Camera gear, luggage and 50 pounds of medical supplies destined for a slum hospital in Kenya. These supply drops are all organised by health partners international. A little bit of humanitarian aid while on a safari makes it all the more meaningful! Flying out to Nairobi right now, I really can't wait.
I'm heading Out on Safari!
Today I fly out for Kenya, on a 19 day trip through some of the most fantastic wildlife and scenery in Kenya and Tanzania! I'm guiding 10 lucky people with two local guides to sharpen their photo skills and get the most inspiring shots! I don't know how well connected I will be to the internet but I will try and keep you all posted on happenings and sightings that we encounter. I may only have enough bandwidth for quick twitter updates in which case you can follow @kylefoto at http://twitter.com/kylefoto I can't wait to show you the pics when I'm back!
Village Child, get down to their level
Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania, Africa Mto Wa Mbu is a village sitting on the edge of one of the greatest natural areas in Africa, the Ngorongoro conservation area. With over 16,000 people in this dense fertile volcanic area, there was a lot to see. I was somewhat apprehensive coming here as I feel that bringing a troupe of photographers and big lenses would be an invasion of privacy, but our tourism is bringing much needed revenue in to bring in fresh water, maintain pipelines and build schools, thus we were welcomed with open arms. A huge part of my travel philosophy is to be respectful and to leave the place in better condition than I left it, if I can make a difference just by being here then I'm going to be here!
In a world where electricity is often bought a lot like a drink in a bar to power Nokia cell phones that have battery lives of up to two weeks, you aren’t going to be seeing children tweeting about how they didn’t get an ipad for christmas. I was asked how long the batteries lasted in my Android phone, and they laughed at the idea that I had to charge it almost every night. Tires and soccer balls seem to have a long life here compared to other toys, and most likely have the longest life out of anything else around here.
Photographic details: I was walking with a photographer that has a keen eye for people, while I was photographing some soccer players I noticed my buddy completely change in body posture, kneel down and shoot towards this kid. She had the right idea in getting close to the ground and at the level of the child. Shooting across at them the ground tends to fall out of focus and a much more interesting perspective is achieved. We are so used to seeing everything from eye level that it’s no longer an interesting perspective. I like the fact the child is waving, creating a connection between the viewer and the subject. I of course gingerly waved back as this kid smiled, giggled and swung the little tire around as far as his little arms could let him.
1/500s f/2.8 ISO100 200mm
Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania, Africa
The thing about photos is that they are an edited point of view. The photographer edits the real world by providing a very specific glimpse of one moment in time. In this photo you are seeing a person exploring a jungle. But in reality they are merely walking inside the villiage of Mto Wa Mbu, it’s name meaning “River of Mosquitoes” with a population of over 16,000 people.The only reason we were allowed here as tourists, is that our admission fee goes towards programs that promote energy saving stoves, building water pipelines and schools for these communities. Photographic Details: Walking with a wide angle lens on my 5D and a telephoto lens on my 7D I was prepared for scenes both close and far away. Being swallowed by this lush forest with the sun shining in my eyes was really cool as our group followed our local guides. Snapping this shot was one of those surprise moments when I was going through my photos later in the evening, I was very grateful for my wide angle lens. Canon EOS 5D Mark II 1/125s f/5.6 ISO100 17mm 16-35mm f2.8L lens
Serengeti by balloon
Tanzania, Africa On our last morning in Africa we had the privilege of taking a hot air balloon ride above the Serengeti. We head out before the sun rises because the earlier in the morning we go the less turbulent and unpredictable the winds are. Climbing high above the Serengeti we bobbed up and down, while the wildlife below stirred during it’s most active time. The sun began to rise as a gradient of light washed over the land from the east stretching to the west. Seeing the wildlife from this new angle was so different and intriguing. Game paths stretching out like spiderwebs of dirt amidst the parched grasses of the Serengeti. Zebra and wildebeest look like ants as they gallop across the land, their movement reminiscent of a flock of birds: never straying too far and only coming so close if needed.
