plnelson
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 p.1 #15 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography? | |
Thank you! This is all very useful and helpful information!
I've been in touch with a reputable company that runs both group "safari" and solo custom trips and they've given me some pricing guidelines on the latter that I'm comfortable with if I choose to go that route. So now I just have to decide which one would be more personally/creatively satisfying.
By way of backstory, I was in Antarctica last month and realised that the one continent I hadn't visited was Africa. Nature/wildlife photography is my hobby, but I started off in life doing newspaper photography. If I don't feel that I can do satisfying, original wildlife work in Africa then my plan "b" is to spend some time in Djibouti or Egypt or Ethiopia and pick a geopolitical or social or economic topic and do a photojournalist essay on it. That has its own risks of course, but I might have better creative control of it.
I have a rare blood cancer - a myeloproliferative neoplasm - so I'm not so worried about being eaten by lion or upsetting some government by snooping around with a camera - we all have to die sometime - I just don't want to spend my last days taking easy, formulaic tourist photos instead of stretching for edgier or more original work.
Your comments give me hope and optimism that I can find the right wildlife trip to meet my needs. Thanks again.
Genes Home wrote:
Hi,
I have been visiting Africa since doing a 3 week roundabout of Kenya in 1982. Most recently a cross country trip (another 3 weeks) of South Africa (self drive), and Mala Mala in Sabi Sand next to Kruger National Park. In August I will back in southwestern Kenya for 12 days. I'll try to make some points here. Wildife in east and south Africa is non-existant in 90 % of the land area. If you don't wan't to visit farms and cities and the like you will be on private/public reserves and parks where the wildlife has been concentrated and, importantly, kept wild. As Mr. Gale pointed out, there are a number of places which offer walking trips of 1 to several days. Even on those you will not be allowed to be alone, ever, and you will be in an escorted group. You generally don't see it on the news but people (tourists) are killed on "safari" every year, sometimes even when following the rules. I think that, can you afford it, you should investigate a higher end reserve or licensed lodge operator with the plan of spending 5 or more days at a single location (you won't believe how big the areas are, and how poor the road and air nets are) to focus on a single geographic wildlife grouping. For instance, in Kruger there are a number of licensed operators offering walking safaris, horseback safaris, and even a bicycle safari. My experiences in Mala Mala, Mashatu, Londolozi in small group trips (Game Ranger/Driver, Tracker, and three photographers in the vehicle) have been great fun, and resulted in wonderfully happy personal photography.
The key is to use either an operator who will make your connections and provide a driver and vehicle (man, is that going to be expensive!) or a small group. The folks I use are typical in focusing on groups of 10-12 people, using 3 vehicles (sometimes 4), trying to use the smaller lodges that can be entirely reserved for the one group, and staying in single locations so you get the most time possible with the wildlife.
You need to be aware, also, that most (nearly all of the publically accessible parks and reserves totally forbid off-road travel and ban any out-of-vehicle actions except at limited sites which have armed wardens or fences. Tembe, for instance, limits the number of private vehicles allowed in each day and requires ALL wildlife observation to take place from one of the established blinds within the reserve. They don't allow parking/photography on the trails and, given the size and attitude of their elephants, its a good thing.
Personally, I think that if you select the right operator and trip, and go with an open mind, you will be excited at the opportunities for photography. Yes, the two or three other people in the vehicle with you will be taking similar images, but they won't be the same as yours. I can assure you that the third or fourth time you park, move, relocate, park, etc. as you watch a leopard take down an antelope and then defend it and feed her cub will be just as exciting as the first time, and the differing locations and conditions will give you pictures that have meaning for you (also, you can only do something like this in a few places, so be warned).
PM me with more questions and I will try to answer in depth.
Gene...Show more →
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