Africa Adventures - Introduction
“I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.”
ABOVE Nothing says Africa like an Elephant caked in red mud.
I’ve been to Kenya a number of times guiding photographers on Safaris with @wildmanrouse Andy Rouse. On one trip we started at the world famous Maasai Mara, then Lumo Community Conservancy, a day in Tsavo West and finally returning to the Mara. It was an amazing tour with so many encounters thanks to our Sunworld Safari Guides, I worked with Newton and Arnold, both talented photographers themselves but amazing ambassadors for the Kenyan wildlife.
ABOVE A Cape Buffalo, the largest of Africas bovids looking into the early light of sunrise.
ABOVE A Cheetah looking at a distant herd of Thompson’s Gazelles in the Maasai Mara.
I’ve been to Kenya a few times but this was the first time I would be doing Safari’s in the Mara, I had previously only been to Nairobi National Park and Lake Naivasha. This was my first time getting up close to the big cats, Lions, Cheetahs and Leopards but also the not so big Serval, a cat I have wanted to photograph for many years.
On our first drive after landing on the remote airstrip we went to a coalition of 4 brother Cheetah’s who were asleep in the grass. We didn’t have to wait long for them to wake up and give us some photo opportunities though, three of them climbed up on a termite mound which we were in prime position for photos thanks to Arnold’s driving with some tweaking from me.
ABOVE Three of the coalition of four brothers.
The Mara as it is commonly known attracts large numbers of visitors each year, some photographers others just tourists but each usually arrives with their own ideas of what they will see and what Africa will be like.As a photo guide its my job to manage some of those expectations and ensure the photographers in my vehicle leave with lasting memories and great photos.
Being a photo guide is a dream job but it is also hard work, a lot happens in the front of the vehicle when an animal is sighted, the Kenyan safari guide is looking at where he can position the vehicle. The photo guide, me, is looking at where the best light is coming from and where the cleanest photos will be taken, together we get into the best position, then I suggest settings for the clients so they can get the shot, once everyone is shooting I’m already thinking of the next position, if the animal moves what is its likely direction of travel, is there a waterhole close by that it is likely to head to.
Together we discuss options and what to do if the animal moves, sometimes we gamble and anticipate what the animal is going to do so we can be in position, occasionally clients won’t understand why we are moving away from the animal but there isn’t any point taking 400 shots of the animal sitting doing nothing.
ABOVE The speed of a Cheetah at full acceleration is amazing, from a gentle trot to 30mph in a blink of an eye.
The Cheetah’s in the Mara were very good to us, on our second day we gambled on changing position from where everyone else was which paid off, the Cheetah ran straight past us at full speed. I shoot with Sony kit so it locked and tracked the cat no problem, the only thing that let me down was myself, I couldn’t initially find it in the viewfinder as it was moving so fast.
Once a predator makes a kill its pretty gruesome and doesn’t make for great images, I’ll usually allow everyone to grab a few frames to support the story but its not something to spend time watching, the only caveat to that would be if there were other predators close by who may try to take the kill, then its definitely worth staying on them.
ABOVE A pair of cheetahs on a kill they had just made, we didn’t catch the sprint on this one just the aftermath.
There is so much to write and say about any safari that I’m going to break them down into smaller bite size blogs, next up will be the majestic Elephant.