6 Simple wildlife photography tips to secure that outstanding shot

6 Simple wildlife photography tips to secure that outstanding shot

Wildlife photography doesn’t have to be complicated. Follow these 6 Simple wildlife photography tips to secure that outstanding shot. Also, be sure to read the follow-up tips to make sure that your photos are secured for a lifetime.

 

The first part of the post is about taking the shots, the second part is about keeping the shots! Both parts are very important parts of the wildlife photography process.

 

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6 Simple wildlife photography tips to secure that outstanding shot

 

 

 

1. Get down low

 

This is my number one tip that will immediately make a big difference to the look of your photos. When we are on safari we tend to be looking down on the animal from the car. Especially if you are in one of those land cruisers where the roof pops open.

 

You know the score you are standing on the seat, head out of the rood, the wind in your hair. You are scanning for animals and you find something and immediately you excitedly start taking photos.

 

This is where I want you to pause, take a second to get down and sit on the seat or even crouch on the floor of the car. Now place your lens out through the window. Getting lower to the ground gives you a better chance of getting on eye level with the animal or below. This gives you a more realistic perspective and makes the viewer feel more connected to the animal.

 

With larger animals, like elephants, shooting from below them really gives them stature and allows the viewer to get a feeling of how big they really are. I took this photo while lying on the ground as the elephant walked past.

 

A large elephant in black and white

 

If you are in an open land cruiser then even better, you might be able to lie down on the car floor on your stomach. If this is not possible then another way is to place your camera outside of the car and, if you can, tilt your camera screen upwards towards you so you can see what you are shooting.

 

2. Shoot in Appateur priority mode (A)

 

In aperture priority mode you set the aperture and your camera sets the corresponding shutter speed and ISO (if your ISO is on auto).

 

This means you are deciding the depth of field (how much of the photo is in focus) and your camera sets the shutter speed accordingly so your exposure is balanced. The lower the f-number e.g. f2.8 the smaller the depth of field. This means less of the shot will be in focus. A lower f-number gives that shot where the animal is in focus and you get a beautifully blurred background.

 

Lion cub on a termite mound

 

If you are taking a landscape shot you will want the whole scene in focus so you will need to raise the f-number to about 8-11.

 

As stated the camera will then set the shutter speed to balance the exposure for you and you don’t have to worry about that.

 

3. Use a bean bag to steady your camera

 

A lot of wildlife photography takes place in a car where you don’t have the luxury of being able to use a tripod. To add to the issue, you are likely using a long lens. With a long lens, it is important to keep it still to avoid blur. A good substitute for a tripod is a bean bag. Place the bean bag over the car window and rest your lens on the bean bag. This enables you to keep the lens steady while you take your shot.

 

If you don’t have a bean bag or don’t want to carry one then fill up a sock with rice (uncooked obviously).

 

4. Shoot at the correct time

 

There are two reasons why safari equates to early mornings. One is the animals are more active in the morning as it is cooler in temperature. Two, the lighting is perfect for capturing these moments.

 

Buffalo Sunrise

 

The same goes for golden hour, just an hour or so before the sun goes down. Make sure you are out and about during these times to try and capture the animals at the best time. Keep an eye on your ISO, you might need to raise it a little to compensate for the lower light conditions.

 

A lion yawning

 

5. Don’t always zoom in

 

It is tempting when you have a long lens to use it to its fullest. The temptation is to always zoom as far as possible and get as close to the animal as possible. This is not always the best option. The beauty of a safari is seeing the animals in their natural habitat, out in the wild. Try to get a variety of shots including ones where you can see the whole animals in their surroundings.

 

Lion and Tree

 

A bonus tip is to notice the direction the animal is looking and leave space in that direction. This helps you tell more of a story with your photo as it leaves the viewer wondering what the animal is looking at.

 

A male lion looking in to the distance

 

6. Have spare SD cards & batteries

 

If you are anything like me you will be taking a lot of photos while on safari. You don’t want to miss any opportunities so it is better to take the shots while you can. However, this does equate to a lot of space being taken up on your SD cards and you won’t always have access to a way to back them up while you are away.

