KENYA BIRDS AS ART/GUSTAPHOTO KENYA SAFARI REPORT
BAD PUN?
This lion was sleeping right next to a tree. I was as bored as he was. The next thing you know, he lets out with this big yawn so I make two images not expecting much. Surprise. Love those teeth my dear!
ON THE ROAD YET AGAIN!
I am flying to Anchorage this Thursday to photograph coastal brown bears fishing for salmon and to do a bit of fishing myself. I will do my best not to get eaten by a bear. I will effectively be out of touch until late September. Jim and Jennifer will be here to help you with mail orders, IPT registrations, etc. If you have some fresh, new questions for me, please hold onto them until after September 25th. Thanks. I hope to meet many of you at the Dallas Seminar.
The giraffes at Nakuru were exceptionally cooperative this year. On previous visits, they always stayed far from the tracks; this year, they often paraded right by the vans. Notice that in this image and the image above, I chose f/5.6 as my aperture rather than working wide open. With the giraffe stretched out to full height and a rather pleasing background, this is one of my favorite giraffe photos. I just hate giraffe images where the animal is sliced in two by the horizon line...
Though this image was made at ISO 3200, there is little noise evident. I converted this image to B&W at the suggestion of George Rodrigues. Thanks George!
.....
BAD PUN?
How bad is this pun? What did the woman say who did not want any ill-tempered wildebeests brought to her location? See the hint below.
.....
All in all, the trip was extremely depressing. Why? Having to look at Todd Gustafson's amazing images each day left me wondering what safari I was on. And that was true even after Todd and I had photographed from the same van. Without question, there is no one in the world better at photographing from the open roof hatch of a safari van than Todd. Several of us attempted to figure out how he does it and here is what we came up with: Todd is always ready. He is always standing with his 600mm lens mounted on a Wimberley head atop his Todd-Pod, and the rig is always on the correct sun-angle side of the van. Todd knows the animals better than they know themselves. He knows what they will do and when. He is a great spotter, far better than even the most experienced guide. He is fast and strong and amazingly creative. He is brave enough (or foolish enough) to change teleconverters on the fly, i.e. while the vehicle is traveling at the park speed limit. And on at least two occasions I have seen him make sharp images with a big lens and a 2X TC when the vehicle was moving at 20-30 km/hr. And when the van stops, he is there, ready to make another great image at the first available (and often the only possible) instant. As I said, it is all very depressing. When I return from Alaska we will publish a gallery of Todd's amazing work.
Though we had great weather at Baringo, we were plagued by wind against sun conditions every morning. The only good images were made as the birds banked before their dive. Note again my choice to go with an aperture one stop smaller than wide open (while still maintaining an adequate shutter speed. HINT
We had some great opps with zebra action at Nakuru. This image succeeds despite the less than ideal sun angle... Note the shadow to the rear of the right-hand animal.
In this case, the presence of the wildebeests was good news. Skilled nature photographers keep their eyes moving even when photographing a dramatic scene or subject. Doing so allowed me to see the vulture coming, let the group know about it, and still have time to place it in the upper right for best compositional balance.
TWO NEW CANON DIGITAL CAMERAS ANNOUNCED
You can do everything right in terms of exposure and focus and depress the shutter button an instant before it seems as if the birds will be lined up perfectly in the viewfinder and still wind up with junk. Here, I was fortunate that the last bird's head did not merge with the bird in front of it.
IPT UPDATES
Finding a fresh kill on mornings with east winds almost always leads to spectacular flight photography with the vultures. 45-Point AFPS nailed the focus on this one. FORT DESOTO IPT, MAR 24-26, (slide program on Thursday, MAR 23 at 7pm): 3-DAY: $899 (Limit 12, 10 openings.)
Fort DeSoto has rapidly become one of my very favorite photo locations. Join us during prime time to photograph Royal and Sandwich Terns & Laughing Gulls in spectacular breeding plumage/courtship and copulations; dark and white phase Reddish Egrets in breeding plumage; many other tame heron and egret species; Forster's Terns, Long-billed Curlew and a dozen or more easily approachable shorebird species; great flight photography opportunities will be available at DeSoto. Depending on local conditions we may or may not enjoy the following in Sarasota: great flight photography opportunities; Brown Pelicans with nesting material; Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, & Black-crowned Night-Heron (head and shoulders portraits likely with this species). This IPT will include at least three slide programs.
