April 2011. I caught a train in England at 8am, a plane at 12:30, landed in Iceland at 3:00, travelled for 5 hours by jeep dumped my bags and then found myself at midnight on a different planet watching the scene below.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

If you live in the UK this is almost on your doorstep. It is now a relatively affordable location and one that will leave you with lasting memories and, I can guarantee, a desire to return and explore further.

This trip was suggested by my Polish friend Hania. We had 12 days and the first decision was where to head. It was tempting to just hire a car and go where the mood took us but after consideration we decided to be more specific and planned. This was partly due to experience that tells me that chasing the light can result in running around in circles. Seeing lots but really experiencing  nothing. We were also travelling in April and the weather at this time is unpredictable and the interior inaccessible. Many run around Route 1. A road that is open all year and takes you around the whole island. But it is a big place to take in in 12 days. Did I want to spend hours in a car, hunting the next bed for the night? No.

We decided to stick to the south as first timers. A safe option as it is well travelled but in April it is empty- a different story in the summer when it is a tourist hotspot. We also made what was a good decision and took a four day tour with Tony Prower (PTR interview and details here). We were collected from the airport and were only at the above location as a result. It was the only night clear enough to see the aurora and would certainly have been in the wrong place without his help.

The following morning at 5am, having got into bed after 2am, I woke and was greeting by a beautiful dawn that was well underway. A frantic scramble took us back to the lagoon.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

We were staying at a guest house that is just minutes away from this location. The rural guesthouses are NOT like the UK equivalent. Most have kitchens you can use. They  welcome people who keep strange hours letting you come and go as you please. In the UK I avoid B&Bs as don’t like that awkward conversation ” um, do you mind if I get up at 3am and come back for breakfast later?”

Returning from this dawn shoot I was entranced by the location of the guesthouse, too excited to sleep I went for a walk and found a new friend.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

It was time to sleep and while I did the weather decided to change. From this point on we faced some challenges, the biggest being the wind. We were in fact lucky as the people on the flight from the UK 24 hours after mine were forced to sit in the plane on the tarmac for 6 hours as it was too windy to let them off!!

There are some locations however that are so unique that the weather doesn’t matter. Or every sort of weather just adds a new element and this has to be true of the beach we visited and returned to over the next few days.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Black volcanic sands. Ice that has fallen from a glacier and is slowing melting in the sea, completing a cycle that takes thousands of years. Jewels that can be crystal clear or turquoise with a colour that seems to glow from an inner core. Every piece of ice unique, each dawn throwing new light, every wave creating new patterns. An infinite variety of pictures.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Bliss. Even with wind that was ripping through us. Wellies that were soaked as the waves are totally unpredictable in a gale. I even managed to get a mouthful of sea within the first few minutes and the good old kitchen towel was hard at work clearing off the spray. But what fun!!!

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

We spent time within a relatively small area over the next few days but found plenty to point our cameras at, even though good light was limited. The black sands make good reflections.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Glacier views are very accessible, or you can undertake hikes with guides.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

With water everywhere you can quickly find  a nice spot when the wind does briefly die down, this was a view from the side of the main route one.

Our guide dropped us off in Reykjavik and the following day we got our wheels. I had researched options and this company gave the best deal. They dropped off the jeep at our hotel on time and their vehicle was perfect. I am glad we went for a rugged 4WD considering the terrain as we were able to explore safely and the unseasonable weather found us negotiating icy roads. To be honest they weren’t that bad but in a foreign climate you just don’t know if the blizzard is going to turn into a nasty experience and it is comforting to know the vehicle has these strange metal studs in them that look very reassuring but must really chop up the roads – though the potholes in UK at the moment are much worse than any I saw, even on the dirt tracks. I can say that there is a lot of hype about the roads in Iceland. Yes, they are often dirt tracks and you must decide if your vehicle is able to negotiate what is in front of you but if you go at a sensible speed they are in fact easy. You’ll soon know if you are going beyond your comfort zone – so go back.  River crossings – I’ll leave that to the summer as that is where people have come to grief. A case of needing experience to know what is safe.

