-year in-store art programme of selected artists’ works to be displayed in all its stores throughout the United States.

Notable artists who have received BR’s patronage since 1995 include the late Alberto Giacometti, Yoko Ono, Richard Serra and David Hockney, and photographers Annie Leibowitz and Andy Biggs....."

....."Its most recent artistically driven global-scale project was the summer 2008 advertising campaign when it collaborated with safari photographer Biggs."

Of packing and weight limits

I am working on my packing list tonight for my upcoming back to back Namibia and Botswana safaris, and I have a few reflections on the matter.

First off, I have a difficult time believing that most travelers can work with the standard 33 pound weight limit that most bush planes limit us to. I never use 33 pounds as a limit for my own safaris, as we always charter our own aircraft to raise that number to a minimum of 66 pounds or even higher. 33 pounds is difficult if you take 3 changes of clothes, a pair of binoculars, personal items and a small amount of camera gear like an SLR and a lens or two. Suddenly 33 pounds isn't much at all.

66 pounds isn't much better when you consider that a typical safari photographer likely has a long lens (400mm, 500mm or 600mm), 2 cameras, a few more lenses, a flash, a monopod or tripod and a laptop computer. That is pretty much 30 to 40 pounds right there, excluding the second bag that holds the laptop. You get up to 66 pounds very quickly.

I am going through my packing list over and over again, and I have a hard time getting under 66 pounds without making serious compromises. I can accomplish it if I move down from my Gitzo 3540 tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead down to a Gitzo 1258 with a BH-40 ballhead. That alone saves at least 5 pounds. Last time I was in Namibia in 2006 I wish I had a more substantial tripod, as placing a small-ish tripod in the sand in moderate winds yielded some fuzzy images.

When I am in Tanzania the weight restrictions can be controlled a little more, as we often use two Cessna Caravans to shuttle us around. Distribute 12 to 15 people between those two aircraft and suddenly you have *plenty* of weight allowance. In Namibia next week we will have a Cessna Caravan for the 12 of us and a Cessna C206 for some of our luggage. This really does help, but it still only yields around 66 pounds per person. Total.

Next July in Botswana we are going to have an absurd amount of weight allowance at 180 pounds per person. I do not recommend using all of that allowance, but the numbers are what they are and it is much better than 66lbs.

I despise carrying tons of gear around, but I always end up doing it. I moved to an Apple Macbook Air this past spring in an attempt to shed some weight. I also bought enough CF cards so that I don't have to download if I don't want to. I usually do, but only when I have the time. The backup serves only as that: a backup to my CF cards. The CF cards never get overwritten during a trip.

I read an article on Luminous Landscape a while back that illustrates how one person packs for their safari. OMG? Are you freaking kidding me? He brings along more unnecessary gear with him to a point that I was laughing out loud. Desktop hard drives? Three of them? They require additional power, and cannot be powered over USB.

Sometimes I honestly think about going out with just a pair of small-ish SLR bodies, like 40D bodies, and a 100-400mm and a 24-105mm. Will I be successful? It depends on what your definition of successful is. I am willing to be that after readjusting my expectations and potential shot list, I could come with images that I would be happy with. After all, my vision is changing these days and I am eagerly seeking out more animal-in-the-landscape type shots, which don't require much focal length to pull off. I could even pack my bags under 33 pounds.

So what I am I actually going to take to Namibia and Botswana? Remember that this is a combination landscape and wildlife trip for me. Here goes:

• Canon 1DsMkIII x 2
• 16-35mm f/2.8 II L
  
• 24-105mm f/4 L IS
• 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS
• 500mm f/4 L IS
  
• 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
• Gura Gear camera bag
  

That's pretty much it. 4 lenses and 2 cameras. I would love to bring my 6x24cm panorama film camera, but it is overkill on this trip. Perhaps next May when I will only be shooting landscapes in Namibia for 3 weeks. No wildlife at all. I am working on a prototpye lens stabilization system right now, and will be testing it out on this safari. Perhaps in a year I will have something worth bringing to market, but it will take some time for me to iron out all of the details to get it right.

Amboseli ivory, bushmeat and dog meat: The Chinese connection

Stories like the one linked below make me sick to my stomach and very angry. Please read and take action.

Ivory, bushmeat, dogmeat: the Chinese connection

Gura Gear update

Just a quick update for those who are waiting to see what Gura Gear is all about. We have received all of our inventory, and are going through some late web site changes that are necessary on the ecommerce front. These changes are necessitating a platform move, and will take a number of weeks to complete. I am also heading out on safari in a few weeks, which will delay a formal launch of guragear.com.

It is very exciting to bring a groundbreaking product to market, and it is also killing me to have to delay that launch a little bit more. Such is the life in a startup company that is made up of pretty much one person.

If you are interested in learning more, you can click on the Gura Gear logo above to go to our web site and sign up to be notified when the site launches.

Photo of the Day

Geronimoooooooooooooooooooo........

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. January 2008.

Canon 1DMkIII, 100-400mm, 1/250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800

Photo Safari 101: Introduction and Where and When to Go?

Safari (se'fa:ri) n., pl. -ris. An overland expedition for hunting or observing animals; esp in Africa. [Swahili - journey]. Collins dictionary.

