Bill & Carolyn in Tanzania (Jan 07)
Mar 2nd, 2007, 11:50 AM
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Bill & Carolyn in Tanzania (Jan 07)
Struggling to write up an illustrated trip report from our fabulous northern circuit photo safari to Tanzania the last two weeks of January ... but I have part of it up and maybe with some encouragement I'll find the motivation to finish the darn thing.
I have this on a separate web page with a description of each day's game drive and about 10-12 low rez images for each session. Kind of struggling to make sense of all the data but hopefully you can follow it ...
I only have the Lake Manyara 'daily reports' up thus far, with Ndutu and Ngorongoro Crater to follow soon, so here's a start ...
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/ta..._january_2007/
Highlights of this part of the trip were the double leopard sighting, the birds (especially the flamingos, ground hornbills and Narina trogon) and the elephants.
Enjoy! More to come soon, I'll just update this thread as additional links are activated.
Bill
I have this on a separate web page with a description of each day's game drive and about 10-12 low rez images for each session. Kind of struggling to make sense of all the data but hopefully you can follow it ...
I only have the Lake Manyara 'daily reports' up thus far, with Ndutu and Ngorongoro Crater to follow soon, so here's a start ...
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/ta..._january_2007/
Highlights of this part of the trip were the double leopard sighting, the birds (especially the flamingos, ground hornbills and Narina trogon) and the elephants.
Enjoy! More to come soon, I'll just update this thread as additional links are activated.
Bill
Mar 2nd, 2007, 12:56 PM
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Michael - I'll tell you (and everyone) this because Bill won't. He knows what makes (and how to make) outstanding photos. They (Bill and Carolyn) would have made great photos with most any capable photo gear.
regards - tom
regards - tom
Mar 2nd, 2007, 01:14 PM
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Tom, I recognize that excellent photos are largely (99%) the product of an excellent, skilled photographer, but I was hoping to get a sense of lens size and if the photos are cropped. My longest lens is only 400mm, and I don't get nearly as close on birds (unless I'm directly beneath their perch). No safari for me, though, this year, so I have time to practice (maybe on grizzly bears that I hope to see in Alaska in July).
Michael
Michael
Mar 2nd, 2007, 02:57 PM
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<b>can you remind me what equipment you use.</b>
I should put a link to this info on the main Africa page (note to self) ... anyway, Canon dSLR (three different models), mostly the 500 f/4 lens.
Typically with a 1.4x converter, so 700 mm optically. Mostly with the 1D Mark II so another 1.3x crop, which makes it about 900 mm in terms of 35 mm bodies.
The long lens with relatively wide aperture helps separate the subject from the background.
Getting the early or late light really helps too, both for the color and the light angle. We never eat breakfast at the lodge and all the best cat photos (except a couple of cheetahs) were taken between 7 and 8:30 AM, about the time most people are eating breakfast.
You said you had a 400 ... you can get this kind of background separation with the 400 f/2.8 but probably not with the 400 f/5.6 (which we also had on this trip for birds-in-flight).
Also you said you were going to Alaska for grizz ... good luck with that, we used to go there every fall, to Denali and Katmai ... here are a couple of favorite shots from those trips ...
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/yogi.jpg (I was wading in the river at Brooks when this one approached me ... he turned at about 10 ft ...)
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/T9D4036_grizz.jpg (Denali ... unfortunately the lodge we used at Denali now charges more for one week than it cost us for 12 days in Tanzania
Good luck up there ... we miss Alaska.
Bill
I should put a link to this info on the main Africa page (note to self) ... anyway, Canon dSLR (three different models), mostly the 500 f/4 lens.
Typically with a 1.4x converter, so 700 mm optically. Mostly with the 1D Mark II so another 1.3x crop, which makes it about 900 mm in terms of 35 mm bodies.
The long lens with relatively wide aperture helps separate the subject from the background.
Getting the early or late light really helps too, both for the color and the light angle. We never eat breakfast at the lodge and all the best cat photos (except a couple of cheetahs) were taken between 7 and 8:30 AM, about the time most people are eating breakfast.
You said you had a 400 ... you can get this kind of background separation with the 400 f/2.8 but probably not with the 400 f/5.6 (which we also had on this trip for birds-in-flight).
Also you said you were going to Alaska for grizz ... good luck with that, we used to go there every fall, to Denali and Katmai ... here are a couple of favorite shots from those trips ...