When I hire a car I always take out independent insurance. It is cheap, comprehensive and a great peace of mind. Do NOT use the car rental excess policy, it costs a lot more. DO ensure you are covered for all excesses though.

For the rest of the trip we were based on the south coast in a cottage. The intention was to explore the coast and some of the more well known waterfalls and hot spring areas. As it transpired the weather kept wrong footing us. The wind never really relaxed, and at times it felt unwise to be stood by the raging sea. We experienced snow, icy roads and painful hail storms. There were however moments when the sun appeared but this was unpredictable and we had to make the most of whatever location it decided to shine on.

One of the most unexpected spots was a beach about 30 minutes from Eyrarbakki. Most beaches are black but this one revealed striations where the wind was blowing away sand and icy pools added a strange impact. It is part of the magic of the country, so many surprises.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Whilst wind adds challenge it also gives opportunity. A steep beach coupled with a gale gave some chances to do what I like best – play with water.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Many of the buildings are clad in corrugated, painted metal. Not the most attractive of building materials but the churches are pretty and often in glorious and remote locations.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

One evening in Flói  found us watching a snow storm drifting over the distant mountains, turning them white in an instant.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Not long after we were engulfed in the white stuff.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

The last day came all too soon, a disappointing dawn was quickly blown away and a final dash to the beach gave a final chance to catch a wave or two — or maybe it caught me?

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

I cannot recommend this trip highly enough. I will certainly return, there is so much more to see and every season promises something entirely different from the midnight sun in the summer to fleeting winter light but with extreme ice and frozen waterfalls.

I’d like to head to the Western fjords and Snaefellsnes next. Both offer a rugged and wild adventure and in the summer are quieter than the south, which can get busy with accommodation hard to find without early bookings.

The only negative I can mention is the price of food. Self catering is recommended if costs need to be kept down. Getting Kroner in the UK is difficult, I exchanged some pounds in the airport but this turned out unnecessary as everywhere takes visa debit cards or credit cards – even if you just want a pint of milk.  Petrol is bought by card from self service machines that give a 24 hour service – all very easy and civilised. Out of season (the tourists don’t really start arriving until late June) it is easy to find a bed with good kitchen facilities to hand or book a cottage and these can be booked for short stays which is nice if you want a trip with a few different locations.

If you are hunting the aurora we proved that April is possible but ideally you would want to be there earlier in the year when they can be viewed in the evening. In April it didn’t really get fully dark until past 10pm. I was told midnight until 2am is the optimal viewing time at this time of year, this isn’t a great time to be on watch if you plan to also do dawn and dusk shooting unless you want to sleep during the daylight hours. In the summer you’ll be shooting at night (if you can call it night when it never really gets dark) and catching sleep in the day – this is when your own private/quiet cottage comes in handy.

Whilst away an unseasonably warm spring had arrived in the UK. I arrived home to a world that seemed impossibly warm and green. Very pretty, but give me the wild and wintry Iceland with its unpredictability and peculiarities any day.

Claire Carter

The PTR Team continues to search for outstanding Photo Seminars for those who seek to combine photography, travel, and adventure. Our standards for recommending seminars are high. We look for experienced tour companies that have a good reputation, provide interesting and exciting places to travel to, and charge reasonable rates for their tours.

Wild Photography Holidays meets our criteria.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

During 2011 the company has scheduled four photographic holidays in Iceland, two departures to the Picos de Europa, Spain, one to Kerala/Tamil Nadu, India, one to Morocco and one to South Africa.

* Southern Contrasts – Glaciers Volcanoes and Waterfalls
* Flowers and Landscapes of the East
* Highland Exposure
* Trails of the Deserted Fjords
* Predators and ‘Big Five’ Photographic Safari, South Africa
* Morocco – Sahara, Atlas Mountains and Marrakesh
* Mountains Forests and Villages of the Picos de Europa
* Mystical South India – Kerala and Tamil Nadu 2011/12

The tour to South India in the Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions is of particular interest.