 

To overcome this make sure you have lots of spare SD cards. Also, consider the quality of the SD card, the higher the c number the faster the card is, the faster you can take photos. 10 is the highest c number meaning it will write the photos to the camera faster.

 

A slower SD card will take longer to store the photos meaning you might have a period where the camera is buffering while it saves the photos. You will not be able to use the camera at this point. Therefore it is worth investing in a quality SD card.

 

Of course, you also need to consider the size of the SD card. I usually don’t use anything less than 128gb but you can get SD cards that go up to 4Tb these days. I usually use these by SanDisk:

 

 

In terms of batteries, you always need to have a backup. Electricity isn’t always the most reliable to be able to charge your batteries every night. You might also be out for long days and might have to switch to a new battery. I always have 2 spare batteries with me on safaris.

Keeping the shots

Ok so now you have taken some amazing photos from your trip, the next part is just as important.

We have all done it, we have taken the photos, we know there are some killer shots in there. But we haven’t gotten around to downloading the photos, deleting the rubbish ones and backing up the good ones.

I know, I know backing up photos is not as exciting as taking the photos, but once you have done this part you can do the next exciting part. Editing and sharing the photos. So let’s take a look at the process of backing up your photos.

7. Backing up your photos

If you do have access to a laptop on your travels then it is a good idea to back up your photos. If not you will have to wait until you get home. To do this you will need a hard drive. For safari or even if you just travel a lot, I would recommend a more robust one. There have been numerous times when I have bought a normal hard drive and it has ended up breaking and I have lost a lot of photos.

Trust me, the sunken heart feeling when the hard drive corrupts and you lose the photos is not worth the few extra pounds you saved when you bought it!

I now use these ones by Lacie. They are more durable and can withstand a bit of rough treatment:

8. Back up your photos again!

Ok, so you have moved your photos from your SD card to your hard drive. Remember this is when you should then be filtering out the good photos and deleting the bad. The next step is to back up again the remaining photos. Remember when I told you about my hard drives corrupting… this is why you back up again. We now have a ‘My cloud’ device to ensure we don’t lose any more photos. This device backs up your photos to the hard drives inside and then onto a cloud system so you can access them from anywhere.

So there you have my 6 simple and effective wildlife photography tips. Plus tips on backing up your photos. I hope you found it useful. Remember the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy your holiday. If you miss the shots, don’t worry. I can assure you once you have been on safari once, you will definitely come back!

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6 Simple wildlife photography tips to secure that outstanding shot
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Reteti baby elephant sanctuary

Reteti baby elephant sanctuary

Reteti elephant sanctuary community united for Elephants does exactly what it says on the tin!

Reteti elephant sanctuary community united for elephants (R.E.S.C.U.E)

Reteti was started in 2016. Its purpose is to help the increasing number of elephants who are being abandoned, separated, falling into wells or being affected by human-wildlife conflict. Previously, these elephant calves went to the Daphne Sheldrick Centre in Nairobi to be looked after. When ready, they would then be released to Tsavo National Park. While it was great that these elephants were being rescued, the people of Samburu felt like they needed to have their own centre in Samburu. The benefit is that the elephants would not have as far to travel and they can potentially be released potentially back with their original herd.

This board is on display at the sanctuary and tells you the name of each elephant and why they had to be rescued:

Reteti elephant sanctuary community united for elephants

Community ownership

The Sanctuary is owned and run by the Samburu people. There are around 50 staff members to take care of the elephants.  Currently, there are 33 baby elephants, 4 reticulated giraffes and 2 kudus. 10 elephants have already been successfully released back to the wild. To help raise awareness of the situation and funds to assist, tourists are allowed to visit the centre.  The highlight of the visit is watching the elephants being fed their bottles and feeding the baby giraffe.

Prior to the feeding, you are taken to the kitchen where the nutritionist explains how they make up the milk. She explains what ingredients go into the milk and how they measure and adjust the formula for each individual elephant’s needs. Interestingly they have just started using goat milk with the formula and have found it to be pleasing to the elephants. This is great news as it now provides business for local Samburu herders who can sell their milk to the sanctuary. There are many other ingredients that go into the milk. Including human baby formula, honey, calcium, baobab mineral mix, multivitamins and even salt to ensure that when they go back to the wild they are used to saltwater. The exact amount and ingredients depend on the size, age and needs of the individual elephant.

