Don Marianos has travelled to Luangwa with me 3 times in the last 3 years. It’s been such a pleasure to get to know him and Kathy and also to watch his development as a photographer. The images he is sharing here, from our 2019 trip, are yet another large step up from his shots in 2018 which were already a dramatic improvement on 2017’s. It’s so rewarding to see guests develop their skills build their own creative style. I look forward to sharing a tour of Botswana in 2020 and continuing plans for Tanzania in 2021! Over to you Don:

Over the past 3 years we have spent a total of 37 days on safari with Edward in South Luangwa National Park. Various combinations of longtime friends: Kathy Phipps and Gordon Fox (Phox Photos), Bev and Bob Isman, Lynne and Mark Siegal, have joined us on all of our safaris with Ed. In 2020 Ed has agreed to accompany all eight of us to Botswana for a 12-day photographic safari and we are now starting to discuss a 2021 trip – stay tuned! That gives you an idea of how much fun we’ve had on these trips. Hopefully, these photos will show that our photographic skills have improved.

In September/October 2019 we spent 19 days on safari. We had sun and clouds, heat and brief torrential rains, amazing stars with cloudless and moonless nights, and some of the most dramatic sunrises and sunsets. There were occasional pesky insects and a “curious” elephant who enjoyed disrupting our Mwamba chalet. The staff at every camp went above and beyond to meet every need we had and anticipated desires we did not even know we had. There were more than 40 exciting game drives, which included amazing daytime drives and some pretty extraordinary night sightings. Many incredible hours were spent sitting in excellent hides witnessing and photographing animal behavior at VERY close range! Most importantly, we had so much fun with Ed and our friends and every day we looked forward to what nature had to offer, and we were never disappointed.

Our sincere thanks to Ed for his patience and calm guidance in challenging photographic situations and for helping us to anticipate what may come next and how to best capture it in rapidly evolving encounters. Our thanks also to Robin Pope Safaris, Shenton Safaris and The Bushcamp Company for wonderful accommodations, great food, and fantastic staff. We will see you all again!

Don and Kathy Marianos
Arizona, USA