After seeing the YouTube video featured by Wild Photography Holidays, PTR Member Bill started checking out flights! Produced by Kerala Tourism’s international campaign, Your Moment Is Waiting is a film that goes far beyond the realm of a commercial, to capture the soul of Kerala like no destination hitherto has. Stark Communications, which has been handling the Kerala Tourism brand for almost two decades, conceived, scripted and then assigned the task of creating this film to the renowned ad film maker Prakash Varma.

Wild Photography Holidays offers a very reasonably priced tour to this area — £2,380 for 16 days.

Mystical South India – Kerala and Tamil Nadhu
Highlights include…

* World famous shore temples of Mahabalipuram
* The ancient and remarkable boulder-strewn landscape of Gingee Fort
* Arunachala, one of the world’s great spiritual power centres
* An ascent/exploration of Mount Arunachala
* Visit to the famous temple of Thanjavur (Tanjore)
* Tiny French sea-side state of Pondicherry
* The tropical forests of the Western Ghats
* Kerala Backwater cruise
* Ancient city of Cochin
* Emerald green tea plantations
* Exciting cycle rickshaw ride through old Madurai

General Summary

An innovative and exciting photographic adventure visits both Tamil Nadu and Kerala. For over two weeks participants will be immersed in the vibrantly colorful, spiritual and bustling heart of this mystical sub-continent. South India’s culture like its people is a rich mosaic, vibrant, chaotic, a land of incredible contrasts and paradoxes: a singularly beautiful land offering abundant opportunities for landscape, people and architectural photography; a fantastic challenge to those of us hoping to capture its essence in images. By immersing yourself in the moment and approaching each day with curiosity and flexibility you will come to understand that India is truly one of the world’s most stunning photography locations; we will no doubt return home with some truly striking adventure travel images.

Accompanying the tour throughout is Martin Sammtleben as the photography tutor, joined by various local experts who will ensure that you are in the right place at the right time for those superb and unusual images. Non-photographer spouses/partners will be welcome. The Locations in Brief Kerala: a region of South-West India well known for its stunning natural beauty. Bordered by the tropical rain forest of the Western Ghats on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the west, Kerala is covered by lush tropical vegetation, fascinating back-waters, the fragrant spice and tea plantations of the Cardamom Hills. Tamil Nadu: home to an ancient and little changed Dravidian civilisation, it is less frequented than its more visited neighbor Kerala; a remarkable and intensely rewarding place to explore, the Tamils are a welcoming, curious and friendly people. The coast of the Gulf of Bengal offers long and lovely beaches where traditional fishing aboard catamarans is common, you will find, rice-fields, coconut groves, market garden produce, cotton plantations, sugar cane, tobacco, mangoes and bananas.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Wild Photography Holidays also offers four separate tours of Iceland. Priced at £2,380, the tour is called “Southern Contrasts – Glaciers, Volcanoes and Waterfalls.”

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Highlights include…

* Walking on the Solheimajökull glacier
* Black sands and Basalt cave Vik
* Skaftafell National park
* Glacial iceberg lagoons including the Jökulsárlon
* The Blue Lagoon
* Colourful geothermal areas of Hengill Volcano
* Þingvellir National Park, Gullfoss and Geysir

General Summary

An early season photographic holiday combining some of Iceland’s classic and iconic sights with some less visited places. Locations include the myriad colors of the geothermal areas on Hengill Volcano, Þingvellir National Park, a thrilling walk onto the Solheimajökull glacier to photograph bluish green crevasses, glacial caves, waterfalls and a magnificent landscape of sea and ice. Further East we explore the Skaftafell national park, glacial iceberg lagoons, black beaches, a basalt columnar waterfall and magnificent close up views of Iceland’s highest mountain Hvannadalshnúkur.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Although 1st May is the official first day of summer in Iceland, the roads and tracks through the interior of Iceland will remain snowbound until the end of June. During May, the mountains and highlands will still have a covering of snow providing the perfect back-drop for those spectacular and unusual wintry shots. At the end of May the temperatures are increasing and you will be just three weeks from the summer solstice, essentially it will be light all day with the sun disappearing for around three hours only. This will give you several hours of ambient light with sunrises and sunsets that go on and on!

