East Africa Species Spotlight - Vervet Monkey

 

This small, black-faced monkey is common in East Africa as it adapts easily to many environments and is widely distributed.

Physical Characteristics

The different types of vervets vary in color, but generally the body is a greenish-olive or silvery-gray. The face, ears, hands, feet and tip of the tail are black, but a conspicuous white band on the forehead blends in with the short whiskers. The males are slightly larger than the females and easily recognized by their turquoise blue scrota.

The vervet is classified as a medium-sized to large monkey-males weigh up to 17 pounds. Its tail is usually held up, with the tip curving downward. Its arms and legs are approximately the same length.

Habitat

In East Africa these monkeys can live in mountain areas up to about 13,000 feet, but they do not inhabit rain forests or deserts. Their preferred habitat is acacia woodland along streams, rivers and lakes. They are diurnal, sleeping and eating in trees from which they seldom venture.

Behavior

Complex but stable social groups (also called troops) of 10 to 50 individuals mainly consist of adult females and their immature offspring. Males move freely in and out of these groups. Within the troop, each adult female is the center of a small family network. Females who have reached puberty generally stay in the troop.

Grooming is important in a monkey's life. Vervets (as well as most other primates) spend several hours a day removing parasites, dirt or other material from one another's fur. In the primates' hierarchy, dominant individuals get the most grooming. The hierarchical system also controls feeding, mating, fighting, friendships and even survival.

Diet

Leaves and young shoots are most important in the diet, but bark, flowers, fruit, bulbs, roots and grass seeds are also consumed. The mainly vegetarian diet is supplemented with insects, grubs, eggs, baby birds and sometimes rodents and hares. Vervets rarely drink water.

Caring for the Young

Infant vervet monkeys are suckled for about 4 months. When they become adept at feeding themselves solid food, the weaning process begins, although it may not be completed until the vervet is 1 year old.

Close social bonds with female relatives begin to develop in infancy, relationships thought to endure throughout life. Infants are of great interest to the other monkeys in the troop; subadult females do everything possible to be allowed to groom or hold a new infant.

After a birth, the mother licks the infant clean, bites off the umbilical cord and eats the afterbirth. The newborn has black hair and a pink face; it will be 3 or 4 months before it acquires adult coloration.

The infant spends the first week of life clinging to its mother's stomach. After about the third week, it begins to move about by itself and attempts to play with other young monkeys. Vervet mothers are proprietary in the treatment of their babies, and some will not allow young or even other adult females to hold or carry them. Others gladly leave their infants in charge of any interested female. Researchers report that usually a female's close family members will have the most unrestricted access to the babies. As the infants grow, they play not only with monkeys but with other young animals. Young vervets chase one another, wrestle, tumble and play "king-of-the-castle," taking turns pushing each other off a high perch.

Predators

Vervets rarely venture further than about 500 yards from the trees, since they are vulnerable to a variety of predators, including leopards, caracals, servals, baboons, large eagles, crocodiles and pythons. Though they usually confine contact calls to chirping and chittering, vervets scream and squeal when in danger.

Did you know?

Vervet monkeys living near areas inhabited by people can become pests, stealing food and other items and raiding crops. Good climbers, jumpers and swimmers, they often elude capture.

In sexual and dominance displays vervet monkeys run the gamut from shaking branches and jumping around to making a hard 'kek-kek-kek' sound to mark their territories.

 

This is just one of hundreds of species we see on our Tanzanian Photo Safaris... Join us in April 2014 for our next Serengeti safari workshop. http://www.photographers-lounge.com/international-workshops/2014-workshops/tanzania-photo-safari/

 

2014 Photography Workshop Schedule

My 2013 Photography Workshops are almost all sold out... there are only spots remaining on my workshop with Deb Sandidge in Northern Ontario and my workshop with Len Silvester in Venezuela in October

I have been refining my 2014 photography workshop schedule over the last 45 days and wanted to get the information out so you could arrange your holidays and plan your 2014 travel. I thank you all for your patience and I hope to see you out on one of our workshops in 2014

February 2014 - Iceland
We will be headed back to Iceland, but this time to focus on icebergs and the northern lights as they dance over our heads.