Photographic Details: With the low morning light I needed a high Iso of 800 to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the motion. Not only was the balloon moving, it was wiggling with the movements of the passengers and gusts of the wind. Despite the directionless floating on the balloon we seemed to be moving at a pretty fast clip, making it difficult to decide what to shoot with the rapidly changing scenery. I would look for a point of interest, then zoom in with my telephoto, in hopes of capturing some interesting shapes.
Canon EOS 7D 1/250s f/4.5 ISO800 100mm
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Zebra migration
Tanzania, Africa Being on safari is always full of surprises. While the keen photographers and enthusiasts expect I always know what’s going to happen, it all comes down to being as prepared as possible for when the action happens. While being surrounded by a herd of zebra and wildebeest, we were stationed where there was as much action as possible: by the river. These animals would stop to get some much needed water, but they are always nervous as there is an ancient threat that lurks in these waters, the crocodile.
A crocodile was lurking in the water, we wanted to see some action, but at the same time, we didn’t. We were wondering why the crocodile wasn’t paying any attention to the pedantic animals looking for refreshment at the shore, when the crocodile went to a log pulled out a long dead zebra under it and began to snack. Oooh, well he was full because he already had food in his pantry! It’s likely this croc won’t have to eat for months, given that they are cold blooded and thus don’t use food energy to maintain their body temperature, a very efficient way of living.
Nevertheless the zebra would get their fill of water until paranoia set in and one would bolt away from the shore in fear, setting off a chain reaction. The once crowded shore would be instantly vacated as all the zebra and wildebeest fled for their lives. After a few seconds or so one thirsty animal would slowly make it’s way to the shore and drink as more animals came in, and the cycle of spazzing at the shore would begin again. This gave us many opportunities to get these running action shots.
Photographic details: I intentionally used settings that get a lot of motion blur, normally something that people find undesirable. But it’s this sense of motion that makes the viewer feel what it’s like to be there. 1/100th of a second was guaranteed to get a blurry photo, as I followed the motion of these beasts as smoothly as I could. The incredible amount of dust in the air provided or a fantastic backdrop and a beautiful red cast on the image. CANON 7D 1/100s f/16.0 ISO100 330mm
If you like this, do me a favour and share!
More on my photo safaris: http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/
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Sneaky elephants
Serengeti, Tanzania
On our short drive to the airport from our camp in the Serengeti we had to drive through a patch of jungle. Not really thinking about being on safari being our last hours in this wonderful place we were delighted by the sight of a hornbill bird bouncing around on a bunch of fallen trees scattered around the forest floor. That’s where we heard a loud crash behind us. This elephant was meters away this whole time, silently browsing. It looks like he decided he was too lazy to reach for the leaves atop a tree, therefore it was much less exhausting to topple it. This elephant just glanced at us while he gingerly picked a few leaves off his fallen prize then moved on to find something fresher.
It’s destructive habits like these that cause tension between the increasing human populations in Africa; people and elephants are more in need of land than ever, and the amount of it is shrinking.
Photographic Details: In my haste to photograph this I swung my lens around from the bird to the elephant. With no time to waste I pressed the shutter only to get some underexposed images from the previous settings I had. Thank goodness for RAW and lightroom, I was able to recover the details without any image degradation! Canon 7D 1/250s f/6.3 ISO800 400mm
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Timing on Mother Zebra’s milk
Masai Mara, Kenya The zebra mother will generally have 1 foal a year, and can have one at any time. Even though the foal may begin eating grass after a few days it generally takes a year to wean them off of mothers milk. Given the similar size of these two and the rarity of twins my local guide said it’s likely this foal is from another mother.
Photographic details: I took many photos of this because I wanted to capture a few things and needed the right timing for everything to line up. The constant swish of the mothers tail often had it flying out of the frame; instead of the tail being flat and facing down I waited for it to swish up to the left to capture that interesting curl. At the same time photographers always want the eyes, here I have not only the mothers eye, but that of both the foals as well. Many photos were taken, but this is the only one that made the cut. I often pay attention to the rule of thirds, but this time with the way the mother and the foal fit in a ying and yang kind of way I have a fair bit of symmetry. Artistically speaking, when you have symmetry like this you have licence to start centering your subjects and you get to throw the rule of thirds away.
