.... up there, in the tree! Call the fire brigade.
"What's that red thing coming down my savannah, making all that racket?"
"Darned, I sure don't like coming down ladders, so I'd better leave before they get here."
enjoy being here while getting there
Comments
I hope you were at the zoo, otherwise I'm crossing off wild Africa from my list of places to go, since clearly I can kill two birds with one stone by simply going to the Netherlands.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Nice shots!
You were in Botswana? What else you got?
Regards,
-joel
Link to my Smugmug site
Patience, young grasshopper. It took me half a year to process half the keepers I selected. I think I'll be done in a week or so. Then I'll come up with more, and some info.
Try increasing your swap space. :giggle
Link to my Smugmug site
"exxxxcellent" -C. Montgomery Burns
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www.iceninephotography.com
cheers in advance.:D
Last time was the first time I had with me a DSLR setup. It existed of an Olympus E-1 (gotta love the automatic dust removal when you're changing lenses in the bush), a 14-54 2.8-3.5 (28-108 FOV), a 50-200 2.8-3.5 (100-400 FOV) + 1.4TC (140-560 FOV), a beanbag, 2 1GB cards and 1 2GB card and a 60GB PSD. I had three standard batteries with me, but the guide did bring a power converter so we could charge our batteries at night through the car battery.
On the Olympus SLR forum I wrote some tips, that I'll copy here:
1) Get a fast lens
To shoot wildlife, a high shutter speed is often necessary. To get the best image quality you don't want to get your ISO (a disadvantage of the Oly system...) up too much, so don't count too much on that. Lighting situations on African safari can be quite difficult, and a speedy lens will allow you to use a large aperture setting, to get a high shutter speed. This is probably even more important on safari than elsewhere. Depending on the country you visit, you probably will need to handhold any lens you're using quite a bit. Some safari vehicles have intact roof structures (like in Kenya and Tanzania) that you can use for additional support while standing in the car, but others are open vehicles where the complete roof structre is removed (like in Zambia and Botswana) and you have to shoot handheld while you're seated. This is even more taxing on your shutter speeds, since you'd need to use a speed that (as a rule of thumb) about as fast or faster than the 35mm equivalent of your focal length. I used the 50-200 / EC14 combo, and its reach (140 - 560 35mm equiv) was sufficient for me. The lens also was fast enough, even with the one f-stop penalty the tele extender gives.
2) Prepare: work on your technique
Since handholding the lens will be part of the deal, make sure you've practiced holding it, you've worked on your breating technique, and are able to shoot comfortable with the lens you'll end up with. I practiced a lot with my 50-200 paired to an EC14, and although I'm still very bad at handholding that combo (I'm a coffee addict, and shakey is my middle name), the practicing paid off. Adding a monopod to the mix will be helpful, since often you can use that where you can't use a tripod.
3) Don't just use a tele lens
I've changed lenses on my last trip to Botswana in difficult situations, and ended up with zero dust spots in my shots. The SSWF really works. Sure, you need to take care a bit (don't open up the camera against the wind that blows dusty sand inside your camera body), but you don't need to use just one lens all the time. Make sure you get some African landscapes with a wide lens, since they are simply breathtaking.
4) Don't forget there's a world outside your viewfinder.
Make sure you take the time to take in the African life, other than just staring at it through your viewfinder. A picture can help a great memory, but experiencing being there is unforgettable.
As for the safaris to go on, I don't know what's the best. All I can do is describe my experiences:
* the first time we ever went to Africa, we went on a fly drive, which took us from Cape Town (South Africa) to Windhoek (Namibia), seeing Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei and Ethosha on our trip. If I could do this again, I'd rent a 4x4 (even if they're bloody expensive to rent), since it works better on the all gravel roads in Namibia, and usually has a higher viewpoint than the Toyota Corolla we were in. Trying to spot wildlife in the elephant grass is pretty hard in a regular car.
* the second time, we did a grand tour in Kenya. Excellent way to discover guided safaris. You have less influence on where you're going, but you end up seeing more wildlife, since these guides are in contact with each other and share spotting locations.
* the third time, we did a small tour in Kenya and combined that with a small tour in Tanzania. It was a similar experience as in Kenya. We prolonged our stay in an upmarket bush camp, and we were swamped by the personal attention you got there. Excellent food, and they didn't have a standard program, but listened to your wishes. We were spoiled forever.
* the fourth time, we went to Zambia where we did some walking safaris. I have some images (taken with a Canon Digital Ixus 300 and a Sony DSC-F828) online. This was the second time we were in small bushcamps, and it was a great experience. Spending time in a non-fenced camp, in the middle of the bush, adds another dimension to the whole thing. Also walking safaris are great entertainment. You may not see much of the big cats (hopefully
* the fifth and last time, we went to Botswana. This time we were in tented bushcamps, never staying more than one or two nights at the same spot. We had big walk in tents, and a great cook traveled with us. You can also opt for smaller tents, where you have to do a bit more yourself. But as I said before, we were spoiled before.