Friday, November 27, 2009

Masai Mara tour report back- November tour

When advising a tour to a client, we at C4 Images and Safaris always decide on the best destination by weighing up various factors that will make a tour successful. It’s not necessarily about having a happy client or showing them a good time.

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

To us it is about showing them the best game viewing for their specific requirements so that they can get the best images. It’s as simple as that, and for us, that is all that matters.

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

So when we were asked about where is the best place in Africa to photograph predators on a daily basis, we pointed to that piece of land in the heart of East Africa- the Masai Mara. Going in the first week of November, I wasn’t expecting the migration, and the client knew as much. We were there for the predators, and there were other advantages…
• Tourist traffic has significantly decreased- meaning less vehicles
• Predators are all in excellent condition from the feast of the migration
• Many predators have cubs/pups now due to their good condition from the feast of the migration
• Grass is still very short, making visibility and photography very easy

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

And the best advantage of all for us on this tour? The migration was still in the area! We had millions of wildebeest on the open plains around camp.
Nature is a wonderful thing sometimes. The beauty of it all is that we are just visitors in the dynamics. This year the migration stayed very late and we lucked out. Next year will invariably be very different, as each year is here.

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography

But on this tour we had that extra bonus. What a brilliant tour it turned out to be, with great image taken by all!
It’s as simple as that, and for us, that is all that matters.

c4 images and safaris, migration, photography


c4 images and safaris, migration, photography
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Chiefs Island Experience - Isak Pretorius

Chief’s Island in the heart of the Okavango Delta is known as the predator capital of Africa. C4 Images and Safaris has just concluded its first of many safaris to the island and the place had more than lived up to its reputation and everyone’s expectation. We met our guests at O.R. Tambo International from where it’s a two hour flight to Maun and then a 20 minute flight into camp. Flying low over the Delta is always thrilling with spectacular views of this unique waterway system alive with large herds of elephants, buffalo, giraffe, and zebra which are easy to spot from the plane. This got the safari off to an exciting start.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

We were looking forward to sunny weather and good photography. Chief’s Camp is located on Chief’s Island on the edge of a large floodplain hidden away between beautiful Jackalberry and Sausage tree woodland. The lounge, dining room, bar and pool are situated on a large wooden deck overlooking the floodplain and became our general meeting area for the next few days doing everything from our afternoon photo workshops, eating, relaxing and talking photography while watching nature unfold in front of us. Growing up amongst the animals in the surrounding areas, our guides Ali and Ishmael were masters of predicting animal behaviour and locating our photographic subjects. They had obviously dealt with many photographers before and knew exactly how to position the vehicle for us to get the perfect shot. Chief’s Camp is also different from anything we’ve experienced before in that they’ve modified their vehicles for driving through water. A lifted suspension and snorkel did the trick but occasionally we had to lift our camera bags and feet off the floor during the deeper crossings. Twice during the safari we had water over the floor of the vehicle that drained away quickly once we got through. Apart from the thrilling sightings this added some additional exhilaration.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

The game drives took us onto both the floodplains as well as the higher dry areas of Chief’s Island itself. It provided typical Okavango Delta scenery of wide open plains with grazing herds of animals and islands of woodland vegetation and palm trees. Game viewing and photography were excellent with numerous sightings of lion, leopard, huge herds of buffalo, elephant, lechwe and the other general game like zebra, wildebeest and giraffe to name but a few. The Delta is of course also a bird paradise that provided us with terrific photographic opportunities of many “specials” like wattled crane and slaty egrets. The water level on the floodplains was dropping quickly, leaving behind numerous pools with trapped fish. We came across a number of pools with hundreds of yellow-billed storks, marabou storks, hamerkop, and egrets all trying to make the most of the fish’s misfortune. One afternoon we did the makoro experience where you get close encounters with birds and some of the Delta’s smaller subject while gliding quietly over the water.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

Each day usually starts with a wakeup call from staff who also brought us coffee in bed. This is followed by a light breakfast, morning drive and early lunch after which there were time for relaxation. The afternoons were spent doing the photography workshops that included lectures on light, composition, technique, digital workflow and processing. Afternoon tea and game drive followed, after which we had time for relaxing drinks and dinner.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