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

The team which makes up Wild Photography Holidays is rich in experience and talent.

Geraldine Westrupp is a qualified mountaineering instructor with many years experience and she is passionate about photography.

José Navarro works as a freelance photographer and travel writer. He’s traveled extensively in remote places such as Iceland, Alaska or the Andes.

Martin Sammtleben is based in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he runs a photography and graphic/web design business. He spends a great deal of time in the outdoors exploring new and exciting locations.

Photo Travel Review Magazine highly recommends Wild Photography Holidays and has earned our Five Star Rating (✭✭✭✭✭). Given the diversity of offerings, from Iceland, Spain, Morroco, India, South Africa, one could not find more to choose from when considering a Photo Travel Adventure! And what is wonderful is that the tour offerings by the company are very reasonably priced. In today’s economic climate, this is very important. Currently the company is offering a 90 pounds discount each for two people booking together and sharing a room.

One can read more about the offerings of the tour company by visiting their website. For more information contact Geraldine Westrupp in the UK at 00354 5888939 or email info@wildphotographyholidays.com

As a teenager I read a lot. One of my favorite books was “Born Free” by an English author Joy Adamson. She is a famous traveler, who lived for many years in Africa with her husband, Kenya’s wildlife protection inspector, and wrote an interesting story about a lioness Elsa and her cubs. Her book accurately describes the habits, behavior and reactions to the environment and people of the growing lion cub and later an adult lioness living in the wild, and her cubs. It was this book that helped me create a dream to see the distant Africa and its nature, safari and animals living there.

Last year, in November – the dream suddenly materialized – in the vastness of the Internet in search of a relaxing trip I have found one agency offering a two week holiday in an exotic and distant Kenya for a relatively low price. After a short discussion and some doubt on the reliability of this offer a mutual decision was taken to go. The hardest part of the trip were two flights lasting more than 14 hours from Kaunas to London and form London to Mombasa and the inevitable fatigue due to long, uncomfortable seating, and swelling legs. But the idea to see a distant land provided more excitement.

First impressions on arrival

First impression – pretty small airport of Mombasa, stuffy and long queues to obtain a visa in Kenya. We reached the hotel we stayed in by bus and just when we entered the room the first action was to inspect the bathroom – it was clean; and when we opened the door to the balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean the view was amazing.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Second impression – where is the water? We had a first close-up view of an interesting natural rhythm: low water in the middle of the day and floods just after lunch. Tempted by curiosity some of us went walking on the bottom of the exposed beach. It was covered with stones, grass, and you could perfectly see the fauna of the ocean in the shallow water – various fishes, dangerous hedgehog plantations, crabs in the burrows, many small shells, sea stars, and since one of the locals volunteered to show everything around, he not only caught the creatures, but gave us a lot of information about ocean animals. Since it was very interesting we didn’t even notice that we went far enough from the hotel and on our way back we already realized having made a fundamental mistake – staying too long in the sun made our bodies red, and when we later started to painfully peel out off the old skin – we jokingly named this experience a walk in Hell Safari.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Acquaintance with the locals

In the evening, when the ocean “returned” we all finally got a good swim and then started to look around – well where did we get: what are the local people, prices, traditions, entertainment, travel deals. Kenya’s ethnic population diversity is very high, over 40 tribes, each with its own language, but most locals are fluent in English, and among themselves use a common tongue – Swahili.

In the beginning seeing that we have just arrived traders were quite active offering their products – headscarves, paintings, cruises and safaris, bone and wooden souvenirs, art wares and jewelery for an excessively high price. However, during further communication they realized that we are not Germans and not English, they became more accommodating. When we told them where we are from and how many of us are left, our story was followed by their jolly laughter – because Lithuania has a smaller population than their capital Nairobi.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Local residents addressed a woman “Madame” or “Mama” and the men were addressed “Papa”. At first I was a little surprised because it’s strange to hear it when you don’t have children, but then I got used to it. When I plaited my hair into nearly three hundred braids the entire beach began greeting me with joy – “Jambo Mama Africa”. I liked to see that elderly tourists are very respected, cared for and protected here. Most of the locals are good-natured and kind to the surrounding people, as they say – if they behaved otherwise, this would reduce per capita income from tourism and sales.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

On the beach in a local agency, we ordered as many as three trips: 2-day sightseeing trip in Mombasa ($ 200), one day Safari in Tsavo East National Park ($ 150), and a holiday trip to Vasinio Island ($ 60) with diving ($ 60) and snorkeling.

