Africa Safari

SAA weighed my hand luggage on our return flight I had to put my D700 and 70-200 in my wife's rucksack!

I used my monopod 100% of the time with my D300 and 200-400 f4 that I hired.
 
5 hours to go before we fly :D and everything is packed including my monopod which is at the bottom of my suitcase. I really hope SAA doesn't weigh my camera bag, it weighs near a tonne!
I decided on taking the 100-400, 70-200, 24-105, 17-40 and my 50mm ooh and my flash gun, only because we are going to cape town for 3 days too so wanted to get some landscape shots as well. The two bodies are going too so I have minimal swap over. I was checking out the elephant plains website and looking for inspiration for ideas on photographs and there was one photo where the elephant is right next to the vehicle so I am guessing my 17-40 will come in a treat here :)
See you all in a week with 100,000 photos :D
 
Back again :D
For those who are going on safari soon, make sure you pack hats, gloves, scarves, warm jumpers, fleeces and some thermal underwear..its cold out there in the morning and evenings. Best to layer and peel than to freeze like I did the first day! :D
As for lenses...I mostly used my 70-200 on my 5D and 100-400 on my 50D, everything else was pretty obsolete apart from a few situations where I used the 24-105 but definitely go as long as you can :) Lens as well time :)
 
norahbattie said:
Back again :D
For those who are going on safari soon, make sure you pack hats, gloves, scarves, warm jumpers, fleeces and some thermal underwear..its cold out there in the morning and evenings. Best to layer and peel than to freeze like I did the first day! :D
As for lenses...I mostly used my 70-200 on my 5D and 100-400 on my 50D, everything else was pretty obsolete apart from a few situations where I used the 24-105 but definitely go as long as you can :) Lens as well time :)
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Did you use the 1.4X extender at all? Interesting point you make about not using the 24-105 much.
I'd not really considered taking the 70-200 at all, thinking that the 24-105 would suffice for all stuff nearer to the wagon.

How were things generally on the safari in terms of animals seen, weather etc.?

Aah, I've just seen that used the 70-200 on a full frame, partly answered my own question!
 
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We saw the big 5 within the first 24 hours, the game drives were amazing and it is part of the fun not knowing what you are going to find. I was a little despondent the first morning we were there as we were driving for an hour and not having seen anything and then suddenly we came across lions mating!! Apparently this only happens 5-7 days every 2 years (obviously more frequently with other lionesses) so this was pretty exciting.

The jeeps don't take you so close to the animals that it warrants the 24-105, mind you we had a rhino almost shoulder barge the jeep so that would have been a good use of the lens :) The very last day I pulled out my 14-70 as I had this on me and took some photos of the people in the jeep and the animals..that was kind of cool :D

As for the weather, it gets quite nippy on the jeeps and we wore 3 jumpers, gloves and hats, you want to layer as much as possible and then just peel off if you want. Its pretty much like a spring day here, cold in the morning and cold in the evening.

For some reason the 1.4x converter was never used, I am not sure why tbh. Also a word of advice is to shoot in TV mode, I was just looking through some of my photos (taken in Av) and they are not sharp :(
 
Oh forgot SAA weighed our hand luggage, lucky for me hubby had very little in his so it balanced it out..phew!!
 
footman said:
What kind of vehicles did you use?
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Sorry only just seen this! We were in open top Land Rovers

norahbattie said:
We saw the big 5 within the first 24 hours, the game drives were amazing and it is part of the fun not knowing what you are going to find. I was a little despondent the first morning we were there as we were driving for an hour and not having seen anything and then suddenly we came across lions mating!! Apparently this only happens 5-7 days every 2 years (obviously more frequently with other lionesses) so this was pretty exciting.

The jeeps don't take you so close to the animals that it warrants the 24-105, mind you we had a rhino almost shoulder barge the jeep so that would have been a good use of the lens :) The very last day I pulled out my 14-70 as I had this on me and took some photos of the people in the jeep and the animals..that was kind of cool :D

As for the weather, it gets quite nippy on the jeeps and we wore 3 jumpers, gloves and hats, you want to layer as much as possible and then just peel off if you want. Its pretty much like a spring day here, cold in the morning and cold in the evening.