April 2014 - Tanzania
Its our annual trip to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. We stay in and around the Wildebeest migration just after the calving season and follow the predators as they follow the migration.

July 2014 - Provence and Paris
This is a semi-private workshop with only space for four photographers. Right now there are only two spots left as we spend half a week photographing lavender and the Camargue horses before we head north to capture the city of lights and love.

Details to be announced on my website in May 2013.

August 2014 - Tofino, British Columbia
Tofino is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We are headed there in that magical time when the seasons change and the sea fog creates a special environment that all photographers will never forget. This year we are headed to Tofino with Ellen Anon.

September 2014 - Paris, France
This will be my 8th time in Paris and I never get tired of walking through the streets and capturing the essence of the Parisian sights and sounds. This year we are visiting Paris after the crowds die down and the fall colors begin to peak through in the parks. I hope you can join Denise Ippolito and Deborah Sandidge as I spend two weeks in Paris in 2014.

October 2014 - Mongolia
Golden Eagles, traditional dress, mountains, Jim Zuckerman and the Gobi desert... a great recipe for a fantastic workshop in Mongolia. This is going to be my return visit to Mongolia as I have a workshop that is set to go in July of 2013 to see the Naadam Festival.

November 2014 - Bald Eagle Workshops Columbia
I lived in this area and I shake my head that I ever left... its a photographers playground. We will be running workshops during the Bald Eagle migration as they flock to feed on the migratory salmon in the Fraser Valley.

Date Unknown - Venezuela
This will be another return trip to Venezuela as we visit Lake Maracaibo and the Andes Mountains. We will be focusing in on the wildlife, birds, butterflies, landscapes and the natural wonder of the Catatumbo Lightening.

We are planning on the September and October time frame. Please contact me if you are interested.

In addition to eagles, seals, bears and other birds of prey, the opportunity for some fantastic British Columbia mountain landscape photography will surround you no matter where we go.

I hope you consider joining me and my fellow photographers. 2014 is looking to be a great year as we visit some amazing destinations.

To learn more about my workshops, to see pricing and exact dates, please visit, www.photographerslounge.net

Contact me at kevin@photographers-lounge.com if you would like further information than I have put on my website.

New Sigma USB Dock and Proprietary Optimization Software

Albert Einstein once said, "“I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.” 

Well, the future is here when it comes to technology helping photographers maximize the quality of their photos.

Sigma has announced their new USB Dock and proprietary Optimization Pro software. Developed exclusively for Sigma’s new Art, Contemporary, and Sports series of lenses, the USB Dock easily connects to a computer via a standard USB connection and allows photographers to update lens firmware and adjust parameters, such as focus. The USB Dock is currently compatible with the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM and 30mm F1.4 DC HSM lenses from the Art line, the 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM lens from the Contemporary line, and the 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM lens the Sports line.

Using the USB Dock, it’s possible to update the lens firmware via the Internet. Multiple focus setting options are also available: four categories for fixed focal length lenses and sixteen categories for zoom lenses (four options for focal length and four options for shooting distance).

In addition, lenses from Sigma’s Sports line include a “Custom Mode Switch” for customizable AF speed (three AF speed modes), focus limiter, and optical stabilizer (OS) function (three OS adjustment modes).

The Sigma USB Dock has a suggested retail price of $59.95 and will be available for Canon and Sigma lenses in May; the Nikon version will follow. Currently, the USB Dock is not compatible with Sigma DN series lenses.

Preparing for an "African Photography Workshop"

 

As I sit back and reflect on my 9 day trip to Tanzania, I am left with memories so vivid I still feel like I am there in the safari vehicle on the Serengeti plains. It was there where I first noticed a herd of wildebeest off in the distance. From my seat they appeared to be trees on the landscape as far as the eye could see. But as we drove closer, what I thought were trees on the edge of the Acadia woodlands turned into the form of wildebeest. I realized that I was witnessing one of the world’s most spectacular migrations … the wildebeest migration.