By the way, I recommend to book trips from official travel companies’ employees who are wearing a tee-shirt with the logo, otherwise you may be left without money and travel.

A trip in Mombasa

Frankly this city didn‘t make an impression on me – there is no extraordinary architecture, only uproar in the market, mess and piles of trash lying on the ground in some places in the middle of the city that is a real eyesore, and unpleasant odors make you turn away your nose while passing by. My impression: huge dark mess. The majority of the population is Muslim – Mijikenda is an ethnic group, so taking pictures is not recommended, in order to avoid possible conflict, as well as in some state or protected areas. The city is built on the island, so the water flowing from the water supply is the salty Indian Ocean water, and fresh bottled water comes from the Kilimanjaro. In the central streets mendicant disabled and fruit merchants are trying to approach the tourists. I had an opportunity to watch as in the evening the city is flooded with a large crowd of people who live in small towns near Mombasa and only work in the city. The same picture was in the morning too.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Nightlife in Mombasa is different – the young have fun in the clubs and dress in style. In the discos people dance till dawn, and I as an outsider was very interested in monitoring their communication, their original dances, relations between young local girls and older Europeans.

The long-awaited safari

In Africa going on Safari in Swahili means “a journey” – it is the refusal of civilization amenities in the name of the wilderness. And I always wanted to see other wildlife, the animals at close range.

Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya, its total area is 11,747 square kilometers. It was opened in 1948, the park is located near the village of Voi. The park is divided into eastern and western parts. It was named after the Tsavo River, which flows from the West to the East through the National Park, bordering with Chyulu Hills National Park and Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania.

The park is accessible only through the three main gates: Manyani, near the village of Voi, Bachuma if you arrive from Mombasa or from Malindi side. Our group of travelers arrived at the park through Bachuma gate. A ticket for one person costs $ 50 for a period of 24 hours. Several local merchants were waiting at the gate rather obsessively offering to buy headgear – sunscreen safari hat for a much higher price than usual, so you must always negotiate.

Most of the park vegetation is semi-arid grasslands and savanna. It is believed that it is one of the world’s biodiversity strongholds, and its popularity has led to large quantities of various wild animals, therefore you can see the famous “big five” animals which are the Masai lion, black rhino, buffalo, elephant and leopard. We were lucky and we saw giraffes, elephant herds, herds of buffalos, a leopard, a lioness lying lazily in the bushes, gazelles and various small animals, zebras, ostriches, monkeys, varans, even some wild birds from a close-up.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

But if one has enough financial possibilities I would recommend visiting the Masai Mara – it is the most popular.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

Entertainment & Leisure

Traveling to and from the Vasinio Island we had a chance to see a completely different picture – isolated villages and areas rarely visited by tourists, and we could see the fragments of Muslim religious festivals held there. Underwater World was perhaps not as impressive as in the Red Sea, but we liked the punt with the sea turtles, watching exotic fishes and admiring coral reefs.

Having returned to the hotel after long journeys, we simply relaxed on the beach, and later each individually chose mini-trips around on the boat, beach picnics or a visit to the local villages and nearby crocodile farm. The most delicious food – fresh seafood – was served in the nearby Coco beach. All hotels took care of evening entertainment for their guests: snake shows, acrobats, music and dancing.

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

The more you travel in this country, the more African colors you can see – from poverty and trash lying in the middle of the city to nicely handled private or park areas, but I was most charmed by the wild nature of Kenya and somewhat shocked by significant difference between daytime and night-life in Mombasa. Cultural differences could be felt most while communicating with the locals.