Feeding time

When it comes to feeding time a wheelbarrow of milk bottles is taken to the feeding area and you are shown to the observation deck. The elephants are waiting impatiently at the gate.  Each keeper has a bottle with the elephant’s name on it and they have to identify their elephant and give them the correct bottle. This is quite difficult to do when the elephants are running at you full speed, trumpeting and demanding their milk!

It doesn’t take them long to guzzle down their bottle and they then the second wave of elephants are let in. When all the elephants have full belies they are left to play in the water, wallow in the mud and snooze in the shade. The elephants get fed every 3 hours, day and night.

Once the excitement of the elephant feeding is over then come along the baby giraffes (already taller than me). They are also due their bottle and come up to the observation deck demanding their food.  If you’re lucky you might actually be able to feed them, but you might have to fight them to get the bottle off them once all the milk has gone!

Costs

To visit the centre cost $20 per person for foreigners or 150 Kenyan Shillings for Kenyan residents. This money goes directly into the centre to help with the costs of feeding and looking after the elephants (and giraffes). There are also T-shirts available for sale (like the one I am wearing below) for $30.

Reteti elephant sanctuary community united for elephants

Logistics

The sanctuary is located north of Nanyuki, in the Namunyak wildlife conservancy, Samburu region. Once you get off the tarmac road it is about 45 minutes down a dirt road. The sanctuary is close to Mt Ololokwe, Samburu, Shaba and Buffalo Springs so you could combine it with a visit to any/all of those places. To read more about other places to visit in northern Kenya read this blog post 5 must-see places in northern Kenya. 

It is best to tell them in advance when you are planning on visiting, they do sometimes have exclusive viewings meaning you might have to wait around another 3 hours if you happen to turn up on one of these. Also in April and May, the dirt road can get worse due to the rains so email l ahead to check if it is accessible.

Email: info@retetielephants.org

Accommodation

Reteti its self has no accommodation. The best place to stay in my opinion for self-sufficient campers is elephant rock, it is just 5 minutes away from Reteti. The elephant rock is the site where the community used to meet to discuss starting the elephant sanctuary. A French artist called Youri Cansell has painted a beautiful elephant mural on the rock. There are no facilities here so if you would like to stay here you have to have everything with you that you will need. For example cooking facilities, water, tent, sleeping bag etc. You also need to arrange for 2 rangers to be with you throughout the night for safety. This can be organised through Reteti.

Non Camping accommodation

If you are not equipped for camping then another option is Lion Caves Camp which is just off the other side of the tarmac road, so a maximum of an hour away.  Rooms are comfortable and reasonably priced ($75 for the room plus breakfast per couple). The rooms have a wonderful view over the river and the large overhanging rock is the perfect place for a sundowner in the evening.

I would highly recommend visiting Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, you get to witness first-hand what a united community can achieve, feed cute baby animals and feel good while doing it as your money help them to be able to rescue more animals in need!

Have you been to Reteti, what was your experience like? If you would like to know more comment below and I will assist as best I can.

5 must-see places in Northern Kenya

5 must-see places in Northern Kenya

We have just come back from a short 10-day road trip around north Kenya. This blog post will briefly explain the route of the whole trip and a bit of information about the 5 must-see places in Northern Kenya. Future blog posts will go into detail about each place related to our trip specifically.

 

The route

Day 1 – Lewa – Il Ngwezi

Day 2 – Il Ngwezi

Day 3 – Il Ngwezi – Sabache Camp at the foot of Mt Ololokwe

Day 4 – Climb Mt Olokwe – Lion Cave Camp.