If you read the above definition of what a safari is, it should be fairly obvious that in the context of all of my writings on the subject I am not referring to the hunting of animals, but rather the observing and photographing of the animals. Before one embarks on booking a safari in Africa, one needs to know a few things. At the top of the list should be identifying what exactly you want out of your safari, and that will lead you to decisions such as where to go, when to go, what outfitters to work with, what means of accommodations, etc.

In the entries to come, I will write about where to go, when to go, how to pack, techniques for photography, techniques for traveling, and any additional information that might be valuable for the photographer who wants to embark on a photographic safari in Africa. All of my writings are of my own, and may not be applicable for all situations. I will attempt to make broad statements, but sometimes I will illustrate using my own experiences or examples along the way. So here goes.

Where to go?

There are many locations in Africa to go on a photographic safari, and here are some recommendations for some of the most popular locations. Safari destinations are often broken out into two different regions of Africa: East Africa and Southern Africa. Below are some of the highlights from each country, and are not meant to represent the entire country as a whole, but rather a quick and easy way of identifying what makes each country unique and different from the others. All of these countries represent amazing opportunities to watch and photograph wildlife, landscapes and people.

East Africa

Tanzania - Home of the most famous national park in Africa, the Serengeti. The Serengeti ecosystem hosts one of the largest wildlife migrations on the planet, often referred to the wildebeest migration, and also the 'greatest show on earth'. In fact this migration is much more than the wildeebeest, totalling more than 1.5 million. The migration is also made up of 200,000 zebras, 360,00 thompson's gazelle and 12,000 eland. Also home to the world's largest intact and unflooded caldera, Ngorongoro Crater. The world's largest game reserve is also found here, the Selous. Mahale Mountains is one of the best known locations for encounters with wild chimpanzees. Also home to the colorful and very photogenic Maasai tribe. There are more than 125 registered tribes in Tanzania alone.

Kenya - The Masai Mara, part of the greater Serengeti / Mara ecosystem, is also home to the wildebeest migration as they cross over from Tanzania in the northern hemisphere's late summer and fall months. Also home to Amboseli, where the iconic image of elephants with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background can be captured.

Uganda - The primary wildlife viewing experience is for its large primates, chimpanzees and mountain gorillas. Gorillas are the primary attraction at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is also a wonderful destination for those who wish to combine a more traditional safari with the gorillas.

Rwanda - Mountain gorilla trekking in their Volcano National Park is by far the most popular activity in Rwanda. Rwanda is enjoying tourism again, and with good reason.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (eastern) - Virunga National Park is home to mountain gorillas, although at the time of this writing rebels are controlling most if not all of the viewing opportunities. I recommend Rwanda or Uganda if you are less 'adventurous'.

Southern Africa

Botswana - Primarily made up of the Kalahari Desert, Botswana has many excellent and remote wildlife viewing areas. The Okavango Delta is an inland flooded delta part of the year, and attracts a wide diversity of game to the area. There are other areas, such as the pans of Nxai Pan National Park and Makgadikgadi Pans game reserve, Linyanti/Kwando, Savute and the rest of the Chobe River region. The San bushmen are residents of the Kalahari, and offer excellent photographic opportunities, as well as true cultural exchanges. Mashatu is another excellent game viewing area that is nestled on the border of South Africa, and is quite often combined with a visit to Mala Mala Game Reserve, as they are both owned and operated by the same family.

Zambia - There are four major wildlife parks, North Luangwa and South Luangwa National Parks, Kafue National Park, and Lower Zambezi National Park. Most safaris tend to concentrate around South Luangwa National Park. Absolutely stellar elephant viewing.

Zimbabwe - There are three main reserves that receive most of the traffic, Hwange National Park (huge elephant population), Matusadona National Park (cape buffalo and elphant) and Mana Pools for its concentration and diversity of wildlife.

Mozambique - The newest wildlife safari destination, and is in the process of developing the Niassa Game Reserve. Niassa is part of the greater Selous ecosystem, and there are studies the indicate significant migration patterns between Selous in Tanzania and Niassa in Mozambique.

Namibia - Home to two different deserts, the Namib and the Kalahari. Home to the tallest sand dunes in the world, the peach colored dunes at Sossusvlei, the Skeleton Coast National Park, the beautiful Himba Tribe, the San bushment and the desert wildlife oasis at Etosha pan.

South Africa - There are many locations to view wildlife in South Africa, and the king of them all is definitely the greater Kruger area. This encompasses Kruger National Park, Mala Mala Game Reserve and the private game reserves that make up the Sabi Sand. There are too many great locations to mention, but South Africa is an excellent safari destination for those who wish for a little less remoteness, who wish for many of the comforts of home and for those who wish to have activities other than going on safari. Madikwe Game Reserve is also an excellent safari location. You can except South Africa to be the best developed country to travel in, which means that self driving is going to be much easier to negotiate.

When to Go on Safari?

This is a subject that is open to much debate, as I often enjoy going on safari during slower months, more wet times of the year and during times when I have a specific goal in mind. With that being said, I think Mark Nolting's 'Africa's Top Wildlife Countries' book has the best summary for when to go on safari. He has also reproduced this cart on the Africa Adventure Company's web site here:

Best Time to go on Safari

Another great resource can be found on the Eyes on Africa web page:

Southern Africa vs. East Africa, which safari region is better?

In summary, there are many different countries, game reserves and national parks that are worth visitng for a photographic safari. All of the above locations will yield excellent photographic opportunities, all with different highlights and features that make each location unique from the next.