I am glad that I had an opportunity to see this country, expand my horizons, and gain new experience.

Hakuna matata – no problems (whatever happens it is like a declared philosophy of their life)

Pole, pole – slowly, slowly. i.e. leisurely, and we – Europeans look like always on the run in their eyes.

Caribbean – welcome

Asante sana – thank you very much

Tafadali – please

Habari shepherds? – How are you?

Mzuri sana – very good.

I wish you all to visit it and say: Jambo, Africa! – Hello, Africa!

Click on Photograph to see a Larger Version

By Arlene Davis

(Text and Photographs Copyright © 2010, Arlene Davis, All Rights Reserved)

My gorilla photo tour with professional wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas was one of the best trips of my life. I chose the trip because Suzi had been recommended to me as a photo leader by a good friend of mine, and also because her tour offered significantly more shooting time with the gorillas. We had five treks and this made the tour more expensive, but I figured if I was going to spend so much money and effort going across the world to shoot gorillas, I might as well do it right.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

It was a great decision. We got to meet and photograph five different gorilla families. One might think that if you have seen one gorilla family you have seen them all, but that was definitely not the case. The largest group we visited, the Susa group, was over forty gorillas. They were spread out when we arrived, but it seemed that we were surrounded by gorillas and everywhere you looked you saw these gentle eyes peering out at you- just begging to be photographed! And it was those eyes that made them such great photo subjects. They would just stare at you with such innocence, such vulnerability. They were completely not bothered by us being so close, and at times it felt like they were just living their lives around us, as if we were not there at all. It was amazing.

My favorite of the five groups we visited was definitely the Sabinyo group. They are a small family of only thirteen gorillas. But they had two mothers with tiny, newborn babies. And at the end of the hour, as if to reward us for our patience, one of the mothers came and sat close to us, giving us the perfect photo op of her precious little baby.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

Just being close to the gorillas is such a thrill, but photographing them leaves you just breathless! When I first heard about the one hour time limit I thought that there was no way that such a short time period would actually be satisfying. But there was so much activity amongst the gorillas, so much interaction between mothers and their babies, or juveniles playing, so many great portraits of silverbacks – at the end of each hour I had snapped off hundreds, if not thousands, of images and I felt completely exhausted.

Another great thing about having five treks is that we had better chances of good light. Gorilla photography is best in overcast light. Although overcast days are common in the misty Virunga Mountains, sunny days are always a possibility. Taking photos of gorillas on a bright, sunny day isn’t easy – their black coats get very harsh in the sunlight. In our five days with the gorillas we had three overcast days and two sunny days. Again, I was grateful our tour had five treks.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

Being with Suzi on the tour was an incredible experience. I learned so much from her. She’s a great teacher. We had beginners on the trip, as well as really advanced photographers – I was somewhere in between. But somehow Suzi managed to gracefully (and patiently!) teach all different skill levels. But perhaps the best part about traveling with Suzi is that she actually puts the client first, something that I have learned, from experience, that most photo leaders do not do.

Suzi had previously led this tour on several occasions, so she knew many of the trackers and guides and worked with them to get us close and into the best position for photos (they even hacked away some branches that blocked our view). To my surprise, as we trekked up the mountain on the first day, I heard Suzi chattering away in fluent Swahili to the park guides!

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

I have to admit, before signing up for the tour I was a bit scared of the trekking, but I was so relieved to find that all of my worry was for nothing. Our group of eight people filled the group (only eight people are allowed per gorilla family), so we moved at our own, very easy going pace. I think Suzi was quietly setting the pace according to the slowest one of us in the group, but no one was in a rush to get up the mountain anyway. And we had porters to help carry our gear, which was a fantastic luxury that I wasn’t about to turn down.

An added bonus to the tour, that I did not anticipate, was the cultural photography. On two of our days, we visited gorilla groups that were close to the trailhead, so we returned to the lodge in the early afternoon. On one day, Suzi and our local guide, Joe, took us into the nearby village of Kinigi to photograph villagers, village scenes and some of the scenic farmland at the base of the Virunga Mountains. And on another day we were given an incredible cultural performance by the villagers, during which we photographed ceremonial dances and rituals.