Day 5 – Lion Cave camp – Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

Day 6 – Reteti Elephant Sanctuary – Elephant Rock

Day 7 – Elephant Rock – Isiolo (food top-up) – Samburu

Day 8- Samburu

Day 9 – Samburu

5 must-see places in Northen Kenya

5 must-see placed in Northen Kenya

Day 10 – Samburu -Lewa

 

5 MUST-SEE places in Northern Kenya

1 Il Ngwezi

2. Mt Ololokwe

3. Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

4. Elephant Rock

5. Samburu

The total driving time between each destination was no longer than 3 hours or no more than 100km, this makes it is a great trip for those who don’t like long days in the car.  It also means you have more time to rest and relax as you are not having to get on the road so early in the morning to make your drive to the next place. This was a part of the trip that I LOVED! Don’t get me wrong I love road trips but in Africa, the distances tend to be far and the drives long. Consequently, you do spend a lot of the day in the car getting to your destination as well as a lot of time in the car on safari. I also loved that this trip was active, we climbed a mountain, we went for hikes, walking safaris and I even managed to fit in a run! Let’s have a look in more detail at the 5 must-see places in North Kenya:

 

 

Il Ngwezi

This is probably not on a lot of lists in Northern Kenya THE PLACE to visit, but that’s what also makes it THE PLACE to visit. We were the only visitor in the whole conservancy, of course, a lot of this has to do with covid, but generally, it’s not a busy place. Il Ngwezi Eco Lodge is a community-owned and run lodge in Kenya. It is run by the Laikipia Maasai people for the sake of the conservation of the wilderness and the animals.


Accommodation: Il Ngwezi lodge offers affordable comfort surrounded by pure wilderness, it is the only lodge in the conservancy so you will never bump into too many people on your safari. The lodge has a large pool with views overlooking the water hole and comfortable bedrooms. The ‘star’ bedroom overlooks the water hole and the bed is on wheels so you can roll it out onto the deck and sleep under the stars.  Both the toilet and the shower also share the same amazing view of the waterhole, I think it would be difficult to leave your room if you stayed there. You can also camp in the conservancy as we did, but be warned there are no facilities. Make sure you are self-sufficient when camping. You also need to have a ranger with you for safety reasons.

Activities: The lodge does have a game viewer, or you can drive your own car, however, we didn’t really safari by car at all. Instead, we went on walking Safaris with the ranger, the geography is perfect for walking safaris as it is quite open so you can see the animals from a long way off, there are also no buffalo so you don’t have to worry about bumping into them as you walk. Other activities offered include; visits to the Maasai village, spa treatments, bush breakfasts, visiting  Mukogodo Forest and walking to the rhino sanctuary.

Animals: The area has a lot of reticulated giraffes as well as gerenuk, impala, lion, kudu, waterbuck, hyena, leopards (although very rare to see) and elephants.

 

Mt Ololokwe

The sacred mountain of Ololkwe. The recognisable flat top of Mt Ololokwe makes for a wonderful hiking destination.  The hike is 4.32 Km long up and then the same back again. It takes around 2 hours to climb if you’re going at a good pace, longer if you stop and take rests. It is 2,000m high. It is very steep at the start and then gets easier, it’s not an easy climb so prepare to be out of breath! Top tip, start your climb early (4:00 am) to get t the top for sunrise it will be cold but worth it for the view!

Accommodation: We camped at Sabache camp (named after one of the smaller mountains adjoined to Ololkwe), it is the perfect location for the hike as it is literally at the foot of the mountain so you basically begin your uphill climb straight away. The campsite is very basic but it does have a clean toilet (long drop compost toilets) and cold showers. There is a young Maasai as security to watch over your stuff as there are monkeys around camp so be careful of leaving food out.  Sabache also has a lodge that looked like when it was in its prime it would have been great. The views from the rooms and the generous balconies are certainly amazing but, unfortunately, it has been left to go downhill and it certainly needs some work doing to restore it to its former glory days.

Activities: Climbing My Ololokwe is the obvious one you can also camp on the top of the mountain which we didn’t do but I think if we went again we would.  There are also other not so strenuous walks you can do that will still award you a pleasant view including climbing Mt Sabache. The website also claims other activities including cultural visits, night wildlife safaris (although their land rover game viewer was ‘parked’ in the campsite and looked like it hadn’t moved in a very long time), visiting the singing wells and camel safaris. It is also well located for day safaris into the local parks including Samburu and Shaba.

