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

Botswana trip report - Rob Martin

The Crazy Kiwi, Rob Martin

Rob Martin, aka 'The Crazy Kiwi', has posted a great trip report from our April 2008 Botswana safari. Our safari consisted of 6 travelers plus myself, and was a 100% camping trip. We camped in two different locations in and around the Okavango Delta, and also spent some time doing aerial photography from a helicopter.

Rob's Botswana trip report on his web site, 1Ds.com.

And Rob's images on his pbase account.

Rob on his 'perch', waiting to take a photograph of an elusive sitatunga.

Okavango Delta, Botswana. April 2008.

Nikon D3x arrived

The joy of a child receiving an unexpected gift (a new playset)

Nikon D3x, 85mm f/1.4, 1/250 @ f/2.8, ISO 200

I have been shooting around with the D3x for the past couple of days, and there is much for me to learn about Nikon digital SLR's, for sure. As a very broad statement, the files look very similar to those from my 1DsMk3 camera bodies (I will be selling two of them if you are interested in buying one). The noise is not objectionable until you get to ISO 3200, and even then you can still work with noise reduction tools to get it back in check.

I have not had the chance to take a meaningful landscape or nature photograph yet, and I haven't had the chance to print anything off. My goal is to always be able to produce the largest prints possible, as I often sell 20x30, 24x36 and perhaps 30x45" prints. After using the Canon 1DsMkIII, the Canon 5DMkII, the Sony A900 and now the Nikon D3x, I can tell you that there is nothing to not like about any of these cameras. We all have different requirements in a camera, and budget is usually a large part of the selection of a camera. I am in the process of selling all of my Canon gear, which is freeing up some funds for me to buy exactly what I need for my camera gear. I had accumulated some lenses and other accessories from Canon that weren't used very much, and my new system is going to be lean and mean and with purpose.

I have also tried out some Sony gear lately, and there may be some Sony gear in my bag very soon, as well.

2008 in Review, and looking forward to 2009

I have been reflecting back on 2008 today, as well as making some plans for 2009. As I look back on 2008, some amazing things happened for me both personally and professionally. Here are some of the high points:

• At the top of the list, the birth of our second son, Will, in June. We are now blessed to have two beautiful young boys (both still in diapers. Oh joy).
• I spent a little less time in Africa in 2008, but I still managed to spend quality safari time in Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. I spent 8 weeks out on safari in 2008, and 2009 will be around 11 weeks.
• I finally launched Gura Gear, a camera bag company for those who want a fully functional and lightweight camera bag. The launch of Gura Gear was a big relief for me, as we started working on our first bag design back in late 2005. After many many prototypes, I think we nailed it. We have a bag that can carry a ton of camera gear, but is a feather-light 4 pounds.
• Banana Republic used 13 of my photographs as store decor in all of their clothing stores worldwide. The images were used on billboards, in their annual report and on just about any other communication you can think of. Working with them and their PR firm was about as fun as it can get in the photo licensing world. They flew me to San Francisco for their LUXE shopping event when the summer season kicked off, and we gave away signed posters for those who made a purchase that evening. Click here for the event photos on my blog. And click here for photos of the Banana Republic flagship store.
• One of my images won the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wild Places category. Out of more than 34,000 entries this year, only about 10 were selected as category winners. Leslie and I flew to London to be a part of the awards dinner, and met some amazing people along the way. Leslie and I also celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on the trip.
• I moved my office out of my house and into a 'real' office building. What makes the move nice is I no longer have to apologize for a screaming child in the background when I am on the phone. And the office is only 2 minutes away from the house. I went from a 13x13 foot spare bedroom to 500 square feet, split between two rooms. I was able to increase my printing capabilities with a Canon iPF 8100 44" wide format printer, as well as I am now able to mat my own prints. My having the ability to mat my own prints really makes me happy, because I can ship prints that are flat and not curled in shipping tubes. The unboxing experience is much better, and I think the presentation of the prints is also much better. I suspect I will be looking for more office space in 2009, as 500 square feet is turning out to be a little on the small side.
• I hired an awesome assistant, Chris Bailey, and he has helped my business tremendously. Chris helps me with all of my printing needs, mat cutting, copyright submissions, scanning of film and just about anything else I need help with. I need to learn how to delegate more, though, and this is something I need to do a better job of in 2009.
• I spent more time learning Sony and Nikon digital equipment, in an effort to better understand my customers' needs. It has been an eye opening experience, to say the least. I purchased some Nikon gear, as I was most interested in using their 200-400mm f/4 VR lens. I am definitely becoming a more agnostic photographer when it comes to camera equipment. I don't care which label is on it, as long as the equipment meets my needs and allows me to capture the images I need.
• I photographed polar bears for the first time, and I did it with one of the best groups of travelers one could ever hope for. The group was mostly made up of past safari travelers, and we laughed the entire time. Sony loaned my group a pair of their new 24mp A900 cameras, along with some of their best lenses. Thanks, Sony!
• Three other photographers started helping me lead photographic safaris in Africa, Bruce Dorn, Chris Gamel and Dana Allen. With their support I am now able to offer more photographic safaris each year in Africa. My limit has been around 6 safaris each year, as I don't want to be away from home any more than that. By adding Bruce, Chris and Dana to my safari schedule, I am able to offer more safaris each year. You can see our crazy schedules on my Safaris and Workshops page.

So what is up for 2009? Here are a few bullet points:

• More safaris! I will spend 3 weeks in Tanzania in January, 3 weeks in Namibia in May, 2.5 weeks in Botswana in July and 2 weeks in Tanzania in October. These are all going to be wonderful safaris and for different reasons. Tanzania in January for the wildebeest calving season, Namibia in May for the best landscapes on the planet, July in Botswana for a more private safari experience and October in Tanzania for hiking with wild chimpanzees.
• I need to get organized, and I need to hire somebody to help me stay organized. Gura Gear is going to take a ton of my time, and I need somebody to help me with accounting, phone support, email support and perhaps a few trade shows.
• More office space!! I need more space so I can take product photos for Gura Gear in-house.
• More Gura Gear products. More info to come........
• I need a personal project. All photographers need a personal project, and that project needs to be something with a definite goal at the end. My brain works in weird ways, and I am a very analytical person (accounting background) and also a very creative person. Some extreme left brain / right brain action going on, and I have a burning desire to create. When I say create I mean really create something that is unique, fulfilling, no expectation of monetary reward and lets me learn new things about myself and my craft.
• I want to continue creating more black and white images. When I started working in black and white I found that I am more proud of my images, and I have to keep that ball rolling.
• Be the absolute best father and husband that I can be. My sons are going to really need me more and more as they get older, and my travel schedule makes that even more difficult. When I am home, I need to remind myself that work will always be there, and to make sure that I have quality time with my family every single day of the week.

So what are your goals for 2009?