This safari would definitely be remembered for a spectacular late afternoon fast moving thunderstorm on our last afternoon drive, and a sighting where a black-backed jackal had killed a baby impala. As a natural history sighting this was very special, though gruesome at times. It was an opportunistic kill by the jackal of a few day old impala amongst a large herd of impala. I will also never forget the water crossings that we did with the game viewing vehicles. In areas better suited for makoros than vehicles we made our way through the water en route to the sightings. In one particular incident, our guide Ishmael were driving over a dry area of the floodplain when he spotted some lions in the distance. At that specific place we had a deep water filled deception between us and the lions and it would have taken us too long to drive around and through the water at the shallower regular crossing on the other end to get to the lions. Ishmael asked me if I think we should attempt to drive to the lions straight from there through the deep water. Not knowing what difference my opinion would make anyway, I think I was more curious than anything else to see how his attempt would unfold. I told Ishmael to go for it. Amazingly with water high over the bonnet of the vehicle and tyres gripping slowly but surely at the sandy bottom, we made it through and were rewarded with great photography of the lions and then lechwe running through the water.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

Chief’s Camp delivered the magic of the Okavango Delta in many ways. During our last evening we showed a presentation of the top images from the safari from every guest. It was wonderful to see everyone’s own interpretation of the last few days and how the different photographic techniques we taught got put into practice with great success. It was sad to leave the island and although the flight back to Maun over the Delta was something to look forward to, it was of little comfort. We all wanted to visit Chief’s Island again soon!

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

Thanks Charl, Semma and the rest of the staff for making this a trip of a lifetime.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, isak pretorius, safari

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Chiefs Island Photo Workshop Trip Report Part 2

Day 3 and 4

We returned to the leopard kill in the morning to find that the famous tree-climbing lions of Chiefs Island had climbed high into the thorny acacia and pulled down the carcass. The leopard was nowhere to be found of course, but the lions were great subjects in the early morning light. From there we spent time at one of the drying pools of water photographing yellow-billed storks fishing. The number and diversity of birds in the delta is something to behold- and it is one of the best places for bird photography.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

The afternoon was a time to experience the mokoros of the Delta. This pirogue like boat is the best way to experience first hand the quiet tranquillity of the waters. It is also great for landscapes and macros photos. From there we spent time with some wattled cranes, a delta speciality, feeding and displaying. Our sunset sundowner was a mix of photographing zebra’s backlit into the setting sun and 5 bull elephants walking quietly past our vehicle, some 20m away. We almost didn’t have time to finish our drinks!

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

Day 4
This morning we spent 45 minutes at a small lagoon. It was a great spot for all sorts of action. Hippos fighting and yawning, squacco heron fly bys, fish eagle hunting and a slaty egret fishing nearby. From there we headed north and into some spectacular woodland and onto some open floodplains. Herds of lechwe greeted us. Three male lions and a leopard nearby also greeted us- we literally had our choice! That was until we had to pull the other vehicle out trying to cross the channel. Just another part of the delta experience! On the way back to camp we had baboons with babies to entertain our cameras- and us just the right way to finish off a drive.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

The day had started with some cloud and it built up all afternoon with a large storm brewing up in the east. With the sun still shining in the west, this gave us some beautiful and intense light. First up it was some baboons backlit, their fur picking up the halo of light beautifully.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

Then the wind started blowing strongly at the approach of the storm and looking in the east we saw a rainbow developing, so we hurriedly went in search of some subjects. First up was a palm tree- an icon of the Okavango, then some lechwe and impala with the rainbow right on top of them. The intensity of colour was so strong that you didn’t need a polariser to capture the beauty of it.
Nearby we found two male lions. The quality of light on them was perfect, and then the wide-angle image of a dark and moody sky with the rainbow in the background was just the cherry on top. Brilliant in all respects!

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

Day 5
The last morning led us out to the floodplains for the last time and we spent quite a bit of time with a herd of 500 buffalo, photographing them, the egrets and the oxpeckers in various modes. We found a very productive pool with lots of birds in, which we decided to stay at. It paid dividends as no more than 8 species of birds came within 5m of our vehicle. The pied kingfishers hovering right next to us was a highlight, as was the slaty egret hunting 2m from the vehicle. This was a perfect way to end another very successful workshop with C4 Images and Safaris.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

After lunch it was I the charter flight and off to Maun for the quick flight back home. The beauty of the Okavango is that it is so remote, yet you can access it via charter flights in no time at all. Perfect for a photo workshop like ours to maximise your photography time and minimise your travel time.

c4 images and safaris, chiefs island, photo workshop

Click here to see part 1 of the report.