The people of Rwanda were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. We were always greeted with smiles and unbelievable hospitality, especially at our hotel – the Gorilla’s Nest Lodge. The hotel was pretty basic and there were some times when there was no hot water, but that’s Africa for you!

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

I loved the gorillas and I loved traveling with Suzi. Since then I have travelled to Botswana with her to photograph wild dogs and big cats, and that one was equally mind blowing. My next trip will be her Borneo tour in October of 2011, to photograph orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and more. You can see her trip roster on her website at the following link:

http://www.suzieszterhas.com/toursWorkshops/

—–

About Arlene Davis

My name is Arlene Davis and I love wildlife. I am from New Orleans originally and currently live just north of San Francisco. For the last 25 years I have worked as an engineer in the public safety radio telecommunications industry.  My passion though is wildlife.  I became fascinated with photographing wildlife on a trip to the Galapagos in 1988. Since then I have taken every opportunity to travel where I could experience and photograph wildlife in their natural habitat. I am also very involved in rehabilitating wildlife. I have been volunteering on a weekly basis at a local wildlife rehab center since 1991 and with International Bird Rescue during local oil spills as well as for the big Gulf Oil Spill in Louisiana earlier this year.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

This is a guest review of a photo tour conducted by Suzi Eszterhas in Botswana.  PTR will be featuring more guest reviews like this one during 2011.

By John Klingel

(Text and Photographs Copyright © 2011, John Klingel, All Rights Reserved)

For excitement, adventure, great photography, companionship and learning about animal behavior, my ten-day trip to Botswana (Botswana Predators Photo Safari) completely exceeded my expectations.

I first met Suzi Eszterhas (www.suzieszterhas.com), our trip leader, when she spoke to the Marin Photography Club in California. She was obviously an excellent photographer and someone from whom I could learn more about nature photography.

Also, her trip was limited to four photographers in two cars and each photographer had his or her own seat to easily shoot from either side of the car. A small group, two photographers per car, and great accommodations resulted in a high cost that was worth every penny.

Group size was restricted as we would be photographing African Wild Dog puppies at their den. Group size could have been increased and time spent at the den reduced; but as someone who’s enormously concerned about her client’s photography experience, Suzi didn’t increase group size. Every day, both cars spent the morning at the den and then one car returned after lunch.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

In late afternoon the fourteen dogs in the pack would go out on a hunt and we would follow them cross country. The off-road hunts were hair raising and extremely rough, and we had to strap ourselves in and hang on as the car bounced over the rough landscape. The dogs paid no attention to us and we were often in the middle of the pack. I felt as though I were a member of the pack experiencing the thrill of the hunt.

The car that didn’t go back to the den would go on a game drive with a guide/driver and a tracker. One of the many things that Suzi did to enhance our experience was to make sure we had extremely high quality guides and trackers. Our guides knew how to position us for good photos. One of the guides was free-lance, and was brought in specifically for our group. A photographer himself, he conceived and positioned us for the giraffe photo at sunset.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

Our last day at the den was the major experience of the trip: witnessing a Wild Dog kill. In my photo, you can see how two of the dogs hold on to the snout so that the warthog couldn’t slash the other dogs with his razor sharp tusks. Nature isn’t always pretty and watching a kill while the prey is screaming can be difficult. While the dogs were eating, a large herd of elephants approached, drawn by the smell of blood. Our car was between the dogs and elephants, who were pawing the ground and trumpeting. If we hadn’t been there, the elephants would have chased the dogs off, so we kept the motor running in case they charged and I took turns photographing the Wild Dogs and elephants.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

Additional excitement included witnessing a female lion attack a male to protect her cubs, a cheetah kill, a cheetah leaping on the back of a hyena, a leopard stalking prey (prey got away), and the Wild Dogs chasing a leopard up a tree.  Many of our great photographic opportunities were due to the quality of our drivers and trackers. Getting good guides is one of the key elements in a successful wildlife trip.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

The trip from July 25 to August 7, 2010, started by flying into and staying in Johannesburg for one night. The next day, we flew to Maun in Botswana and caught a bush plane (very small and weight restricted) to our first camp, Kwando Lagoon in Northwest Botswana on the border with Namibia. We had five days of game drives in Kwando Lagoon and four days in the second camp, Kwando Kwara. The Wild Dogs were the primary attraction in the Lagoon Camp and Kwando Kwara had better sightings of predators.