If you like this please share!
Related: I've got 8 people signed on for my Kenya & Tanzania Photo Safari in January, there is guaranteed window room for everyone and I've got a few spots left! http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/
Prints are available at smugmug: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Animals/Africa/19644918_hpCKDK#1555914888_M42JL7j
Giraffe Silhouette
Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa The dramatic skies of the Masai Mara were surrounding us towards the sunset hours in Kenya. After a day of seeking out cheetahs, elephants and leopards we had time to observe this giraffe browsing along the hilltop amongst the iconic shape of the Euphobia tree.
Photographic Details: Silhouettes are some of the most illustrative and powerful compositional elements in a photographers repertoire. Throwing away the distraction of colour texture and exposure you are simply left with a figure that forces the viewer to concentrate on body language, posture, and shape. With the lack of detail the viewer’s imagination is put to work perhaps causing them to linger a little longer. In addition a silhouette photo like this provides a stark contrast in detail with the perfectly exposed sky (underexposed by two stops) all the textures and beauty in the cloud formation is preserved in a hyper real fashion.
There wasn’t as much colour as I liked so I employed some colour graduated filters. I think of these as “sunglasses for my camera” that provide a colourful gradient that can enhance or even introduce colours much like putting on a pair of rose coloured sunglasses.
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This is also available on my smugmug for print: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Animals/Africa/19644918_hpCKDK#1554516357_mBKRfCP
A Critique: Silhouette of a family, BW or colour?
Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa. For todays post I want to do both my regular photo story but I also want a critique. The main question I want to know is do you like the colour or black and white version better? And why?
This was taken in the last few hours of this years photo safari. We were all ecstatic that just a few hundred meters from the airport we were still being greeted by scenic views and tonnes of wildlife, talk about a great send off for our final day!
Photographic Details: This troupe was making their way across the Serengeti and the backlighting isn’t ideal for photography. I began to think “well okay backlighting is tough for detail, so let’s focus on getting a silhouette”.
I like how easy it is to tell by their body language that this herd wasn’t just grazing, they were heading somewhere and on a mission. By working with the silhouette in mind I’ve taken advantage of the pros of this type of lighting instead of fighting against the cons. Canon EOS 7D, 100-400m L lens at 190mm, 1/320 shutter speed f7.1
So let me know, BW or colour?
Click on the thumbnail to open the gallery [gall columns="1" postcount="2" ]
More details on my photo safaris here: http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/
Update:
I have to share some fantastic comments here that critique these photos better than I ever could!
Out of 31 we have 20 for colour and 9 for bw.
Your comments go beyond just this simple question though, all this talk about the context of the images, how or where someone is displaying these photos change the photos, and how the intention of the photo changes which image is more powerful.
+Kerry L +Brad Ganley and +Louisa Catharine Forsyth mention how the power and impact of the animals is much more pronounced in the BW version, that there is more emotion associated with it. +Jorge henrique Cordeiro hits the nail on the head with the black and white version being art but the colour version being more truthful to what africa actually looks like.
+Shawn Clover highlights that the blue and orange in the colour photographs are complimentary, likely a reason for the favour in the colour image.
More importantly this stellar interaction speaks to the intelligence and engagement of this community, you guys are incredible!
Gazelle Portrait, Laying low
Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa It was an extremely hot day in the Masai Mara of Kenya in early march. This being the dry season the temperature was reaching 35 degrees Celsius, and it was getting close to lunch. We pulled our packed lunches out under the only tree nearby. Standing alone in the plains its sparse shade was still a welcome retreat. Around noon most wildlife seeks the shade and I was surprised we didn’t find anything resting under this tree.