Animals: Plenty of monkeys around the campsite and genets at night time as well as elephants in camp waking us up at night. The elephants actually walk up the mountain to get water from the permanent springs so be aware when hiking up, especially if hiking in the dark. We also saw lots of leopard tracks.

 

Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

My favourite part of the trip! This again is a community-owned and run sanctuary, the community came together to provide a refuge for all of the baby elephants who were being abandoned by their mums (due to drought) separated from their mums, had fallen in wells and were unable to get out or were injured or otherwise needing help. The sanctuary started in 2016 and they now have 33 orphaned elephants and have already reintroduced 12 back into the wild. They also have 4 baby reticulated giraffes and 2 kudus.


Accommodation: Again if you are self-sufficient you can ask permission to camp at the elephant rock (more info in the next part) but other than that there is no accommodation so you need to find a place nearby. Lion cave camp is a very nice, affordable site.  We did plan to camp there but you couldn’t access the campsite by car (our tent is a rooftop tent) so we decided to get a room instead. The rooms are varied in price but we actually went for the most expensive ($75 for 2 people with breakfast). Our room had a beautiful view over the Ewaso Nyiro river which I would have loved to splash around in (it’s very hot!) except for the fact that there are crocodiles everywhere! The perfect activity here is sundowners on the rock overhanging the river.

Activities: Feeding baby giraffes (my highlight!) and watching the caretakers feeding the baby elephants. You also get a tour of the kitchen and learn what the elephants get fed (spoiler: it involves goats milk and human baby formula) and how they mix the formula. The elephants get fed every 3 hours and they are literally trying to break down the fence to get their bottle. When the gates are opened they come running and trumpeting to their keeper demanding their milk. When their bellies are full they then splash around in the mud and play in the water, it’s truly a magical experience.

 

 

Elephant Rock

The Elephant rock, the place where the elders met to discuss the start of Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. Since the start of Reteti a French artist, Youri Cansell, painted the elephant on the rock, it’s an impressive mural and an amazing place to be able to camp for the night.

Accommodation: What you see is what you get, if you want to camp here, as I said before, you need to be self-sufficient. There are no facilities so make sure you have enough water and food. You also need to arrange with Reteti beforehand so they can organise rangers for you, you have to have 2 rangers with you throughout the night for safety reasons. Generally, you don’t notice they are there are they are patrolling the area so you are left to feel like you are camping alone under the stars guarded by this magnificent elephant.

Activities: You are of course very close still to Reteti Elephant sanctuary so you can go there and see the elephants and giraffes, you can also do hikes and walks around the area with your ranger. There are many hills to climb which offer great views, and there is also plenty of wildlife around to be able to do a walking safari.

 

Samburu

Lastly, we visited Samburu National Reserve. Famous for its ‘Special five’ including Reticulated giraffe, Somalian ostrich, Grevy’s zebra, Besia Oryx and Gerenuk, although these can all also be seen in other parks. Samburu is also home to the beautiful vulturine guineafowl who are very photogenic.  Samburu is definitely a place worth visiting, although, it has to be said, at this particular time there were a few unexpected surprises.  Currently, there is a big drought in Kenya, the rainy season simply did not produce enough rain and as a consequence humans and animals alike are suffering. Due to this the local Samburu community are currently grazing their cattle, sheep and goats within Samburu and Shaba reserve.  This somewhat ‘takes away’ from the safari experience as men and women, their livestock and even their dogs wander through the reserve. However, needs must and until the rains return, this is what will happen.

Accommodation: Currently, there appears to only be one high-end lodge open in Samburu, due to covid many have closed. Elephant Bedroom has remained open and did have guests. There is also Samburu Riverside camp which isn’t on the riverside.  It is a basic tented camp with stationary tents for $60 per person per night. There are also public campsites which are on the riverside. You are literally on the banks of the river with many shady spots under the trees, the trouble is, once again the campsite has seen better days and the facilities are not maintained. The toilets and the showers are unusable, but there is a working tap so that’s a bonus! We stayed at the campsite nearest the ranger post and in terms of location it’s perfect, you are on the river bank and the core game-viewing area is right behind the camp.