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Chiefs Island Photo Workshop Trip Report Part 1

We have just held the first of our Chiefs island Photo workshops.
Chiefs camp is based on the northern tip of Chiefs Island, within the heart of the world famous Okavango Delta, in Botswana. The camp lies in the Mombo concession, reputed as one of the best concessions for wildlife viewing in Africa and termed the “predator capital of Africa”. This caused quite a lot of excitement amongst us, who were hosting the workshop, and of course our clients too! Expectations were high…

chiefs island, okavango delta, photo workshop

Day 1
We arrived and settled in. Logistics worked perfectly- landing in Maun, we transferred straight to camp in a Cessna caravan. First game drive was out on to the open flood plains and the “Lechwe plain” we were to get to know over the next few days. Herds of wildebeest, lechwe and zebra led us to a large herd of buffalo- about 300 strong, where we spent time photographing tem with yellow billed oxpeckers. From there we drove onto finding our first lions, right on time as the light had softly turned a golden hue. Perfect for the eager cameras.

chiefs island, okavango delta, photo workshop

Day 2
An early start led straight to some ground hornbills feeding on insects in the fresh green grass. The sun was perfect and softly lit the birds as they threw up their morsels before eating them. From there we noticed two fish eagles hunting in a pool. We positioned near a bush they were using and had them repeatedly come to and fro as they searched for their breakfast- making for some dramatic in flight images of these magnificent birds. The other vehicle was photographing lions in the morning light, but we were quite content with the fish eagle! From there it was lechwe in the water and more lions before heading back to a deserved brunch.

chiefs island, okavango delta, photo workshop


The afternoon was a classic and will go down as one of the best game viewing drives ever.
Out of camp we found a leopard resting in the shade. He had been courting a female, which others saw, but not us. He did oblige with some beautiful poses though, so quite happy! Leaving the leopard, we noticed an elephant bull walking in the channel. I noticed a mud wallow 5m from us, so decided to wait and see what happened. The bull came straight to the wallow and proceeded to splash, throw, roll, rub and scrub himself in the mud! He was so close we could hear him sigh as he rolled on his side. Simply beautiful! That was not all though, after his bathe, he wandered to within 2m of us, gently sniffing and inspecting this large, brown camera, clicking vehicle. It was a hard decision to choose between the wide angle or the long lens!

chiefs island, okavango delta, photo workshop


chiefs island, okavango delta, photo workshop

After the elephant left, we headed on and 1km later we stopped right next to a troop of baboons. We had just stopped when to our right some impala snorted their alarm. Looking into the thick bush, a jackal was spotted, and below it, an impala fawn. It had just made a kill. Startled by the vehicle, the jackal walked a few meters away. We watched quietly and all of a sudden the impala stood up. The jackal realised this and the chase began. It ended up with the jackal chasing the fawn down and making the kill. No photographs were taken, as we did not want to influence the hunt and kill. This was a time to watch and see nature play out.
We left the kill site, and headed down a channel to find 6 lions at sunset, about to begin their nightly foray. Now it was time to head back to camp, as darkness was upon us. However, in the headlights we saw another leopard! This time with a fresh kill of an impala. It dragged the carcass across the channel and pulled it up into an acacia tree.

chiefs island, okavango delta, photo workshop

What an end to a fabulous drive! We were all exhausted from not only taking photographs, but also the excellent sightings we had just witnessed!

Click here to read part 2 of the trip report.
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Friday, November 6, 2009

November Essay, Masai Mara Moods

The thread of this essay is simple. It’s about mood.
Sometimes an image is more about a feeling, than being technically perfect or a good, clean portrait of a nicely placed subject. It’s about how it makes you feel- an emotional response.

masai mara, safari, shem compion

I was lucky enough to spend another week in the Masai Mara this week. It was a great safari- Great client, the migration was still there (very late this year), the wildebeest were crossing daily and there was hardly anyone else around. We had the vast plains literally to ourselves; our daily agenda played out by natures hand leading us to leopard kills, 3 week old lion cubs and hundreds of thousands of animals right on the plain at our camp. Of course having a wildebeest crossing right at camp also helps- especially waking up to the honking of wildebeest preparing to cross. What a way to start a day! Get out of bed, have some good Kenyan coffee and walk down to the Mara River with cameras to photograph in the golden morning sunrise light. It was literally picture perfect.

It was on the last afternoon drive that we saw dust rising along the Mara River. We drove closer, and there before us were about 5000 wildebeests anxiously preparing to cross in the last rays of the day. The frantic back and forth of the beasts caused dust so thick that at times we couldn’t even see them. The crossing started and we drove into position. It was just us, alone we sat in silent awe at this spectacle playing out in front of us. The noise, golden light, dust, hooves and water combined to create one of the most atmospheric scenes I have seen in a long time.

We were caked in the dust, it gritting our teeth and cloaking our eyes. We revelled in it, shooting the scene with feverish intent. The tension was intense and we felt it in the scene. It was all I was aiming for in my images. I hope this does it some justice.

Exposure information
Nikon D700 - 70-200mm lens
Exposure – f 5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/500sec
Exp. Comp. - 0. EV
ISO - 400
Flash sync– not attached, Exposure mode– Aperture priority, Metering Mode– centre
File type– NEF (RAW)
Focal length: 155mm

This article first appeared on shemimages.com
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