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We reminisced about how the behaviour of the herd of Zebras earlier that day tipped us off that there was a lion kill nearby, and the incredible sunrise we were witness to. That’s when a Thompson’s gazelle appeared walking purposefully towards us. Oooh we stole his shade! It wasn’t long before he realized his spot was occupied and he just stood a good distance away, stomping every so often to ward off flies. The whole time we were there he just stared at us in hopes that we would disappear and he could get the only shade in sight.
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Photographic details: This was the perfect opportunity to get a good portrait. There was nothing distracting in the background and this gazelle was practically posing. Usually it’s not safe to be outside the vehicle so I also had a rare chance to shoot this guy from a low angle. I laid flat on my belly with the camera touching the ground and my 400mm lens trained on him. I chose to compose him in the centre of the image because of the symmetry of his figure. This angle allowed me to shoot up at him and causes the ground to become mostly blurred. This creates a simpler image that focuses entirely on the animal itself.
Camera settings: Canon EOS 7D, 100-400mm L IS lens, ISO 100, 400mm, f5.6 1/400sec.
This is also available for print on my smugmug at: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Animals/Africa/19644918_hpCKDK#1543609000_tXNpXgN
For more on my photographic safaris see here! http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/
Speeding Cheetahs, stabilizers and shutter speed
Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa All of these photos were taken in one 13 minute timespan. (with exception of the vehicle shot)
It was a fantastic morning in the Masai Mara, we were photographing mother Cheetah while she was relaxing before the sun even came up, then the golden light lit her magnificently as she looked over her four cubs. Later she stood and walked away with great purpose, indicating she was on the hunt.
Click for Larger image, Mother cheetach watching her cubs
To great protest of my passengers this is where I decided to quit photographing the cubs playing and drive off ahead of mother in hopes of catching her on the hunt, an executive decision I was worried I might regret.
Young Cheetahs still have claws for climbing
We drove ahead and waited for mother to appear over the crest of a hill where a lone gazelle was grazing. She appeared, but way too far away even for a 600mm lens! She bolted for the gazelle and at blazing speed the two of them ran down the hill past us, the gazelle doing an inertia-defying U-turn running down towards us then right past our vehicle, click-click-click-click, the safari vehicle sounding like a mock barrage of machine guns as the two ripped past us. The gazelle did another quick turn and by then the cheetah had used up her energy burst, the gazelle got away this time. It all happened in the span of 10 seconds, and it felt like they were doing it for show given how they ran past us like that, it was incredible and everyone got such cool shots!
Camera Settings
Photographic Details: A photographer has two major decisions to make in a situation like this: Either try and freeze the action so that every part of the cheetah is captured perfectly still, or to create a sense of motion so that most of the cheetah is clear except for her legs and background which is blurred with motion. I chose the latter.
You can get very close in Africa!
It all comes down to shutter speed: I knew the Cheetah is capable of running at 120km/h, and after a lot of practice with moving horses and vehicles I knew that an extremely slow shutter speed of 1/160th of a second would be a great point to start. This is considered a very slow shutter speed while using a 400mm telephoto lens (like the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens I’m using). If you use a setting like shutter priority then all you needed was to set your shutter speed and you’re almost done.
Going after the Gazelle
I would be tracking the movement of the Cheetah and following her exactly as I panned from right to left. For those with image stabilization a slow shutter speed and panning motion could cause the stabilization system to try and compensate for the panning, resulting in a blurred image. If you have an advanced lens that allows you to go into a secondary stabilization mode use it, in the canons mode 2 is made for panning shots.
Also note how dirty, dented scratched and chipped my lens and camera is, that’s the mark of a dedicated photographer ;) 1/160th of a second, F7.1 shot in RAW, ISO 100.
The final great shot!
This was taken on my last photo safari, I have two more coming up in 2011 check them out here!
Additionally this print is available on smugmug.
The Monochrome Jackal
On Safari in Africa The jackal is a spritely figure in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Trotting along the game trail this guy was fortunate enough to come across some scraps. Paying little attention to us he kept working away at his prize of the day. Jackals are primarily active at dawn and dusk, a lot like most of the animals we like to see in Africa. Not only is the light fantastic when the sun is close to the horizon, we get the double effect of all the wildlife activity. This is why on safari one often has their down time during mid day. I don’t think one would ever have to be afraid of a jackal in any circumstance as they tend to feed on anything much smaller than them including small reptiles, birds and mammals.