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/yogi.jpg (I was wading in the river at Brooks when this one approached me ... he turned at about 10 ft ...)
http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/T9D4036_grizz.jpg (Denali ... unfortunately the lodge we used at Denali now charges more for one week than it cost us for 12 days in Tanzania
Good luck up there ... we miss Alaska.
Bill
Mar 2nd, 2007, 03:37 PM
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I saw the whole spectrum of ground hornbill shots with the grasshoper in different stages of suspension. Plus one meal of caterpillar.
The last young elephant surrounded by trunk and tail was wonderful.
So many good shots.
The last young elephant surrounded by trunk and tail was wonderful.
So many good shots.
Mar 2nd, 2007, 04:19 PM
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Bill, yes, I will be in Denali and Katmai (Brooks Lodge was booked when I planned my trip, so I am flying in for the day from Anchorage), and also visiting Kenai Fjords NP. I need to buy some new glass before I depart.
Mar 5th, 2007, 06:52 PM
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Okay, if encouragement might provide motivation....
COME ON BILL..... I've finished it all already. It normally takes me days to get that far through a trip report. I finished yours in one sitting and I want more... right now. This is excellent. It's more like reading a rather good "coffee table" book than a normal trip report.
COME ON BILL..... I've finished it all already. It normally takes me days to get that far through a trip report. I finished yours in one sitting and I want more... right now. This is excellent. It's more like reading a rather good "coffee table" book than a normal trip report.
Mar 6th, 2007, 12:00 PM
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OK, half of the Ndutu game drives are now up so go to the link at the top of this thread and when it's open click the 'ndutu' link to see them.
These cover the drive from Manyara to Ndutu, our first cheetah at Ndutu (losing his prey to a hyena), our first 30 lions, the morning with five cheetahs and of course many bird shots.
You tend to remember the highlights and fast-forward past the slow days but writing this up game-drive-by-game-drive reminded me that there were indeed a few slow afternoons
This is the half-way point in the trip. Still to come are the mouse-catching serval, honey badgers, a trip to a Maasai village, the jeep that got stuck in the mud, seventy more lions (!!) and 13 more cheetahs.
Bill
These cover the drive from Manyara to Ndutu, our first cheetah at Ndutu (losing his prey to a hyena), our first 30 lions, the morning with five cheetahs and of course many bird shots.
You tend to remember the highlights and fast-forward past the slow days but writing this up game-drive-by-game-drive reminded me that there were indeed a few slow afternoons
This is the half-way point in the trip. Still to come are the mouse-catching serval, honey badgers, a trip to a Maasai village, the jeep that got stuck in the mud, seventy more lions (!!) and 13 more cheetahs.
Bill
Mar 6th, 2007, 04:45 PM
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Outstanding photos as always. And fun read. If we gave an Oscar for trip reports, you would have it. I also like your discussion of light in the photos, too many people think photos are only about subject matter. Thanks again.
regards - tom
regards - tom
Mar 6th, 2007, 06:41 PM
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<b>how many birds did you see on the trip?</b>
Matt, we are not actually 'birders' in the sense that we keep a life list or even a trip list so in truth I don't know how many species we saw this trip, sorry. We didn't even have binocs with us.
All of the bird photos were taken from the roof of the jeep while we were driving around looking for other stuff (except for the day we went for flamingos) ... we kept a keen eye on the brush and simply stopped for a moment whenever we saw a bird we thought we could shoot. Pretty haphazard I'm afraid.
The guide we used is an excellent birder and last March he led a group of serious birders that saw IIRC 443 species in two weeks but they hit a couple of other habitats specifically to boost the list.
If I had to guess I'd say we may have ID'ed only 125-150 species this trip (a good morning's work for a more serious birder). Could have been 20 or so higher if we had access to the marshy area at Manyara, which were flooded out.
Bill
Matt, we are not actually 'birders' in the sense that we keep a life list or even a trip list so in truth I don't know how many species we saw this trip, sorry. We didn't even have binocs with us.
All of the bird photos were taken from the roof of the jeep while we were driving around looking for other stuff (except for the day we went for flamingos) ... we kept a keen eye on the brush and simply stopped for a moment whenever we saw a bird we thought we could shoot. Pretty haphazard I'm afraid.
The guide we used is an excellent birder and last March he led a group of serious birders that saw IIRC 443 species in two weeks but they hit a couple of other habitats specifically to boost the list.
If I had to guess I'd say we may have ID'ed only 125-150 species this trip (a good morning's work for a more serious birder). Could have been 20 or so higher if we had access to the marshy area at Manyara, which were flooded out.
Bill