For some reason the 1.4x converter was never used, I am not sure why tbh. Also a word of advice is to shoot in TV mode, I was just looking through some of my photos (taken in Av) and they are not sharp :(
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Sounds like you had a good time. What did you think of the lodge? What was the name of your ranger and tracker?
 
footman said:
hmmm, sounds familiar ;)
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what??? they told me it was special!! lol!! there is a photo of one of the lioness on the nature section, here is the link: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=248954
Will be putting more photos on my website if anyone wants to take a look when they are up.

The lodge was fantastic, excellently run, the food was good despite reviews on tripadvisor. Our ranger was Monre and tracker Prince. Most times we were first on the scene for the animals. They are very good at their job
 
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Oh boy,whilst being incredibly excited about my upcoming safari this thread has somewhat depressed me :-(
Only just started in photogrpahy,got a Nikon D80 with an 18-55 & 70-300 lens,tripod & monopod plus a little lens attachment for really close up work of plants & bugs etc. Really not in positon to buy another body or lens so just hoping I can get some decent shots with what I have.

Thanks for the tip about a pillow case to change the lens outside,gonna take one one but doubt I'll need it

Question is : I currently shot mainly action/speed & use shutter priority .Should I change this & go for aperture priority over there? or play it really safe & go back to using Auto setting.

Not used to changing the aperture so unsure what I should aim for in dim light ie morning & evening safari's
any advice? - other than get a loan to buy a spare camera & bigger lens ;-)

cheers
 
Don't be disheartend at all, I loved the safari and the experience. There were other people in our jeep who just had one body and two lenses (primarily the 70-200) so your 70-300 would be great.
We didn't see much before 7 am when it got very bright and even before then you can use your flash or get them to spot light if you don't want to go to high ISOs.
I used Av and regret not using more Tv but then again I am a perfectionist and want every shot perfect. I am the opposite of you and shoot only Av so I was happy with this and wouldn't have a clue for Tv. I even went manual for a shot!!
I wouldn't recommend Auto only because why let the camera take the perfect shot and not you ... you want to be proud of your work when you come home
 
norahbattie said:
Don't be disheartend at all, I loved the safari and the experience. There were other people in our jeep who just had one body and two lenses (primarily the 70-200) so your 70-300 would be great.
We didn't see much before 7 am when it got very bright and even before then you can use your flash or get them to spot light if you don't want to go to high ISOs.
I used Av and regret not using more Tv but then again I am a perfectionist and want every shot perfect. I am the opposite of you and shoot only Av so I was happy with this and wouldn't have a clue for Tv. I even went manual for a shot!!
I wouldn't recommend Auto only because why let the camera take the perfect shot and not you ... you want to be proud of your work when you come home
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Thanks Nora,it's been a lifelong dream to go on safari & now to combine it with my love of photography is just great
I'm guessing you have a Canon?

& you answered a question I forgot to ask:clap: Wasn't sure about using flash with wild animals. I have a flash attachment but have never used it so may have to start practising in the back garden I think

Must admit I'm totally giddy,got 4 batteries plus charger,5 4gb cards & a 2 & 1gb card-planning on getting another 5 4gb cards just to be safe cos I have a tendancy to get a a touch "trigger happy"(record if 700 shots in 3 hours at Silverstone:eek:)

thanks again Norah:ty:
 
It was my lifelong dream too and I loved every minute. I indeed have a Canon and love it :D
The safari I went on got us pretty close to the animals, a little too close at times but never put us in any danger. I had my hair stuck in one of the bushes whilst viewing a leopard kill!!
The animals are used to the spotlight apparently and hence flash doesn't matter to them. I didn't have a clue how to use my flash as so stuck it on ETTL. I took a backup drive (small portable HDD with viewer) and had 4 memory cards...5000 shots in 5 days lol!!

As for batteries we had a chance to come back to lodge after a 3 hour drive and recharge batteries so never went short. So I am sure 4 batteries is good enough ;)

Feel free to PM or message me here if you want to ask further questions
 
welcome back, lets see some shots!

also when are you selling some of your gear! :D
 
hsuffyan said:
welcome back, lets see some shots!

also when are you selling some of your gear! :D
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hahaha!! Thank you so much, as soon as I get a free moment I will sit down and put them up on my website. I will let you know the link.
I have actually just sold my 70-200 f4 on here and currently have my 10-22 on for sale. I might sell a few more but not sure what to part with just as yet lol! What are you keeping your eye on?
 
the 14-70 L that you invented! :p
 
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