20+ cat pics from Tanzania (Jan 07)

Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 10:08 AM
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Bill, I think you undersell yourself. Johan's pictures are absolutely bloody fantastic (and I am envious/ jealous of many of them) yours are, for this one viewer anyways, since these kinds of opinions are so personal, even more fantastic and I think I'd die happy if I had some like that in my portfolio!
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 10:10 AM
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PS Bill, would it be cheeky to ask the same question as Lily - would you (or more rightly, the Mrs) be willing to sell me a copy of that cheetah in motion shot I mentioned above? I can't find your email address so if you'd be kind enough to contact me on mine above, I'd be delighted!
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 10:14 AM
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In awe! Amazing shots, I especially love the serval pics since I have not seen too many great shots of that species.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 10:22 AM
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Absolutely fantastic! I can't say that loud enough or strongly enough.

Thank you so much

J
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 11:37 AM
  #25  
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MarthaT - Are you a professional photographer?

No, I worked as an engineer designing computer chips (retired now). We sell some prints and occasionally appear in magazines but don't really pursue it. But thanks for asking though

Jim (Steeliejim) - What site do you use to load them to?

Just write a bit of html code in Notepad and upload them on the AOL site, nothing special.

And equipment, lenses, please.

Canon cameras (mostly his/her 1D Mark IIs plus a 1Ds and Rebel XTi for backups), mostly use his/her 500 f/4 L IS lenses (mostly with the 1.4x converter) but some of the cat pics were with a 70-200 and a 400 f/5.6 L when we were really close. A solid roof mount is essential for using the big lenses with converters, I feel.

You don't need gear as heavy as the 500's but in my opinion what you do need is optimal light, which means getting up around 5:30 and leaving by 6 with a boxed breakfast so you are in the right spots when the sun rises. Most of the people at the lodges we visited eat breakfast at the lodge and are out around 8 AM and most of our best cat shots were taken between 7 and 8:30 ... so even with simpler equipment you can do extremely well if you go out early, I feel. Getting warm, low-angled early light is key. Plus finding the cats, of course.

Also, was there any post processing?

We shoot in RAW mode, convert to tiff with Capture One (these were done on the laptop in the field and I skipped tiffs and converted to jpegs instead) and in Photoshop typically run Shadow/Highlight with a low shadow setting and highlight off, then add a small bit of sharpening and downsample for the web. If the light was right that's all we do, if the light is tough it can take a bit more work.

Esp. curious about the great blurred shot with the peculiar circular pattern on the rear haunch.

This is what it looks like in the RAW file, no post-processing games. We shot a lot of these panning motion-blur shots and this is the only one with the odd circular non-blurred area, no doubt where the movement of the cheetah's leg matched the panning motion of the camera. Carol was as surprised as anyone to see the final result

Bill

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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 11:56 AM
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Eben - Now I cannot wait for my return to Ndutu in early March!

We didn't see a single new-born wildebeest even though we were in a mass of about 500,000 one day, so it should be crazy the next few weeks with all the birthings and other goings-on.

I wish I were going back in the next six weeks as well, but probably can't get reservations. Have a great trip.

Bill
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 01:37 PM
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I love the male lion who looks like he's just been through a big battle. I assume with another male lion.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 01:39 PM
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The cats were all there. A serval with a kill! One of the cheetah shots reminded me of a cheetah looking at its reflection in the mirror. Cheetah and hyena. Tremendous photos.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 01:55 PM
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Wow! Loved the serval in action.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 02:39 PM
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Wow oh wowee! these are simply superb photos. I am inspired! where where yoiu? I am off to Kenya again this summer but already trying to figure where I can go in December.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 02:45 PM
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"Just write a bit of html code in Notepad" Ha! Easy for you to say.

Thanks for the detailed response. How did you transport the big glass and other photo gear given the restrictions on carry-ons. Also, I looked, but could not find, your itinerary. Particularly lodges where you stayed. Pluses and minuses, if you don't mind. Thanks,

Jim
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 04:20 PM
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Hi Bill

Some stunning images (as usual)!
Did you use the Better Beamer on most of these? (I've emailed you privately in the past)
I've just received mine and at the moment practising with my 300 VR +1.4/1.7TC's. It's a tricky thing sometimes just getting it in the right position at night :-\ . I hope to put this to good use for our 13 nights @ Kaingo/Mwamba/Puku for Sept ;-)

Cheers
Marc
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Old Feb 2nd, 2007, 06:03 PM
  #33  
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Bill,

Thanks for the cheetah info....fantastic
 
Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 02:42 AM
  #34  
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13moons - where were you? ... already trying to figure where I can go in December.

Check the thread 'back from Tanzania - current conditions' for a quick summary. The leopard was at Manyara but not to be expected (the driver said he sees one or two a year there). The serval shots were at Ndutu but not to be expected (the other four servals I've seen were very camera-shy and slunk off without a single photo; I was surprised to get a good-light portrait of this one and astonished to watch him hunting beside the jeep).

The cheetahs and lions are more of a sure thing at Ndutu and Serengeti (and Ngorongoro for lions) but last year (2006) during this exact same period we saw 7 cheetah instead of 20 and fewer than 60 lions instead of 100, so it varies a lot from year to year. But last year we filmed a cheetah killing a wildebeest and in April filmed a cheetah sitting on the roof a few inches from the camera gear, so it's not how many you see so much as what kind of interesting behavior you can photograph.

This year we were lucky with the heavy rains coming a few weeks before we arrived, also we are out very early each AM while the cats are active (except cheetah are more active later in the day), and finally our guide was very experienced around Ndutu ... many guides only get there a couple of times a year and don't know the area that well. I've even heard of drivers getting lost just driving to the lodge from the main road. Often we didn't see another jeep in the areas we drove to, so you need a knowledgeable driver here.