Activities: Games drive of course! Despite the people and livestock walking around, there is still plenty of wildlife, including the ‘special five’ and lots of elephants who came into our camp every day. When the big camps are open they also offer things like bush breakfast, cultural visits etc but for us, it was lots of game drives and lots of relaxing at the camp in the heat of the day.

So there you have it! 5 must-see places in Northern Kenya.  With tourism still recovering from Covid it’s a great opportunity to travel local, get out there and be a tourist in your own surroundings, we didn’t travel far from home this trip but still felt like we were in a different world! Have you been to any of these places, do you have any other recommendations, comment below and let me know!

 

 
When Elephants Visited Lewa Camp

When Elephants Visited Lewa Camp

Let’s talk about safari. Many people have a favourite animal when it comes to what they want to see on safari. A lot of the time it’s lions, leopards or cheetahs, some kind of predator as they have the WOW factor. I understand that of course, it is exciting to see a lion, well initially it is, and then you realise that you have spent the past 20 minutes staring at a pride of sleeping lions when the only shot you can get is on the side of its face hidden in the tall grass.

Don’t get me wrong, witnessing and getting those shots when the members of the pride greet each other or the lion cubs playing or that iconic yawning shot is very exciting, but with lions, it’s usually 5 minutes of action, which you had better not miss, and 30 minutes of sleeping.

The same applies to Cheetah and leopards a lot of the time it’s a shot of them sleeping or resting, preserving their energy for their hunt.

A cheetah resting in the brown grass

However, with patients, you sometimes managed to get some kind of action shot, for example, a shot of a cheetah with Mount Kenya in the background

Or a scene you can turn into an artistic low key shot:

But the chances of seeing action when observing predators is quite low. I have lived in Africa for 7 years, been on countless safaris and in my lifetime I have seen one successful lion hunt, and one failed hunt, one successful cheetah hunt (a VERY long way away) and maybe 3/4 predators with kills that they had already made. While of course, these were amazing experiences, this is the exception rather than the rule. The likelihood of seeing some action is not really in your favour.

Let’s Talk About Elephants

If action and entertainment are what you are looking for when on safari then elephants are the animals for you. Yes, elephants do spend around 80% of their time grazing but during that time there is always a lot more going on. Elephants live in herds led by a dominant female called the matriarch. The matriarch is the oldest and wisest female of the group, she leads the herd to their feeding ground, to water and generally looks out for everyone’s safety.

Within the herd, there are usually one or two young calves. Depending on the age of the babies they are sometimes difficult to spot, very young calves (below one year) will still fit under their mother’s belly and spend all of their time close to her and usually shielded by the rest of the herd.

As they get a bit older they venture a bit further away and they are endlessly entertaining to watch, especially when they have not yet figured out how to use their trunk.

There will also be some adolescents who still at times play with the younger calves, or tussle with each other, especially younger males as they wrestle to test their strength. The adolescents are usually the ones to show you how big and strong are by flaring their ears and doing a mock charge at you to show you who’s boss.

 

When these bulls (males) become a bit older (around 12 to 15 years of age) you will find them on the outskirts of the herd. Bull elephants are slowly pushed away to prevent inbreeding within the herd, but they are sometimes reluctant to leave the safety of the group. The outcast males eventually go off on their own and roam alone. They are kept in good behaviour by the dominant bull in the territory who gets breeding rights with the females. Eventually, the young bulls will challenge the dominant male to try and win breeding rights.

Elephants are such gentle giants, you will be amazing at how a whole herd of 2-7 ton mammals can move so silently and quickly through the bush, you can literally lose sight of a 10+ strong herd in a matter of minutes.

 

 

A photo of a herd of elephant walking on the green grass with a cloudy blue sky

It is also fascinating to watch their feeding habits when the adults reach up to the branches balancing on their hind legs to bring down food for the smaller elephants,

They also use their feet to dig up the root of the grass and then hit the grass against the floor or their tusks to knock the soil off, this prevents unnecessary grinding down of their teeth as much as I’m sure it also doesn’t taste great. As I said there is always something interesting to see when watching elephants and the following image is one of my personal favourites as it is so unusual, this particular ele had a persistent itch and found the perfect tree to be able to scratch it:

One of the best times to observe elephants is when they are by water. At the first sight of water they often get so excited they can’t help but trumpet and run towards it. When drinking they are able to suck up around 10 litres of water in one trunk full. At a waterhole, you can often see the social structure in action as the matriarch is the first to drink and decided when it is time to move off. Once they have finished drinking they then enter the water and splash around and wrestle or splash water over themselves to cool themselves down. An elephant is fortunate to not have and predators that are able to take them down (besides humans) so they are able to spend time enjoying life and securing social bonds. I can spend hours watching elephants and never get bored.