As we approached the large herd we slowed our vehicle and entered. Like magic they parted and closed in behind as if to welcome us as one of their own. It is then that we stood from our seats and peered out of the open canopy, cameras still at our sides and silently scanned the landscape in all directions. As far as our eyes could see, wildebeest and zebra grazed on the open fields and we realized we were witnessing one of the sights we had all dreamed of.

Our guide, Emanuel, estimated the herd between 400k and 500k and was probably the main herd of the migrating 1.5million animals that make this annual trek from where we were, westward over the Grumati River and then north for the infamous Mara River crossing and into Kenya before their return for the calving season near the eastern border of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro conservation areas.

Slowly we lifted our cameras into position, me, a camera body with my Sigma 150-500 and a second camera body with a Sigma 12-24mm wide angle lens. That is when the action started. As if on cue, the silence turned to the sound of shutters firing and joyous sounds from all 5 of us as we captured the animals jumping and moving in all directions. The more they moved, the more excited we got, the faster the animals began to run in different directions.

This stirred the wildebeest even more... from a slow and steady movement, they turned to erratic movement and panic shrouded in a cloud of dust as they tried to escape an unknown foe, our land rover.

This is what a visit to Tanzania is all about. Appreciating the incredibly beautiful and diverse African landscapes that have formed long before man could even measure time and admiring the animals that dot this amazing landscape as merely a perfect decoration to this ancient land.

As photographers though, we were also there to come home with amazing photos. Preparation and executing playing a huge role to achieve that goal. So how do you prepare yourself and your gear to get the photos of a lifetime, and how to you make sure you execute in the moment?

One – A ritual of cleaning lenses and the camera, making sure you have enough batteries and memory before you leave and making sure the camera and gear are in good working order is something that should be done constantly. This should be done before you leave for the safari drive and a few times throughout the day.

Two – Constantly check your exposure throughout the day. The weather conditions can change constantly during the day and if you shoot in manual, the light is far different in the morning than it is at mid-day. Making constant adjustments will ensure you do not get drastically under exposed or over exposed photos.

Three – Take the right gear with you. There is nothing worse than realizing that your telephoto lens was not long enough or too long. Have a range of lenses with you. I take a few different lenses that range from 12mm to 500mm and a few camera bodies to make sure I have the correct lens for the situation.

Four – Care of your gear in harsh conditions. On a safari you will be driving in a vehicles with large windows and an open roof. Sun and dust are not a friend of camera gear. When not using your camera and lenses make sure they are stored safely on the seat beside you and cover them with a blanket to keep the sun and dust off of them. On my safari’s my attendees get a row to themselves with two seats. One to sit in and the other to place their camera bag to store gear and make it readily accessible.

 

Five – Ask your guide and accompanying pro photographer questions. Both should be a wealth of knowledge on animal behaviour and how to maximize photography opportunities that you will see on a safari. I have a guide, Emanuel that use exclusively. He is a wealth of knowledge on animal behaviours and all the species we encounter and I am always available to help the workshop attendees how to get the angles and shots that they dreamed of capturing on a safari. Emanuel and I also work together to make sure that the vehicle placement maximizes the  natural light and proper backgrounds to make your photo subjects pop from the image.

Six – Take as many photos as you can from all different points of view. This is the digital age, it does not cost you to take 100 photos of an animal sitting there. You never know when a lion will yawn, or a hippo will bolt from the water, mouth gaping open and thrashing in the water.

Seven – Go through your photos every day with your workshop or tour leader. That one on one time at night back at the lodge is invaluable for your learning experience. Having constant feedback in the environment will only make you better every day.

Eight – Practice before you leave for your safari. You will be doing a lot of hand holding of your telephoto lenses. Practicing stabilizing the camera and shooting moving animals will make you a better photographer before you step foot in Africa.

Nine – Do your own research on animal photos before you leave for your safari. We each have our own styles and only you can take that photo… your guides and PRO photographer can put you in the right location and give you all the advice they can, but at the end of the day, it’s all up to you to click that shutter and get that shot of a lifetime.