What I'm trying to say is that this was an unusually good trip for us for cats and likely not the norm.

December might be a little early for this area too -- from what I hear mid-February plus/minus a month is typically the best time to catch the migration and wildebeest calf birthing here. We scheduled around the dates available at Ndutu and would have preferred a couple weeks later, but obviously can't complain. We didn't see a single calf this year despite seeing well over half a million wildebeests, while last year (which was very dry) we saw I think six new-borns during this identical period.

Bill

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Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 02:54 AM
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Marc - Did you use the Better Beamer on most of these?

Hi Marc,

Didn't use fill-flash on any of these and typically never use it on larger animals. Among other issues you would likely pick up serious 'green-eye' from the large pupils.

We did use the flash with the Beamer on birds at Lake Manyara, where the forest is more dense and the light is sometimes more difficult, and I think we used it two mornings on birds near Ndutu when it was overcast or foggy early AM, but for most of the trip the light was fine and we didn't need fill-flash.

Good luck on your trip! We may start going south to these areas eventually and are looking forward to hearing how well you do.

Bill
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Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 04:51 AM
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Bill,

So ndutu is happening even in April? that would be a good visit, if there arent too many visitors?

I'd take one cheetah sighting and stay all day there.....not asking for more...

Hari
 
Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 05:53 AM
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Jim - How did you transport the big glass and other photo gear given the restrictions on carry-ons.

On the international flights we are allowed one carry-on bag plus a 'personal' bag for laptop etc. There's a special Lowe-Pro photo backpack that is carry-on legal size and holds the 500, two bodies, a 70-200 and two smaller lenses so we are set with two of those. Laptop goes into one personal bag, another lens (400 f/5.6) into the other personal bag (that looks like a laptop bag).

So no problems for international travel. We stick to driving while in Tz to avoid problems with smaller planes.

The only 'gotcha' in this plan is that the KLM flight from Amsterdam to Arusha has a 12 kg/26 lb limit on the carry-on but luckily they don't weigh the bags if they are small enough. If we did get weighed we'd have to move two bodies and a 3 lb lens into the photo vest to pass the weight limit. Some people did get their carry-on weighed at the gate in Amsterdam but we skated by.

I looked, but could not find, your itinerary.

On this trip two nights at Lake Manyara Serena, seven nights at Ndutu Safari Lodge, three nights at Ngorongoro Sopa. For most people 7 nights is too much at Ndutu and even for us, given the roads, 3 nights was a bit much at Ngorongoro.

If you only stay one night at Ngorongoro I'd probably prefer the Serena or (if your budget OKs it) the Crater Lodge but Sopa is better located for multi-day stays, I think.

You could add a couple of days in Serengeti near Seronera and a couple at Tarangire and pretty much cover most of the northern circuit.

Bill
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Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 06:21 AM
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Hari - So ndutu is happening even in April?

It will probably be raining hard in April so there may be access problems near Ndutu. You can read about their Dec experience with the heavy rains here ... http://www.ndutu.com/pages/whatshappening.htm ...

The relevant quote is probably "The roads resembled rivers and the plains became lakes after particularly heavy storms. We seemed to spend most of our time pulling out stuck vehicles both day and night"

We missed this by about 2 1/2 weeks and had no problems but we were lucky.

Also heard that the migration will probably have moved north a bit by April but maybe Eben can give a more informed opinion on this.

When we visited this area last April we skipped Ndutu and Ngorongoro. We found nine cheetahs near Gol kopjes on two game drives but Gol was several hours drive from the Serengeti lodge we used in April, so not very convenient ... http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/ta...06/cheetah.htm

that would be a good visit, if there arent too many visitors?

Even last week when the lodge was full and all the nearby tented mobile camps were humming we never saw more than one or two jeeps in the areas we concentrated on, except of course close to the lodge. Get an experienced driver and this should not be a problem.

You will probably have a better trip if you can go sometime between mid-January and mid-March because it should be drier and the migration *should* still be going strong in that area (no guarantees). In addition to Ndutu Lodge there are several nice mobile tented camps nearby that are probably more your style, given your liking for Botswana. I'm sure Eben can help you sort these out.

I'd take one cheetah sighting and stay all day there.....not asking for more...

When we specifically go lQQking for cheetahs here we typically see 3-6 each day, and on Jan 26th we saw eight south-east of Ndutu (and two more later that day in the crater), so not a problem Sticking with one all day might be harder since the rules require you to not follow them when they are hunting, but you can often re-locate them.

It's a great area for cheetahs, we saw 14 around Ndutu and 3 more at Gol this trip (plus one at Manyara and two in the crater for a total of 20), even though we only looked specifically for them on three game drives. We saw nine at Gol on only two game drives in April.

Bill
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Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 06:51 AM
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Wonderful responses, Bill. Thanks so much. Where, when is your next adventure (I see you've been many, many places. Lots of time in Alaska, too.)

Jim
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Old Feb 3rd, 2007, 09:53 AM
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Great pictures,Bill.
The leopard coming down the tree is fantastic,he transmit his power in that look(he has strange eyes by the way?).Amazing pics of the serval,i have not seen better pics either in books nor magazines.
We visit Tanzania in April 2006 and in 3 days at Ndutu we had 11 cheetah sightseeings with 2 brothers making a wildebeest calf kill and one female trying but not been able to kill a Thomson gacelle at Ndutu lake beach.We had also many lions with cubs ,a serval and a striped hiena.We where able to get some nice cat pics as well.Ndutu is a fantastic place for cheetah and lion.
Thanks for sharing these special pics,we really enjoy them.
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