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Photo Safari Skills: My Camera Set Up
I have written at length in the past about how I use Aperture priority as my preferred camera mode for photo safaris. In this blog, I thought I would share my whole camera set up for those wondering how to make the best use of their camera's capability on safari. This post contains more text and fewer photos than my normal updates, but I hope the content is useful! For the last 10 years, camera manufacturers [...]
Photo Safari Report: Epstein, Hancock & Thornton | Zikomo & Lion Camp | 23 June – 1 July 2019
I have just finished an 8-night safari shared between Zikomo Safari Camp in the remote Nsefu Sector and Lion Camp in the game-rich northern part of the park. Each area offers something special but the key selling point of both is lots of game and very few other vehicles sharing our sightings. The group consisted of 4 guests who I had not guided before, but with whom I had been talking on emails for over a [...]
Wildlife: a short update
In between photo safari tours, I take regular trips into the National Park. It's only 2 minutes from my house and it allows me to keep an eye on movements of game and see which lagoons are drying up and where animals are coming to drink. It's also useful to discover where animals are making river crossings and to know which roads are graded and which are still to come. I don't always take my camera [...]
Photo Safari Report: Ismert, Skipper & Wilson | Track & Trail & Lion Camp | 28 May – 7 Jun 2019
Peter Ismert joined me on safari in Luangwa in 2018. Soon after returning home, he booked again for 2019! This time he was joined by his wife and two fellow photographers from Colorado and we all hoped for a great week of sightings and photo opportunities. We couldn't have asked for more; it became almost a joke that anything we mentioned ended up appearing and we only had one outing from the camps where we were [...]
Through the Lens: Waterbirds
I'm just back from a long safari -- write up to follow soon -- with lots of incredible experiences! But among the highlights were buckets of wonderful "normal" sightings including beautiful waterbirds in the park's drying lagoons. Against the backdrop of shady trees, we were able to photograph portraits and behaviour with a black, almost glass-like backdrop. These shots work so well because the bird stands out from the background, but beware because in such situations [...]
Photo Safari Report: Africa Safari Co | Track & Trail River Camp | 13 – 19 May 2019
My new safari season has started with a bang with the first trip last week. The Africa Safari Co in Australia booked me to guide two of their guests on a specialist 6-day safari in the Mfuwe area of South Luangwa. It was great to meet Steve and Geraldine and share safari time with them. Rather than presenting this report in chronological order, I'll talk about different groups of sightings; for example, the bird sightings that [...]
Photo Safari Report: The Luangwa Season Begins….
Today I start my first full-length photo safari of the Luangwa season with guests from Australia. I am looking forward to spending a week with them in the National Park at this stunning time of the year; while many people believe that the later months of September and October are better for safari, it's hard to beat the crisp, detailed light of May and June. Daily updates will appear on Instagram and a full-length report will [...]
Conservation & Community work in the South Luangwa
Tourism operators in wilderness areas are often involved in lots of excellent community and conservation work. As well as being the right thing to do, it also protects the future of the wild areas on which they depend and helps local people to derive a benefit from protecting the same resource. What most operators are very bad at is sharing the information about what they do! The reports are piecemeal, incomplete and often don't reach the [...]
Tour Info: Lower Zambezi National Park
I have just returned from a weekend recce trip to the Lower Zambezi National Park, courtesy of Anabezi and Amanzi Camps, who laid on a fantastic tour of their two beautiful properties and an insight into the exciting safari experiences on offer in that area of the National Park. The view over the river as the plane approaches the Jeki airstrip is absolutely beautiful. Immediately after landing, visitors are struck by the scale of the habitat [...]
A View from the Luangwa – May 2019
Photographers often claim that taking and publishing images is assisting with conservation - we are "conservation photographers" they claim. Some cite raising awareness of the plight of certain species -- think rhino, elephant and pangolin. Others talk more of promoting the beauty of the Natural world with some optimistic expectation that this will reverse the damage that is being caused by humankind. I have intentionally started this article with a challenging paragraph that might appear to [...]
Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust – Annual Report
Earlier this month, I announced that I am adding Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust to the beneficiaries of my Conservation Fund. I believe strongly in their work for the future of conservation in this wonderful area. They recently produced their 20th Chipembele Annual Report, with the following introduction from their Founders: Dear Supporter, In 2018 we celebrated Chipembele’s 20th year of operation. We’ve come far! It all began back in 1998 when Steve and I camped in [...]
Wildlife: Hamerkop social behaviour
On a short drive in the bush this morning -- mainly to check the condition of the local roads and to see which areas are opening up after the rains, I spotted hamerkops in a small group along the edge of a drainage channel. They are often found in groups of 3-10, sharing a feeding source or resting on the only available stump in a fast-flowing stream. I also know that they have the tendency of [...]
EDWARD SELFE
I organise & run photographic safaris in the finest wildlife areas on Earth since.