Ten – Go with a company that is experienced and offers more than just a trip. While the trip itself is great, make sure they think about the little things… water for long hot days, safe environments to stay in, airport pick up and drop off to make sure you and you gear are safe. These little touches are often overlooked and can have a large impact on your African experience.

I hope you can join me on one of my workshops. They are a great learning environment and we always have lots of laughs.

See my workshops here… http://www.photographers-lounge.com/international-workshops/

See my next African Safari here..  http://www.photographers-lounge.com/international-workshops/2014-workshops/tanzania-photo-safari/

African Photo Workshop in Tanzania

Dates: Leave home on April 28, 2014 and arrive home on May 7th, 2014

Locations: Ngorongoro Crater, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti national Park, Arusha

Attendees: Minimum of 6, maximum of 12

Fitness Level: Minimal physical activity involved in this photo tour. Some minor walks if you choose to take them.

Price: $4750

Single Supplement: $450

Deposit Required to secure spot: $750

Pro Photographer Guides: Kevin A Pepper 

Our goal is to answer all of your questions while we spend our time together in Africa. But because of the nature of this photography safari, the key learning opportunities will be on:
Apertures & Shutter Speeds: We will discuss the different modes on your camera and the effect your aperture and shutter setting have on your images.
Composition: Learn how to improve your photography by applying ‘rules’ of composition.
Long Exposure: With th eopportunity to shoot at night under the full moon and at other various locations you will practice long exposure blue hour and night tiem photography.
Autofocus & Techniques: Here you learn how to keep the focus on your subject whether taking a landscape image or photographing action!
Digital Darkroom: A Photographers Lounge photo tour is the perfect opportunity for any photographer to refine their post processing skills.

Itinerary

April 29th, 2014
Our guides will pick you up at the airport when your International flight lands and we will begin our safari together.

We will be taken to our Lodge for the night, , the River Tree Lodge. River Trees has long been our first choice as the beginning point for most of our safaris in Northern Tanzania. It has the friendly relaxed atmosphere of
someone's home (because part of it still is) yet manages to provide good service and simple home cooked food to a high standard.

April 30th, 2014
We head to the Ngorongoro Crater. This area has some of the highest animal diversity in a relatively small area. One of the reasons is the year round water and abundant food.

Lake Magadi one of the water sources is an alkaline lake [due to its bed of sodium carbonate] located on the crater floor. The lake supports thousands of flamingos and other birds. Here are greater and lesser flamingo mingling, along with some other birds. The greater flamingo is larger and has a pink bill with a black tip. A filter feeder, it preys on invertebrates which it shifts from the bottom mud using its bent bill. Lesser flamingos, recognizable by their darker bills, primarily eat spirulina, a blue-green algae found in the shallows
of alkaline lakes.

Home to nearly 25,000 animals, a game drive gives you a very real chance of spotting the big five: lion, elephant, endangered black rhino, buffalo and leopard.      
    
We will return to the Plantation Lodge for a night of going through our photos and you will see a slide show of the adventure we are about to embark on in the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Plantation Lodge is set on a working coffee farm outside Karatu, less than an hour away from Ngorongoro Crater gate. This small intimate lodge with a great eye for detail has only 16 rooms allowing the owner, Renate Marahens to keep up with her high service level. The elegant rooms, each with a different decor, have
large beds, spacious bathrooms and verandah [patio]. Plantation Lodge has a swimming pool from where you can enjoy the lovely surrounding landscape after your game drive.

The food prepared at Plantation Lodge is delicious with most of the produce coming fresh from their own garden or the many farms from the surrounding area.

May 1st, 2014 to May 3rd, 2014
On our drive out to the Serengeti we will stop at a Masai village and spend some time with the people in the village, learn about their culture and photograph the juvenile males performing their famous jumping dance and throwing spears on the open planes. Have your cameras ready… the opportunities to photograph the Masai tribe is a wonderful experience.