This video was taken in Randelin Wildlife Management Area, just outside Tarangire National Park, Tanzania where Tarangeri Tree Tops is located

This is a great way to observe elephants as it allows you to get close without being obtrusive or putting yourself or the elephants in danger.  It also gives great opportunities for unique low angle photos.

Recently a herd of elephants camp to the camp to visit. The waterhole at camp had just been fixed and the elephants could obviously sense this and they were coming to get the first taste. The herd walked past the entrance to the lodge and followed the fence around until they got to the water. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to be on foot (safely behind an electric fence) while they walked past. I was lying on the ground to ensure the best angle to give the elephant the status it deserves. From a game viewer, the elephant is undeniably impressive but from the ground level, there is nothing more intimidating than a herd of elephants marching less than 50 yards away from you.

Once around the other side of camp, they made straight for the waterhole and spent around an hour drinking, feeding and cooling off, much to the guest delight at they had their afternoon tea. Here are some of the shots (available as fine art photographic prints) taken on the day:

Two adult elephants with their forehead and trunks together

A close up of elephants drinking at a waterhole

Three elephants, one baby elephant stealing water from the mouth of another

If elephants are your favourite animals are elephants and you are looking for the best places to see elephants then I recommend 2 places, in particular, one is Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, for that luxury trip you can stay at Tarangire Tree Tops and Chobe National Park in Botswana. I personally have been to both of these places (Tarangire on many occasions) and have never been disappointed.

With regards to reading more about the social structure of elephants or just learning a bit more about them from an expert then I recommend reading ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ by the late Lawerence Anthony it’s an amazingly touching story about his life with a herd of troublesome elephants on his conservancy in South Africa:

A photo of the front cover of the book 'the elephant whisperer'

The sequential book ‘An Elephant in my Kitchen’ by Lawrences’ wife Françoise Malby-Anthony is the story of how she continues her late husband’s conservation work, expanding to caring for not only orphaned elephants but also orphan rhinos, and the consequential lessons she learnt about ‘love, courage and survival’ is also definitely worth a read.

a picture of the front cover the book 'An elephant in my kitchen'

Check out other images available for purchase as fine art, sustainable photographic prints delivered straight to your door:

-Colour collection 

-Black and white collection 

-Dark Collection 

-Light Collection

-Nursery Collection

Prints For Wildlife, a Fundraiser for Wildlife

Prints For Wildlife, a Fundraiser for Wildlife

 Only 4 days left to purchase your beautiful print and make a positive contribution to wildlife conservation

Prints for Wildlife is an initiative set up by Pie Aerts and Marion Payr in connection with African Parks. The aim of the initiative is to increase funds for Wildlife conservation and community projects due to the immense deficit caused by Covid. The overnight closure of the international tourism sector in March 2020 has led to a profound economic deficit which has a substantial impact on wildlife and the connected communities. ‘It is estimated that 24 million Africans depend on tourism for their livelihood’ (https://www.printsforwildlife.org/pages/about).

Prints for Wildlife brings together 170 generous photographers including famous photographers David Lloyd and Beverly Joubert who have kindly donated their images to be sold to wildlife lovers around the world, with 100% of profits going directly to the non-profit organisation African Parks. African Parks are responsible for managing 19 National Parks and protected areas in 11 countries. Their aim is to rehabilitate and effectively manage wildlife areas in partnership with governments and local communities. Watch this video to find out more about African Parks and their achievements.