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Photographic details: I wanted an interesting shot with a lot of the usual things a photographer is interested in, waiting for him to open his eyes, making sure his face wasn’t in shadow. This little expression he gave was somewhat sinister, even though it’s a brief moment taken while he was putting a lot of effort of gnawing the flesh off the bone.
For this portrait I wanted to reach back into my darkroom days and process this like a black and white negative. Spending hours dodging and burning in the lab I always felt such a connection with my photos. Dodging and burning is the process of selectively darkening and brightening certain areas of the image, it’s a practice that has been used in necessity since the dawn of film. Taking a photo is one thing, but preparing a print is another. By brightening my subject I bring more focus to him, and allow him to pop out of the uniform background instead of blending in.
This was taken on my photographic Safari this year, I have two more next year find out more at: http://www.kylefoto.com/category/workshops/
Thirsty baby elephant orphans
Hooray it’s #thirstythursdayDavid Sheldrick Animal Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa
Many animals including Rhinoceros and Elephants may become orphaned by poachers or loss of habitat. People have tried to raise elephant orphans and in doing so become a mother figure to the elephants. Some of the first attempts at raising these extremely social animals ended in tragedy as the need for love from a family had not been accounted for. This was unfortunately discovered when one of the pioneers of raising these animals Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick left for a week for wedding arrangements, only to return to baby “Aisha” in such a state of despair that she died in her arms.
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The Sheldrick animal orphanage now employs a large “family” of caretakers, each one loving and caring but the elephants are discouraged from becoming too attached to any single person. Instead the elephant is attached to the family as a whole to replace the orphans lost mother, which prevents any grief that the elephant may feel should a single caretaker be absent. This among other discoveries has led the orphanage to successfully raise over 80 elephants and return them to their community in Tsavo National park.
All these growing elephants are very hungry and require a lot of nourishment, the thirst for milk is palpable when caretakers bring out the jugs. The cows milk is not enough, and additional supplements of coconut is given to them to provide them with the correct fats that they need.
I took two photos of this, once with the bottle full and the other with it empty. My camera records the time each photo is taken, I want you to guess how many seconds it takes for this guy to chug the milk down and write your response in the comments. The answer the question is at the bottom of this post in white text, highlight the bottom of this post to see.
I will be returning here again on my next photo safaris in february and september next year! http://www.civilizedadv.com/trip_pages/trips/2012/KT120907.html
http://www.civilizedadv.com/trip_pages/trips/2012/KT120202.html
See also my african gallery here.
Please check out the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website to find out more about what they are doing, and share this to get the word out! It’s my hope that I have inspired you a little bit! http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/
Highlight between here for the answer: [ This guy drank 5 litres in 9 seconds! What a machine!]
Eland Oxpecker Double Portrait
Serengeti, Tanzania One of my favourite birds, the oxpecker on the largest antelope in africa, the Eland. The oxpecker feeds exclusively on ticks, flies and other insects that reside on other animals. While this is somewhat of a favourable relationship, their feeding can be intrusive and irritating for the host. Furthermore it has been observed that the oxpecker will re-open old wounds and create new ones to feed on the blood. For this reason other animals will not tolerate them, I have seen elephants swat them away with little tolerance to their presence.
Photographic Details: I love the dynamic between the two subjects. This photo does illustrate the current mutual relationship these two animals have including the flies buzzing around, albeit without expressing the dark side this bird may have. I took many photos but I was looking for one with the eyes and face of both animals in focus, with the soft mottled textures of the trees in the background. The shade of the trees provided a soft light in the otherwise harsh midday sun.
If you like this please check out my African Photo Safaris coming up in 2012!
