Page 11 - 5 Critical Things

- Time -
In The Field, Not In Transit
It goes without saying that the more time you have out in the eld, the luckier you’ll get with the quality of the wildlife sightings that you’ll nd. Not everyone can spend weeks or months on safari, most of us can only afford a week or two at the most so it’s really important to utilise your time wisely.
• Don’t try to see and do everything, some safaris will send you to a new location every couple of days and you will spend way too much time transiting when you should be out in the best light of the day making magic with your camera.
• It seems to be obvious, but the longer you stay in one location the more comfortable and familiar you’ll feel and it’s likely that you’ll slow the rate of poor quality images down as you lose the urge to photograph anything that moves. You’ll have time to see a landscape and come back to it when the light is better. You’ll have time to nd interesting animals and follow them or return to the approximate area they were in on a previous day to try and nd them again.
• Do your homework! If you see a safari tour that looks like it ts your requirements, do some research into the parks or reserves that are being visited and how many nights are planned for each one. Many good photo safaris will only offer one location, don’t be put off by this. If it is
one of the popular parks it probably means that photographic opportunities are easier so seven nights in the Masai Mara will reward you with many chances to take great photos and there will be lots of variety. However, remember that the popular parks and reserves can get very crowded and it’s worth taking that into account. A safari that includes several destinations should have at the very minimum three nights per location and preferably one of the destinations should have four or ve. Each location should have a very different focus which can be landscape or the species of animals you will be likely to encounter.
• Time out of camp is also a vital component to good photography. Some camps or lodges can be quite structured in the times that meals are served and when vehicles will be available to leave camp. Some operators have mileage restrictions on their vehicles that you may not know about but you may nd that you are taken on the same drive loops which don’t take you very far from camp. Sad but true. Make sure that you are clear on whether you can leave camp before sunrise (within the various park’s legal operating hours), take meals with you to eat out in the eld, stay out all day if you want to travel further and what time you’re expected back in camp. This all adds to your time out taking photographs and whilst most of the midday hours are wasted photographic opportunities due to the light, you need the exibility to make suitable plans with your guide that allows for this option.