The initial Prints for Wildlife launched in July 2020 raised $660,200 for African Parks. This money has helped African Parks, not only to protect the African Wildlife including gorillas, Rhino, elephants, lions and many other species, it also supports local communities. African Parks have ensured they are able to continue providing education, medical service and sustainable livelihoods to vulnerable communities surrounding wildlife areas. If you would like to get your hands on one of the beautiful prints while at the same time contributing to a very important cause then you can head to their website to select your print. Images are 30 x 45cm, printed on sustainable paper and limited to 100 print editions. If you buy 3 or more prints then you get free delivery. However, the fundraiser ends on the 11th of August so you don’t have long to get your orders in!

References:                                                                                                                                            https://www.africanparks.org/about-us/our-story
https://www.printsforwildlife.org/pages/about

Fine Art Print Collection

Fine Art Print Collection

Fine Art Print Collection 

I have spent many years taking photos and to be honest the photos have mostly just sat on my computer. Therefore I am really excited to finally have my fine art print collection live and ready to purchase! 

 

I am so happy to be able to share my photos properly, and not in a 1 inch x 1 inch box on instagram. But on my own website where I can control the size and how it is displayed. I have literally thousands of photos and one of the hardest things about making a gallery is choosing the images. These imges are just a start. I will continue to add more photos and go through old photos so keep checking back and for updates and new prints.

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I am very fortunate to have been able to regularly visit some of the most amazing places for African Wildlife. My aim is to share these beautiful places with you all. I hope that these photos spark some joy for you or even better if they inspire you to experience it for yourself. All of these photos are from my personal experiences. They are from holidays, trips and adventures around East Africa from my 7 years of living here. There are photos from numerous places including Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Bwindi and many more.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many, if any, photos from Malawi, despite living there for four years. I didn’t have a great camera at the time so my photos are not really good enough to feature in my galleries but maybe I will do a post just for memories sake of my time in Malawi.

Personal stories 

Of course, you can google photos of the Serengeti and I am certain you will find much more beautiful photos that mine. However, I think there is something about seeing the photos and experiences from someone you know that makes it that bit more special.

Maybe some of you were even with me on these trips. For me every photo is a memory captured and it is now available forever to remind me of that special time. Photos from these collections are moments from so many amazing experiences including; my mum coming to visit, last safaris with friends, holiday adventures and even once in a lifetime birthday trips to see the Gorillas in Bwindi. I personally have some of these photos on display in my own house. 

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With that in mind all of the photos you see are available for sale.  If you recognise any of them or even just where they are  taken and want to display that memory in your home then you can either buy direct from the website or contact me if you would like a custom order.

Sustainable, quality prints 

All orders are processed through The Print Space Uk, Europe’s premium Carbon Neutral fine art and photographic printers. Print production is of the highest quality and and orders are shipped within 48 hours. All photos are printed on the highest quality Fuji’s professional C-type matt photographic paper which is designed for photographers to get the best out of each photo.  Fuji matt paper brings out a very natural feel to the colour which adds a three dimensional feel to the print.  Whats more the Print Space Uk has a sustainable promise  with sustainably sourced inject paper and all packaging and bubble wrap is 100% recyclable.

Fine Art Print Collections

The photos are split up into 5 different collections; the nursery collection, black and white, colour, dark and lastly the light collection. Although some photos do overlap. I invite you to take a look though the fine art print collections. I challenge, those of you who know me personally, to see if you can can find a photo that you recognise. If you do, comment below where you remember the photo being taken. Click on a photo below to take you to that collection, happy browsing!

 

The Dark Collection

A collection of dark and powerful images

A young elephant hiding behind his mother legs

The Light Collection

A collection of images edited to be a light, decorative addition to any home

lion photo on a wall in a living room

The Nursery Collection

A collection of images of baby animals, perfect to brighten up any child’s nursery

Baby elephant with his ears out

 

 

The Black and White Collection

A collection of black and white images to suit any colour scheme in your home

A fine art black and white photographic print of two giraffes looking at the camera hanging above a bench

The Colour Collection

A collection of more traditional colour images to appreciate the  magical colours of Africa

A rhino in the golden sunlight at sunset

I hope you enjoy looking through my fine art print collection and maybe some of the photos spark some memories for you. Maybe they have even inspired you to take that once in a lifetime Africa trip in which case my mission is complete! Reach out if you need any help or advice or let me know your favourite pics.