Zebras in the dust
Zebras in the dustOn Safari in Tanzania, Serengeti, for wildlife wednesday
During the great migration countless zebra and wildebeest move through the Serengeti, following the rains that move cyclicly through Kenya and Tanzania. The amazing thing about this is moments before these zebra were nowhere to be seen, and upon arriving back to the river side we were inundated with this herd that went on as far as the dust allowed us to see.
These zebra were frantically running to the river to quench their thirst, always aware of the Crocodiles lurking, there was one in the river, but it was full. Nevertheless a zebra would get spooked and the entire group would abandon the river at once, kicking up dust and lining themselves up like this. It's something we spent the whole day doing, it was fantastic.
This was taken on my Kenya & Tanzania Photographic Safari last February, if you or anyone you know likes to travel and take photos this is the best way to see the wonder that Africa has to offer while getting the greatest photos possible. I love sharing my techniques, and it was a pleasure travelling with such talented photographers. I have two more trips in February and September 2012, to find out more check out my workshops here: http://www.kylefoto.com/category/workshops/
If you like this, please share!
#wildlifewednesday
The Better Picture: Secretary bird
The better Picture: Photographers take terrible photos too, they are not meant to be seen but are integral in getting a better picture. You have been out on Safari all day, taking hundreds of photos. Earlier in the morning you happened to have gotten a photo of a secretary bird and now you have been presented with your umpteenth viewing of this very bird; this is an important moment. Now you could put your camera down or instead you could set up your camera in preparation for the decisive moment that might become your ultimate secretary bird photo and perhaps even your best photo of the entire safari.
You may have thought “I already have a plethora of secretary bird photos, do I really need to try again”? Perhaps you are at the point of believing that your previous secretary bird shots are fantastic but this is where you have to step back just a little and try and get past the cognitive bias that all your own photographs are inherently great. Take the Dunning Kruger effect, which theorizes our innate belief in the accuracy of our perspective. Here is how it works in terms of photography, the first time we take a photo we believe it to be perfect however if we were to give it another try and perhaps even take a moment to place it under scrutiny; this here could transform our photo from a regular vacation shot to a work of art. Therefore I would like you to always ask yourself this “how could I improve this shot?”
The thought process I described above is classic example and is exactly what happened with the secretary birds. Some people were excited by my first shot of the birds and by all means, technically speaking you could say that I executed the image correctly; I gave the bird room to look into the frame, used a wide open aperture with only the bird in focus and no background distractions were in site. Due to the wide open aperture my background was softened and there was no accidental motion blur. Yay!.... Oh Wait, then why is it so blah? The bird is just standing there, nothing else is going on in the scene, that’s why!
Many photos later I was presented with the same view of a secretary bird, strolling through the grass, looking for her prey and in a split moment she decided to take off. With my camera already trained on her, I was able to track her movement and get the right action shot.
Now we’re talking, the subject is still given room to look into the frame, but now we have action and a dramatic sense of motion, not to mention the gazelles in the background to further express that this is Africa. Now the photo functions as a more environmental portrait expressing that these animals share the same space. This is a much better photo.
I take a lot of terrible photos initially because I’m not sure if anything better will come along. I take terrible photos like these all the time, but the reason you don’t see them is because I only show my best work. I still want you to take the bad photos but I want you to realize it’s bad right when you shoot it, and expect to take a better one later when presented with the same opportunity. Hopefully the second time around, something magical happens and you are prepared to take the shot because you have a better understanding of what you’re looking for.
These photos were taken in the Masai Mara in Kenya while hosting a photographic Safari, if you like this check out the Africa gallery!
Kenya & Tanzania Safari Workshop 2011 gallery!
New Gallery "Africa"
I had the incredible pleasure of hosting a Photographic Safari in Kenya and Tanzania this year surrounded by wide eyed enthusiastic photographers and adventurers.
A full day in Africa is so jam packed with incredible sightings, engaging wildlife, stunning sights sounds and smells that at the end of the day you sit back in reflection like you've just experienced a week.
I look forward to sharing some exciting stories and more sights from this safari, so in the mean time please take a look at my new gallery "Africa" here.