After we leave the village you will quickly realize that you can spend days in the 6,000 sq. miles ecosystem [the size of Connecticut] and every day is a different day. There is the predator and prey relationship you want to keep a look out for, the constant grunting hippos to admire, the colorful small birds to large flying birds you want to see take flight over the skies, Serengeti's daily activities can never tire you.  From the large groups of lions to the lone working leopard spying from the tree, the constantly migrating 1.5
million wildebeest and 0.5 million zebras have constant companions. With them the hyenas and vultures are never far away.  If we are lucky, we will spot the endangered black rhino.

In 2013 we were lucky enough to drive through a large heard of 500,000 wildebeest and witness a family of lions feast on a wildebeest that they just killed while staying in this area. In addition to this we had tracked a family of Cheetah and spent the morning photographing a mother Cheetah and four of her cubs playing in the woodlands and fields.

After our drive and numerous photo opportunities, our group will arrive at Ndutu Lodge. This is one of the oldest and more popular lodges in Southern Serengeti used by documentary photographers because of the location (built in the 60s) but a well-kept one under the management hence requiring an advance booking.
Their emphasis is not on the frills (though the rooms have been updated and are very comfortable) but location, location, location.

For the next three nights, Ndutu Lodge will be your home. Situated in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the southern short grass plains of the Serengeti ecosystem lays Ndutu Lodge. Standing amongst acacia woodland near Lake Ndutu, the 34 stone cottages sit unobtrusively in the wilderness, offering the quintessential setting for the experiencing the peace of the Serengeti.

During this time of year, the wildebeest and zebras have finished calving around the Southern Serengeti plains. With them, the resident and migratory cats and hyenas follow. Lake Ndutu offers the many resident animals and birds a permanent water source which makes Ndutu Lodge a wonderful place to stay any
time of the year. 

Their motto - Don't expect five stars. From our campfire, you'll see millions!
 

May 4th, 2014 – May 5th, 2014

Central Serengeti is known as Cat Central. From here if lucky, you will get to see the lions on kopjes which are the huge rock outcrops that pop all over the Serengeti area. These are volcanic rocks left-over after the volcanic eruption that happened a million years ago that blew the Ngorongoro Mountain top crating
the Ngorongoro Crater.

Our accommodation for the next two nights is the lodge of, Serengeti Serena. Serengeti Serena Lodge is located adjacent to the world-renowned Western Corridor & Grumeti River. Within an hour, you can be in wooded Northern Serengeti or Central Serengeti's Seronera River Valley or as some like to call it - the cat
central!.

The 14,763-square km area is home to a million wildebeest - the dominant herbivore but also the main prey of predators as they continually roam in search of fresh grasslands for survival.
Cooled by groves of acacia trees and watered by streams, Serengeti Serena Lodge attracts game close to guests who can even watch what's happening on the plains below from the cool of the rim-flow pool at the lodge

Last year we spotted the rare African Leopard, numerous lions, hippos, huge herds of elephants and other African animals that you will want in your portfolio.

May 6th, 2014
Must all good things come to an end?  This will be your thought when you are having breakfast overlooking Serengeti and you take your final photos as we head to the airstrip.

Say kwaheri [good-bye] in the late morning [around 10:30 am] to your guide and fly to Kilimanjaro Airport.

Day room provided at KIA lodge, 1 km from the airport before you transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight home.

More workshop details

You will have 4x4 Land Cruisers with viewing hatches for optimum game viewing. Each vehicle is equipped with two-way radios as well as cell phones that keep track of your well-being every step of the way. You will enjoy the room, having capped the number of photographers in each vehicle to 3. This way you get the
benefits of viewing animals from both sides of the land cruiser in your own row.

Your guides will offer a wealth of safari experience, amazing you with his observation skills, knowledge of flora and fauna and enthusiasm in spotting animals hidden behind the grasses of the Savannah.

Every day we will carve out time to go through images individually, and with the group to maximize the feedback. This will ensure you come back with the best possible images you will be able to create.

