Rocco's Tanzania Photo Album
 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/rocco/tanzania

Just a few photos from my time in Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti. Many more will follow once I have had time to put together my trip report and work on editing more photos.

Your added commentary on my photo album (in the lower right hand corner) is most welcome.

Let me be the first to say, your pictures are wonderful.

P.S. What kind of photo equipment did you use? The pictures are so clear!!

Oh, I just saw at the end of the slideshow what equipment you were using. The pictures truly are spectacular. It serves to get me even more excited about my safari even though it is still many months away.

Nevermind,

I shot with two Canon 20d bodies. Most of the photos were taken with a Sigma 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 optical stabilizing lens, while the wide angle photos were taken with a Canon 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 lens.

Also along for the ride were a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens but it was rarely used, except when it was too dark for my other telephoto zoom lens. I also brought along a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens but it saw little, if any, action.

I never used my monopod either.

One item that helped some of my photos was an Expodisc Custom White Balance Filter, but I never did use my Expodisc Custom Warming Filter.

Fortunately, because the rains had already started, there was never a problem with dust, but I did use my Giotto Rocket Air Blaster occasionally.

I will try to add a few more favorites by tomorrow. I really wanted to share a photo of a bushbaby, but I must have overlooked it while loading my other photos. There are also some more good lion, hyena and cheetah photos to come.

Also, I really owe a lot to my boxing photography in teaching me how to better use my equipment. Without my boxing photography, I likely would not have picked up my cameras between this recently completed safari and my safari last September.

These are fantastic Rocco.

Please let us know about your camera and lenses?

Also - where did you see the baboons?

Thanks
Carol

Carol,

The baboon photos are mostly from Lake Manyara. Mixed in with the baboon photos is a "Blue Monkey"? Somebody please correct me if it is not called a Blue Monkey.

The cameras and lenses are definitely helpful, but I did have the same gear on my September 2005 safari but I didn't know how to use it as well then as I do know. There is still, however, a lot of room for improvement.

Welcome back, Rocco - REALLY great photos, I really enjoyed looking at them! Thanks!
(and can't wait for that report...)

Hi Roccco,

You have a lot of great looking shots. You couldn't have asked for better composition. Amazing with the lion in the tree and those after the kill. Thanks for posting so quickly after your return. Hope the toe is on the mend. DJE

Great pictures. My favorites are the lion hunt. something I haven't seen yet & the hyena lying on it's back. Where was the hunt and kill? The first elephant shots, Tarangire gorge near the entrance?
Blue monkey manyara?

Now one story that my photo album does not accurately tell is that of the baby wildebeest kill.

In reality, that baby wildebeest escaped the first chase from one male lion, only to return to the same area, in an attempt to catch up to its herd. Once it did return to the same area, the baby wildebeest unfortunately backed itself into a big shrub and never even moved as one of the other male lions from the same pride charged and killed it.

It is just amazing how easily baby wildebeests get lost or left behind by the mother wildebeest. Unless a wildebeest reaches at least four months or so, once it is separated from the herd, it is as good as dead, as it is not yet eating grass and no other lactating wildebeest will feed it, other than its own mother.

As one of my guides said, wildebeests make really bad mothers...you never see lost baby zebras!

Net Warrior,

The lion kill, as well as the tree climbing male lion, was in the Ndutu area of the Serengeti. The Ndutu area allows for off-roading and this was crucial for the success of my photography.

I believe you are right about the elephants if you are talking about the entrance in Tarangire near Boundary Hill. I was taking some pretty nice photos all by myself until two fully packed Predators minibuses pulled up and I was asked by one woman if I minded getting out of their picture! I wasn't exactly motivated to move very quickly.

Wow! Great photos, welcome back.

Kevin (from Newbury Park)

Yowza! You have a lot to be proud of; these are phenomenal. The best lion-in-a-tree photos I have ever seen. The lizard (what kind of lizard is that?), zebras, giraffes, hyena on its back...too many to name, really. Also, excellent landscape shots that capture the beauty of that sky.

Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely going to look again and again.

Welcome back Rocco,
Now I'm definitely not going to be shamed by putting my photos up. All great shots. The lion shots however, are amazing.
Sherry

I haven't posted for a while in the Africa forum but seeing your photos made me get back in the saddle. Very nice - did you did any changes with an editor other than cropping or are they all as were taken?

The images brought back many memories of my Northern Circuit trip in Jan 2005 and the only things I didn't see were the tree climbing lions at Manyara. Nicely captured. And some of your shots in the Crater I was in almost exactly the same spots: the view from the lookout on the rim is really something isn't it?

Take care

Matt

the reason I asked about boundary hill is that there is a lot more water than when we were there. The elephants were digging for water! But we did have the place to ourselves.

Matt,

Actually, the tree climbing lion was not in Lake Manyara but rather in the Ndutu area of the Serengeti.


Kevin, Leely and Sherry...thanks for the kind comments.


My one regret from this safari...the water that you see the male lion and the snarling lioness crossing was also crossed by eight cubs. In an effort to capture them crossing while placing the vehicle on the other side of the water, I ended up missing all eight of them crossing, as we could not find an appropriate crossing.

Other than that, however, there were not any regrets.

Rocco, thanks for sharing the stunning photos. I look forward to reading your trip report after your safe return.