p.2 #1 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
I took a different approach, to be totally honest, taking a group tour never occurred to me. I was in Kenya on business and took a Landrover on my own "Safari". I went North of Archers Post for a week in the bush, took enough water, food and fuel and had a blast. Water ran a bit low but I found a dried up stream bed and dug down for additional water and purified it. I had to watch out for scorpions in my boots before I put them on in the morning and I also saw a good few puff adders. Nothing can beat lying on that gritty ground on a sleeping bag looking up and the stars and listening to the sounds of the night in Africa. Pure magic. I made a couple of decisions that in hindsight I wouldn't do again but the end result was worth it. I found a water hole one afternoon and decided to come back in the early evening as the were loads of tracks in the mud. Having parked about 3/4 on a mile from the water I walked through the bush selected a tree and climbed on up. As dusk came I got some great shots of elephant and warthog. The biggest shock of my life was when a leopard jumped into the tree next to me, fortunately it snarled and hissed and jumped back down. It had a dead gazelle at the base of the tree that it started to drag away. That little incident made the walk back to the vehicle in the moonlight a great adrenalin rush, I swear I could hear every leaf rustle within 100 yards of me. I dare say I would have seen more if I had been with a guide, but just sleeping out in the bush, driving around a stopping were and when I wanted to made it a fantastic experience. To just see and dried up river bed and grab the camera to take a stroll up it was great fun. I'd stop and look for fossils, follow baboon tracks or sit under a shady tree and wait several hours to see what passes by, all stuff you can do on foot an I couldn't have done as part of a group in a vehicle. I suppose I should have given some thought as to what might have happened had an accident occurred and perhaps thought about some sort of communications system but what's the point of getting away from everything if you're taking it all with you.
p.2 #2 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
evertdoorn wrote:
Well, it depends on the trip you're on I guess. If you book a trip which is aimed at photographers (or in your case, specifically, birders), they would have a similar attitude like you.
the trip I was on last year in Kenya were all photographers too, guided by a very well known wildlife photographer. Opposed to 'normal' safari's, we had more space (a whole row in a vehicle per photographer), better drivers who followed the suggestions and leads of our guiding photographer and ourselves of where to exactly position their vehicle, and plenty of time. We have spent on occasion several hours at sights (since this was a big cat trip, we've watched sleeping lions and leopards for hours and hours ). The 'normal' vehicles with visitors would stay a lot shorter at each sighting. I really liked this and at no point it felt rushed.
If you have a private guide, of course that's the best situation - then your guide can 100% cater towards your needs and you have every bit of freedom of what you'd like to see and do.
We're going to Zambia and Bots this year and in Zambia, we have a whole week with a private photographic guide so this will be the ultimate form of freedom. In Bots we're going on a tour with a small group, again all photographers and guided by very good wildlife photographers. I quite like the mix of this trip, because I also enjoy the social aspect (chatting about our day over a beer around the campfire).
btw, the rates you mention do sound reasonable if you get the top quality guides, camps, etc. I guess it depends on your budget; I couldn't afford it so have to resort to more affordable options. One place to look for specific photographic Africa trips, also with private guide, is http://www.wild-eye.co.za/
That's the answer. I specifically did a Photography Safari, set up by David Anderson Safaris, who has arranged hundreds of them and attended over 90 himself. Our drivers were our guides and were educated in wildlife biology and management. They knew the habits of our subjects and timing of the best opportunities. They would gladly move the vehicle just one inch if I felt that would help the imaging. Photography all day until you drop, then again and again for nearly two weeks. No stopping for tea and crumpets or afternoon naps before an hour long game drive that you couldn't get a decent shot from.
p.2 #3 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
I very much understand your perspectives, including the analogies to the philosophies of hunting, photos as trophies, and your criticism of formulaic, set-up images. The web is full of many different photographers repeating the same-old photos, and I appreciate your wanting to dig-in and do your own original take.
You recognize a big part of insightful, personally satisfying, wildlife photography is learning about particular animals in their own particular location/habitat--even going way beyond the personal stalking you describe. Since you don't have the time, etc., to relocate to Africa and spend years observing long-lived animals going through their life-histories, what better way to get the working knowledge you need than by learning from experts? Not self-promoting academic hucksters who egotistically claim expertise, but, instead, getting knowledge from true, on-the-ground people who have years of experience from being close to the animals and, in addition, can provide the logistics required to get you where you need to go?
p.2 #4 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
We went on a family tour with Safari Infinity in Tanzania and it was awesome. We had 7 total people so we decided on two guides and 2 Land Cruisers. I was in the one made for photography and my in-laws were in the more comfortable one with a sun shade. My guide had gone in the bush many times with single photographers and knew what the best angles were and was very patient when I was taking photographs. The only pressure to move on came from my kids since it was a private tour. This is my suggestion as most tour operators are very accommodating.
So while I can see there is some satisfaction to "doing it yourself," to me that's like trying to climb Everest without Sherpas. It is infinitely easier to do it with help from the guides/natives. They talk to each other when animals have been sighted so why not use their expertise to your advantage? With or without a guide, animals do not pose for standard images. Guides will sit on one area all day if that's what you want.
p.2 #5 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
My 2 cents . . .
Africa is huge and the vast experiences of being there simply cannot be condensed into a 'you should do this' short-term itinerary. Africa is addictive - don't worry so much about your first trip, rather use that experience to better plan for you next.
p.2 #6 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
Pardon me for a slightly OT question, if one were to go alone to any of these places and hire/engage a guided tour wouldn't that inflate the prices beyond 10k USD ? What is the general ballpark dollar wise one needs for a photo centric safari ?
p.2 #7 · The satisfaction of African wildlife photography?
My 2c worth
Self drive is the way to go, not only for costs but for a unique experience and individual photograph. Living in South Africa you will go a long way to beat the Kruger National Park. There you can self drive, stay in camps at very very low costs if you are spending $.
I suggest you research KNP https://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/ run by San Parks. You have lots of access to lots of different things, drive at night, early morning walks, talks, biking, camping etc... The park is a big 5 park is huge with many different habitats. Another great park which you can access from South Africa and Botswana is the Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park awesome awesome arid desert park. I am going again myself in a few weeks.
I live close to the KNP and am a wildlife photographer myself so I have a little experience
Time of the year is also important dependant on what you see. Don't forget March is beginning of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere
). The 'normal' vehicles with visitors would stay a lot shorter at each sighting. I really liked this and at no point it felt rushed. 
