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**Harryb** · Oct-21-2011, 12:24 PM #1

As a young tadpole I read Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa and Robert Ruark's Horn of the Hunter and acquired a lifelong fascination with Africa. As I grew up and started working and raising a family the dream of actually visiting Africa myself faded into the background replaced by more immediate concerns.

Last year I decided that it was time to see if the childhood dream could become a reality. I told Linda that we should do it now before we entered the Rascal and adult diaper stage and amazingly she agreed. I started a thread in the Wildlife Forum asking for any info anyone could share on Africa. That night I got an e-mail from Andy saying that he and Marc had just decided to do a workshop in Africa in 2011. Serendipity

After 13 months or so of preparation the time finally came so I loaded up Linda

Flew to NYC, then London and finally Nairobi dealing with every indignity and foul-up the various airlines threw at us.

In Nairobi we boarded Air Muench for our flight to Lewa Downs

After about an hour or so I got my first glance of Lewa Downs from the air.

from the airstrip we were driven to Wilderness Trails

at Wilderness Trails we experienced some of the safari hardships that Hemingway and Ruark wrote about.

it was hell.

Andy discovers the horses I paid to leave a deposit by his doorway

After unpacking we headed out for a first drive into the bush. Andy told us to wear neutral colors so as not to scare off the wildlife. Unfortunately the local Maasai didn't get Andy's message

back to the bush

sometimes dreams become real.

to be continued ......

***DavidTO*** · Oct-21-2011, 02:04 PM #2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harryb

to be continued ......

I sure hope so. Fantastic so far, Harry. And congrats on fulfilling your dream!

Andy · Oct-21-2011, 02:11 PM #3

so so good, can't wait to see all of your pics, Harry!
PS: don't forget, Linda has all the food pics and oh so much more :)

jww · Oct-21-2011, 02:20 PM #4

Amazing stuff! Can't wait to see more!

(subscribed!)

FlyNavy · Oct-21-2011, 03:07 PM #5

WOW!!! Stunning photos!

Zanotti · Oct-21-2011, 04:08 PM #6

Just wow, to all of you who went. Perfect!

Z

jwear · Oct-21-2011, 06:06 PM #7

Documented very well [dam good work] has Linda ask you to remodel you bedroom yet that tent was not bad if only you had a view Looks like you dream came true

Jeffro · Oct-21-2011, 06:16 PM #8

Looking pretty good thus far.

rainbow · Oct-21-2011, 06:49 PM #9

Wonderful start. Looking forward to more...

***kdog*** · Oct-21-2011, 06:54 PM #10

Holy cow, can't wait for the rest!!

Snowgirl · Oct-22-2011, 02:06 AM #11

Beautiful. What an amazing experience you all had. That elephant shot is stunning!

FarnsworthPhotography · Oct-23-2011, 12:13 AM #12

Love the one of the elephant! Can't wait to see more!

**Harryb** · Oct-23-2011, 07:06 AM #13

After getting unpacked at Wilderness Trails in Lewa Downs we started what would become the routine for the rest of the trip. Normally we set out before sunrise on a game drive, took a lunch break midday followed by a critique session or learning session with Marc and Andy then in the late afternoon we would do another drive till after sunset.

Driving down the road

setting up for sunrise

Marc did a session on painting with light

A session on flash was tried but it got to be too dark on the cliff but the bar had been set up so.....

We managed to get in a few wildlife captures

a big thrill was finding a cheetah and her two cubs

dispute resolution water buffalo style

the ability to get close to the wildlife afforded us some wonderful photo ops

more later

angevin1 · Oct-23-2011, 07:22 AM #14

Love the Storyline, keep it coming! I wanted to hear about the trip from the clients perspective most of all. Interesting so far. I know you had good reach lenses, but you folks were right on top of them!

pmaxwell · Oct-23-2011, 09:44 AM #15

Amazing images!!

Awais Yaqub · Oct-23-2011, 03:05 PM #16

great, more please.

Y_Knot · Oct-23-2011, 04:06 PM #17

I'm sitting on the edge of my seat reading this ! More please.