LAKE MARTIN, LA SPOONBILL IPTs, APR 8-10, 2006 (slide program on Friday, APR 7), and APR 28-30 (slide program on Friday, APR 27). 3 -DAY: $949 (Limit 12, each with 9 openings)
Join us to photograph nesting Roseate Spoonbills, Great & Cattle Egret, and Little Blue Heron in a budding cypress swamp. We will witness and photograph a variety of courtship behaviors as well as lots of nest building. Barring a natural disaster there will be Great Egret chicks on both IPTs. Tiny spoonbill chicks are possible on the second IPT but will almost surely be difficult to photograph. Both IPTs will feature spoonbills in mind-boggling breeding plumage (unlike anything I've ever seen here in Florida), but there will be more birds in mega-breeding plumage on the first tour. The spoonbills will be courting, building nests, copulating, and fighting. Good flight photography opportunities are expected on both IPTs. 500 and 600mm lenses with 1.4 and 2X TCs are recommended; equipment rentals are available. Barred Owls are guaranteed. There will also be Green Heron, both night-herons, scenic sunrises, nutria, alligators, and lots of flowers. Sunny afternoons will be tough at Lake Martin but mornings will be spectacular. With cloudy weather the days will be long... This IPT includes four slide programs. Registration includes a complimentary homemade crawfish etouffe dinner: hosts: Wes and Patti Ardoin. (Fly to Lafayette, La.)
ST. AUGUSTINE ALLIGATOR FARM IPTHeron and egret rookery. Nesting Great Egrets with chicks, nesting Snowy and Cattle Egrets, and Tricolored Herons. Courtship behaviors, copulations, eggs, nests and possibly tiny chicks. Includes three classroom sessions in air-conditioned comfort during the heat of the day. The introductory slide program will be at 2pm on Friday May 12, 2006.
January 2006 Tanzania Photo-Safari with co-leader Todd Gustafson. January 16-30, 2006 (14 full and one half-day of photography): $7762.50/person. Non-refundable $1000 deposit required. See or request Bulletin 166 in the archives for complete details. (Sold out.)
Summer 2006 Kenya Photo-Safari with co-leader Todd Gustafson. Details to be announced. Non-refundable $1000 deposit required.
We were photographing four young Elands on our last afternoon with Mara when this huge bull sauntered out of the forest and joined them. When photographing animals wagging their tails, be aware of the postion of the tail as you make the images. Holding the shutter down is not a bad option... .....
Homer, AK Bald Eagle IPT MAR 3-7, 2006 5-day: $1699 (limit 10, 4 openings). The opportunities in Homer are beyond-spectacular. We are currently accepting $500 deposits for the 2006 Homer IPT, but these tours will be cancelled if the town, state, or Fish and Wildlife institute a ban on eagle feeding. Please do not purchase your non-refundable plane tickets until after you hear from us in November. According to some reliable information that I received just yesterday, it seems almost certain that there will not be a ban on eagle feeding at Homer in the 2005-2006 season, so the tour should be a go, but please do wait until November before making your travel plans.
Nome, Alaska IPT June 10-20, 2006 in conjunction with Greg Downing: (Greg has a single opening due to a cancellation.) Please e-mail us if you are interested in filling Greg's last slot. Long lenses are a necessity.
Antarctica/South Georgia/Falkland Islands Zegrahms Cruise with Arthur Morris and Greg Downing: January 4-24, 2007. Please e-mail birdsasart@verizon.net for details. Note: We have already filled well more than half of our allotted 30 slots for this trip...
For general IPT info, deposit and registration details, and cancellation policies, please visit: http://www.birdsasart.com/tours.html
If you would like your name placed on the waiting list for one or more trips, please e-mail, indicate the trip or trips that you are interested in, and be sure to include day, evening, and cell phone numbers. We often have late cancellations.