Included
in your Safari:
- All transfers as mentioned
- Accommodations as per itinerary
- All meals included on Safari
- Bottled water when driving in the parks
- All the Conservation and Park fees as per itinerary [* Special Ngorongoro Conservation and Serengeti Park fees when staying at Ndutu Lodge]
- Ngorongoro vehicle levy fee for 1 entry
- Tanzanian Driver /Guide for Safari
- Vehicles – 4x4 Land Cruiser with cell phones with no mileage limit (maximum 3 photographers per vehicle)
- Special Activities - Coffee Plantation walk when at Plantation Lodge and a visit to a Masai village
- Flight from Serengeti to Kilimanjaro Airport [taxes included] - Temporary evacuation subscription
 [Your pre-departure package on the receipt of your deposit of $700 per person of the Safari will contain all the necessary documents that will prepare you for your Safari.]

Not included in the Price:
- Safari activities not mentioned, visas, International Flights [we recommend making arrangements through Journey to Africa],
-local Airport taxes and security fees (if applicable)
- Phone, tips to driver-guides, porter, bartender, etc.,
- Travel Insurance and purchase of personal items and souvenirs.

Contact Information

To book your spot on this photography tour please contact the tour company in Houston, Texas that arranged this trip for us. They can also give you a breakdown on the costs for this tour if you require. Their contact information is as follows:

Journey to Africa
Toll Free: 1.877.558.6288 (America only)
Direct Number: 1.713.592.6228 (Outside United States)
Email Address: Info@JourneyToAfrica.com

To get your questions answered in regards to the photographic details only please contact:

Kevin Pepper
Phone Number: 519 620 9185
Email Address: kevin@photographers-lounge.com

Goodbye Tanzania... Hello Provence...

The latest workshop in Tanzania is coming to a close. We finally flew out of the Serengeti and landed at the Kilimanjaro airport, memories stored forever in my mind, thousands of photos taken and new friendships developed.

Africa is a wonderful experience, one every photographer should do. Its not only to photograph some amazing animals, but to capture the essence of the people and the breath taking landscapes.

But before you go, talk to photographers that have done it... there as some tourist traps, pitfalls and some information you should know before you go, not to mention the hidden costs of travelling here... If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and ask. I would be happy to share my experience and give you some tips.

Over the next week I will post some tips for taking an African safari and announce the details for my next safari to Namibia and to Tanzania next year.... and yes, some photos. I have thousands of photos that I have not posted yet as I want to wait to get home on my PC to do some editing.

From here I go home and prepare for my next workshop in Provence in June...

Sitting at the outside bar at the KIA Lodge, beer in my hand, laptop in front of me,

Kev

Greetings from our latest photography workshop in the Serengeti

We have finally arrived in the Serengeti... our first three nights to be spent in the Southern Serengeti at the Ndutu Lodge and the last two nights spent at Mbuzi Mawe in Central Serengeti

Ndutu Lodge

Ndutu Safari Lodge is situated in the South-eastern part of the Serengeti ecosystem. Shaded by majestic acacia trees, each of the thirty four cottages, which are built of local materials, has a private verandah facing Lake Ndutu.










The Lodge is surrounded by indigenous trees and shrubs which encourage a host of birds and mammals to come right to your front door. Tucked well away from the busy tourist circuit, Ndutu offers peace and tranquillity far from the madding crowd.







Mbuzi Mawe Lodge


Scenically located in a glade, known as ‘the place of the klipspringer' (mbuzi mawe), and guarded by three million year-old granite towers, this luxury tented-camp is unique.












Cleverly located on one of the main annual migration corridors for over one million wildebeest, half a million zebras and gazelles, and their accompanying cast of predators it is also located at the very epicentre of one of the world's most famous national parks.









As we return from our safari drives I will be working with everyone in the digital darkroom. As I get to my photos at night I will post some on my Facebook Page so you can see what we experienced during our time in the Serengeti...

Look out Wildebeest Migration... here we come!

From Africa...

Kev

P.S. All photos were courtesy of the lodges we partnered with for this workshop