**Harryb** · Oct-23-2011, 05:12 PM #18

During our stay at Lewa Down we started to do some aerial photography. Air Muench had a Cessna C206 and they would take the door off it and two photographers would be able to shoot away as the pilot flew us over the area.

The C206

Now this all seems fairly simple and it should have been. However one of our party decided to go up for the optional ride in Wilderness Trail's biplane.

That person, of course, was Andy. Before I got on the Cessna Andy told me to be sure to get some good shots of him in the biplane. Now I want to get captures of the landscape, the wildlfe, etc. I really don't want to get a bunch of pictures of some bloody biplane. The problem was Andy. If Andy doesn't get what he wants he sulks. Andy sulking is just not pretty.

So we took off and I found out that Andy wasn't taking any chances. It seemed that every time I looked out the door there was that bloody biplane

I looked down

I found some wildlife

I did manage to sneak in a few non-biplane captures (not easy).

but usually i saw ....... (where is Baron von Richtoven when you really need him?)

MakeMeShutter · Oct-24-2011, 03:12 AM #19

That yellow biplane is stunning!
Love this story, the pictures are certainly a treat!

Andy · Oct-24-2011, 03:18 AM #20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harryb

So we took off and I found out that Andy wasn't taking any chances. It seemed that every time I looked out the door there was that bloody biplane

Here are you and Marc shooting me, not easy from the biplane, shooting blind, camera over my head


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Oct-21-2011, 12:24 PM #1
Harryb ^OP old and lazy Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 22,541	African Dream As a young tadpole I read Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa and Robert Ruark's Horn of the Hunter and acquired a lifelong fascination with Africa. As I grew up and started working and raising a family the dream of actually visiting Africa myself faded into the background replaced by more immediate concerns. Last year I decided that it was time to see if the childhood dream could become a reality. I told Linda that we should do it now before we entered the Rascal and adult diaper stage and amazingly she agreed. I started a thread in the Wildlife Forum asking for any info anyone could share on Africa. That night I got an e-mail from Andy saying that he and Marc had just decided to do a workshop in Africa in 2011. Serendipity After 13 months or so of preparation the time finally came so I loaded up Linda Flew to NYC, then London and finally Nairobi dealing with every indignity and foul-up the various airlines threw at us. In Nairobi we boarded Air Muench for our flight to Lewa Downs After about an hour or so I got my first glance of Lewa Downs from the air. from the airstrip we were driven to Wilderness Trails at Wilderness Trails we experienced some of the safari hardships that Hemingway and Ruark wrote about. it was hell. Andy discovers the horses I paid to leave a deposit by his doorway After unpacking we headed out for a first drive into the bush. Andy told us to wear neutral colors so as not to scare off the wildlife. Unfortunately the local Maasai didn't get Andy's message back to the bush sometimes dreams become real. to be continued ...... __________________ Harry http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"

Oct-21-2011, 02:11 PM #3
Andy panasonikon Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York Posts: 59,978	so so good, can't wait to see all of your pics, Harry! PS: don't forget, Linda has all the food pics and oh so much more :) __________________ Andy Moon River Photography • Workshops • Google+ • Facebook • Twitter

Oct-21-2011, 02:20 PM #4
jww UniverseUnderConstruction Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 437	Amazing stuff! Can't wait to see more! (subscribed!) __________________ jww - www.jwwPhotos.com - www.jwwWebDesign.smugmug.com

Oct-21-2011, 03:07 PM #5
FlyNavy John L Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 1,106	WOW!!! Stunning photos! __________________ http://jmledy.com/ http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003085685580

Oct-21-2011, 04:08 PM #6
Zanotti Improving Daily Join Date: May 2004 Location: Malvern, PA Posts: 1,375	Just wow, to all of you who went. Perfect! Z __________________ It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he is potentially. We should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through the world we inhabit.

Oct-21-2011, 06:06 PM #7
jwear learning now shoot & cuss Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: LOS ANGELES Posts: 7,789	Documented very well [dam good work] has Linda ask you to remodel you bedroom yet that tent was not bad if only you had a view Looks like you dream came true __________________ Jeff W “PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE ‘JAZZ’ FOR THE EYES…” http://jwear.smugmug.com/

Oct-21-2011, 06:16 PM #8
Jeffro I'd rather be shooting... Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,822	Looking pretty good thus far. __________________ Always lurking, sometimes participating. :D

Oct-21-2011, 06:49 PM #9
rainbow Major grins Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,727	Wonderful start. Looking forward to more...