Both camps housed us in very comfortable, large two bed tents. Food and service were excellent. The Botswanan people speak fluent English, are well educated, and have a wonderful sense of humor.

Our arrival at our first camp was late due to plane delays. Suzi had scheduled our first game drive and warned us that since were staring late, we would have to stay close to camp and might not see much. Fifteen minutes later, we saw a cheetah moving through the brush. After we followed it for awhile, it went up on a termite mound and posed for the classic cheetah-on-mound shot.

Then we noticed a hyena approaching who didn’t seem to see the cheetah. Suzi said “Get ready; things are going to happen fast.” (One key thing to look for in a leader is someone who knows animal behavior and tells you what to anticipate.) And in a flash, the cheetah leapt on the back of the hyena. Even with a warning, I missed the shot.

Being prepared to change cameras quickly was Lesson One.

I had two cameras with me. A Nikon D90 with a Tamron 18 to 270mm and a Nikon D300s with a Sigma 150 to 500mm lens. Unfortunately, I had the 500mm lens in my hands and when I went down to 150mm, it was still too much lens as the action was about 10 to 15 feet from the car. I needed a wide angle but everything happened too quickly to grab the second camera.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

Before I went to Africa, I went on a number of shoots to practice with my Wimberly tripod head. Although I hauled it to Botswana, I never used it. It simply doesn’t work in the cars. Really Right Stuff is coming out with some new Safari gear in 2011 that looks as if it might work. What I should have practiced is rapidly switching cameras. I kept my second camera sitting on the seat and that didn’t work well. Next time, I would look for some kind of harness system. And in a car, you’re shooting in a sitting position and I’m used to shooting on my feet.

Lesson Two relates to how close the animals are.

At one point, I could have leaned out of the car and petted a leopard. Sometimes a 500mm was great but in a lot of cases it was too much power. On this trip, a prime lens would have disappointed and the zooms were great. At 500mm my Sigma is f6.3. So early morning and late day light are problematic. For future trips I’m considering with Suzi to Costa Rica and Madagascar where I’m likely to be shooting into a lot of dark tree tops, I’m thinking about renting a prime 400mm lens that’s f2.8.

Click on Photograph to see the Original Version

Lesson Three concerns memory. I ended up shooting over 16,000 photos in RAW and while I managed, I was shocked at how much memory I used.  One very active day, I shot about 4,000 photos and was down to my last card.

In the evening on our way back to camp, the tracker used a spotlight and we used flash when we found animals in the dark. We also used flash to photograph hyena pups in the dark and the Wild Dogs eating the warthog after we lost light.

Our usual day consisted of leaving camp before dark and returning around noon. (It was winter in Botswana and cold.) After lunch, we had a  photography lesson in some subject such as Photoshop. Then it was back out about 3:00 P.M., returning after dark. In the evening Suzi often showed her fascinating nature programs.

In conclusion, this trip was the most exciting adventure I’ve ever had and I was extremely pleased with my photos.  I would highly recommend a Suzi Eszterhas tour to anyone interested in photo travel adventure.  Her attention to detail and her planning were superb.  One could not find a better tour provider.

_____

John Klingel lives in California just north of San Francisco and spends summers on Cape Cod. He became passionate about photography in 2009. So far, his work is primarily fine art, landscape, and nature; but he enjoys all types of photography. More of his Botswana and other photos can be seen at http://klingelphotos.shutterfly.com . John is an avid user of HDR and shares a lot of his photos with Facebook friends. He is vice-president of the Marin Photo Club, where he is in charge of Education Nights and teaches two photography courses, “Taking Your Photography to the Next Level” and “How to Shoot and Process HDR.”