May 2009 Namibia Photo Safaris

Ok. The last time I announced a Namibia safari, I had 20 people email me within a few hours of the announcement. Unfortunately, I only had 11 spots available on the trip. This time around I will have two Namibia safaris that will be back-to-back trips, and both will overlap slightly with the itinerary. So here are the details:

Namibia: The Northern and the Central
May 9-19, 2009
Leaders: Andy Biggs and John Paul Caponigro

AND

Namibia: The Central and the South

May 19-27, 2009
Leader: Andy Biggs

These Namibia safaris will differ in a few ways, with one location (Sossusvlei) being included on both safaris. The first safari with John Paul will have 3 main locations: the remote landscapes of the Skeleton Coast, the Himba tribe and dunes/mountains of Serra Cafema, and the towering dunes and dead trees of Sossusvlei. The second safari will have 3 main locations, as well: The deserted mining town of Kolmanskop, the Mars-like landscape of Wolwedans and the Namib Rand, and the towering dunes of Sossusvlei. If you have a measurable interest in either or both of these safaris, please let me know right away, as I anticipate these trips to be booked up quickly. Please email me at info@andybiggs.com for signup details.

Kolmanskop, Namibia

Kolmanskop, Namibia

Skeleton Coast of Namibia

 

 

Sossusvlei

 

Dead Vlei

Photo of the Day

Kicker Rock, Galapagos Islands, May 2007

Canon EOS 1DsMkII, 16-35mm

Blurred Panning Techniques « Photo Weblog - photography tips, tricks and camera help

1) Choose a clear, uncluttered background. Try to use uncluttered backgrounds in your composition. This will help focus the viewer's attention on your panned subject, as opposed to the background. However, sometimes it is beneficial to include more background in your composition, as this helps convey a sense of location.

Canon EOS 1D MkII, 100-400mm at 400mm, ISO 160, f/32 @ 1/10 second.

2) Zoom lenses are more flexible. I like to use the Canon 100-400mm for my blurred pans. Why? Because it offers the ability to zoom in and zoom out, helping me frame my subject better. The lens is also considered a 'slow' lens at f/4.5-5.6. Slow lenses are also valuable because they usually allow you to stop down to f/32 or f/40. This is important, because if you have ample light, you might have difficulty reaching slow enough shutter speeds at ISO 100 and f/22. With the ability to stop down even more, you can often obtain shutter speeds in the 1/4 second range.

Canon EOS 1D MkII, 100-400mm at 300mm, ISO 100, f/32 @ 1/10 second.

Canon EOS 5D, 400mm f/4 DO + 1.4x, ISO 400, f/45 @ 1/6 second.

4) Choose the right shutter speed. Depending on your subject, you will find that shutter speeds ranging from 1/60 to over 1/2 of a second can be used. I try to have the subject's main torso, neck and head as sharp as I can, while leaving the legs blurred. The appropriate shutter speed changes for each animal. For example, giraffes, wildebeest and hyena have longer front legs, which makes their neck and head bob up and down. This makes longer shutter speeds more difficult.

 

 

Canon EOS 5D, 500mm f/4 L IS, ISO 160, f/32 @ 1/8 second.

5) Follow through. When focusing and panning on a subject, be sure to follow through with your panning movement. With slower shutter speeds, this is extremely important, as you are creating horizontal lines of movement within your photograph. You also need to pan at the same speed as your subject. Choose an area on your subject, and focus your camera on that particular area. Now follow through, while maintaining that particular focus point on that area.

 

 

Canon EOS 10D, 300mm f/4 L IS + 1.4x, ISO 100, f/16 @ 1/50 second.

6) Practice practice practice. My family has adopted 2 retired racing greyhounds, and I frequently use them as my practice subjects. Whenever I purchase a new camera, I will test the new camera on my greyounds in either a park or our back yard. Try this yourself. You can even practice with passing cars.

Photo of the Day

Leopard on a rock, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

October 2007
Canon 1DsMkII, 500mm f/4 + 1.4x, 1/500 sec @ f/8, ISO 500

How big is your rat?

I like to look back at my photographic journey every now and then, and why I am where I am today. I mean, I left a successful career in the software consulting industry, so why would I give up a steady job with a decent paycheck every 2 weeks? The question has many different answers for me, but the late Galen Rowell had a way of explaining why some climbers were better than others. It is all about the rat that lives inside of you.

"The phrase was coined by working class British climbers to account why some of them become so much more successful than others. The public believes that climbers who scale remote mountains, like published photographers must have greater inate talent and skill than their lesser companions, but this is not the case. The rat refers to the voracious creature gnawing at a person's stomach from the inside that drives him or her to repeatedly leave the comforts and security of civilized life to challenge him or herself in the natural world. Without a big rat, a person stays at home with the family and is content to be a shopkeeper."

-an exerpt from The Inner Game of Outdoor Photography by Galen Rowell

I realized that I had many different rats that lived inside of me. I knew that I had a desire for adventure in my life, and that I would go to my grave having regrets if this adventure rat wasn't fed. I had an inner voice that kept telling me that my life could be so much more than what it was at the time. I started my photographic safari business when I still had a full time job. I was working for a UK-based software company, and as a result I did have more vacation time than the average working American. I used this time off to my advantage, and in the beginning I spent all of my vacation time of 4 weeks in Africa each year. So I decided to lead 2 safaris each year, and this worked out very well for a few years. But the rat was getting bigger inside, and it needed to be fed. Fast forward a few years, and Leslie and I were expecting the birth of our baby boy. My travel schedule was extremely hectic, and I knew that this would be disruptive as a parent. Leslie would be disappointed with my travel schedule, and there had to be a better way to live my life.

It was at the 6-month pregnancy point when we (yes, we) decided that I would turn my photographic safari and workshop business into a full time (more than full time!) job. Well, I haven't looked back. But again the rat keeps eating away for more. So now this leads to the starting of a niche photographic product, which I will begin marketing and selling in early 2008. With one challenge under my belt, I am starting another one. The move from full time employee to self employed was a huge leap of faith, and I am a better person because of it. I am by nature a very risk averse person. However, there is a difference between calculated risk and being reckless. I like to think that my situation has all been about the former.

So I have to ask, what is *your* rat?

Photo of the Day

Running Elephant, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Canon 1DsMkII, 500mm f/4, 1/5 sec @ f/32, ISO 50

Botswana safari announcement. Now accepting signups

I have a safari planned to Botswana next April, 2008. If you are interested in wonderful photography in an intimate setting, perhaps this is the safari for you. As this safari is only five months away, please contact me as soon as you have a measurable interest in joining this exciting trip. Click on the link below for more information.

April 2008 Botswana Photographic Safari

Safari highlights:

* This safari offers superb game viewing and photographic opportunities in some of the best areas in Southern Africa.

* This itinerary focuses on a real wildlife experience from the surroundings of your private, 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 one of the leading guides in Botswana.

* A highlight is the opportunity to photograph the wildlife and landscape of the Okavango Delta from a helicopter.

Photo of the Day

Fallen Trees, Rocky Mountain National Park
Canon EOS 1DMkII, 16-35mm f/2.8 L, 1/2 sec @ f/20, Singh Ray 3-stop soft ND graduated filter