Oct-21-2011, 06:54 PM #10
*kdog* artistically challenged Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 8,777	Holy cow, can't wait for the rest!! __________________ Moderator of Landscapes forum Link to my Smugmug site

Oct-22-2011, 02:06 AM #11
Snowgirl Major grins Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Picadilly, NB, Canada Posts: 2,143	Beautiful. What an amazing experience you all had. That elephant shot is stunning! __________________ Creating visual and verbal images that resonate with you. http://www.imagesbyceci.com http://www.facebook.com/ImagesByCeci Picadilly, NB, Canada

Oct-23-2011, 12:13 AM #12
FarnsworthPhotography Major grins Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Newport News, Va Posts: 403	Love the one of the elephant! Can't wait to see more! __________________ Website: http://www.admitphotography.com Facebook - Twitter Nikon D200, D80, SB600, nikon 50mm 1.8, nikon 18-135 3.5-4.6, nikon 70-200

Oct-23-2011, 03:05 PM #16
Awais Yaqub One Inspired soul Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Pakistan /Islamabad Posts: 10,266	great, more please. __________________ My Website \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Buy Print & Save life \| Blog Thine is the beauty of light; mine is the song of fire. Thy beauty exalts the heart; my song inspires the soul ---iqbal

Oct-23-2011, 07:06 AM #13
Harryb ^OP old and lazy Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 22,541	After getting unpacked at Wilderness Trails in Lewa Downs we started what would become the routine for the rest of the trip. Normally we set out before sunrise on a game drive, took a lunch break midday followed by a critique session or learning session with Marc and Andy then in the late afternoon we would do another drive till after sunset. Driving down the road setting up for sunrise Marc did a session on painting with light A session on flash was tried but it got to be too dark on the cliff but the bar had been set up so..... We managed to get in a few wildlife captures a big thrill was finding a cheetah and her two cubs dispute resolution water buffalo style the ability to get close to the wildlife afforded us some wonderful photo ops more later __________________ Harry http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"

Oct-23-2011, 07:22 AM #14
angevin1 Performs as designed Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: G E O R G I A Posts: 3,385	Love the Storyline, keep it coming! I wanted to hear about the trip from the clients perspective most of all. Interesting so far. I know you had good reach lenses, but you folks were right on top of them! __________________ tom wise http://3wisestudio.com http://tomwisephotos.com

Oct-23-2011, 09:44 AM #15
pmaxwell Major grins Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 128	Amazing images!! __________________ Google+ - Facebook - SmugMug Pete

Oct-23-2011, 04:06 PM #17
Y_Knot Just Grinning Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: NC Posts: 55	I'm sitting on the edge of my seat reading this ! More please.

Oct-23-2011, 05:12 PM #18
Harryb ^OP old and lazy Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 22,541	During our stay at Lewa Down we started to do some aerial photography. Air Muench had a Cessna C206 and they would take the door off it and two photographers would be able to shoot away as the pilot flew us over the area. The C206 Now this all seems fairly simple and it should have been. However one of our party decided to go up for the optional ride in Wilderness Trail's biplane. That person, of course, was Andy. Before I got on the Cessna Andy told me to be sure to get some good shots of him in the biplane. Now I want to get captures of the landscape, the wildlfe, etc. I really don't want to get a bunch of pictures of some bloody biplane. The problem was Andy. If Andy doesn't get what he wants he sulks. Andy sulking is just not pretty. So we took off and I found out that Andy wasn't taking any chances. It seemed that every time I looked out the door there was that bloody biplane I looked down I found some wildlife I did manage to sneak in a few non-biplane captures (not easy). but usually i saw ....... (where is Baron von Richtoven when you really need him?) __________________ Harry http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"

Oct-24-2011, 03:12 AM #19
MakeMeShutter Major grins Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 278	That yellow biplane is stunning! Love this story, the pictures are certainly a treat! __________________ Shawn Kraus Photo - Imagination For Your Walls