Food that you eat on an african safari

 

One question that I often get from clients booking their African safari with the Photographer’s Lounge is what is the food going to be like on Safari?

The food is fresh and tasty. Our chefs will cook you some amazing meals with basic equipment. think hot and fresh breads + beef and veggie mishkaki [barbeque] using a coal grill + organic salad plucked from the garden right around the corner.

All food is well prepared. Our well trained camp chef and crew will come up with gourmet meals in the middle of the bush. They really want you to enjoy their culinary experience.

We can also easily accommodate any vegetarian requirements and any Halal requests.

On Safari you normally start off your day with a wake-up call. You can start really early should you have chosen to go on a sunrise morning game drive or morning walking Safari like you can do most days. On these days, our breakfasts are prepared and stored in a lunch box so we can eat at our leisure from a location out in the conservation areas… we eat amongst the roaming herds of animals and enjoy the sights with our fresh brewed coffee, tea and food.

If you choose to stay back in the morning, You will sit on your lovely patio and have your cookie or biscuits as we say and sip your hot cuppa tea or coffee listening to the sounds of the wild and watching the sun rise. A perfect morning on Safari!

A good breakfast to start off the day full of adventures. You are going to have an array of options. Cereals, variety of juices, eggs with warm bread sometimes cooked in the bush for a bush breakfast, bacon and potatoes and more.  Nothing like having the most important meal of the day with a great view in the Serengeti.

Game driving is tough! Our vehicles carry water, soft drinks, juice and snacks which you can enjoy during your game drive. In some areas, you can stop, set a table and enjoy your snack with the animals close by. Don’t worry. Our guides will choose an open area away from the thick bushes. Prepare to enjoy your mid-morning or afternoon snack.

For lunch, again we have our lunches premade if we are out on safari… The food is fresh, kept in a refrigerator in the vehicle and we place out a picnic table to serve you your lunches from different areas while we are out on safari.

Dinner time is always the best time. Together we sit back, discuss the events of the day over a chilled glass of wine or the drink of choice. We chatting with other Safari goers or share a meal with the camp manager and share stories that go beyond the parks you are visiting.  Bush dinners are also available for those who want a private dinner or just want to sit under the stars. Bon appetite!

Then tomorrow, the wonderful cycle begins again.

Please join us in April of 2014 when we return to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation area. See the details here... http://www.photographers-lounge.com/international-workshops/2014-workshops/tanzania-photo-safari/

DUSTY, STAR OF “DISNEY’S PLANES” TO APPEAR AT WATERLOO AIR SHOW!

June 1 & 2

 

 

May 15, 2013 -- The summer release of “Disney’s Planes,” the animated comedy adventure from above the world of the popular 2006 film “Cars,” has the entire aviation community buzzing. “Disney’s Planes” captures all of the thrill and excitement that flying has to offer—plus a lot of heart and humour.

For thousands of air-show attendees, the movie will jump to life with Dusty’s flying performance at select air shows across North America. Dusty will show off his talents, communicate with the crowd and be accompanied by an exclusive and uplifting Disney musical score.

‘Disney’s Planes’ is a great underdog story, said director and aviation enthusiast Klay Hall. “It has a lot of heart and a message we can all use: If we can believe in ourselves, step out of our comfort zones and get past whatever fear is holding us back, we’d be surprised with the results. And that’s exactly what happens to Dusty in this movie. He’s a crop duster who’s never flown above 1,000 feet, but he dreams of being the fastest air racer in the world. He has a lot of obstacles to overcome and needs to dig pretty deep to find the courage to become more than he was built for.”

David White, Co-Producer of the Waterloo Air Show added: “The Waterloo Air Show is a wonderful family event and we are absolutely thrilled to be a part of the ultimate family experience with this very special appearance of Dusty from ‘Disney’s Planes.’ We invite those of all ages to join us for this most unique event.”

The owner and pilot of the aircraft tapped to play the role of Dusty in the air show performances is Texas-based aerial applicator Rusty Lindeman, who customized one of his own Air Tractor AT-301 airplanes to match Dusty’s paint scheme and features. Manufactured in Olney, Texas, Air Tractor aircraft are used for agricultural spraying, seeding and fertilizing, plus forestry protection, fire fighting and more in the U.S. and more than 30 countries around the world. “We’re happy to help bring Dusty to life for the performances and hope that the audience will have fun and learn a bit more about the importance of aerial application in modern agriculture,” said Air Tractor’s Kristin Edwards.

Air Tractor's founder, Leland Snow, designed, built and flew his own purpose-built crop duster in 1953 and devoted his career to designing bigger and better aircraft for aerial application.

ABOUT THE MOVIE

From above the world of “Cars” comes “Disney’s Planes,” an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing—and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar. Featuring a talented roster of voice talent, including Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and more, “Disney’s Planes” takes off in theatres on Aug. 9, 2013. For more information, check out Disney.com/Planes, like us on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyPlanes or facebook.com/WaltDisneyStudiosCanada and follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/DisneyPictures.

About the Waterloo Air Show

The Waterloo Air Show will take place June 1^st and 2^nd, 2013, at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. It is a two-day family-friendly event that showcases some of the best skills and entertainment the aviation industry has to offer. With displays both in the air and on the ground, guests can enjoy amazing aerial demonstrations headlined by the world-famous Canadian Forces Snowbirds, while exploring exhibits, vendors, additional aircraft on the ground, kids activities, an Autograph Tent, Food Truck Alley and more.

More information and online tickets can be found at www.waterlooairshow.com.

Join the community on Facebook.

Come out to the Region of Waterloo International Airport June 1 & 2 and let your wings soar.

The Cape Buffalo, one of Africa's BIG 5 animals...

Cape Buffalo, one of Africa's "BIG 5 animals", are commonly found in protected wildlife areas (that have plenty of water), throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Four sub-species of African Buffalo have been recognized and basically reflect the different type of regions and habitats they live in: Forest Buffalo (S. c. nanus); West African Savanna Buffalo (S. c. brachyceros); Central African Savanna Buffalo (S. c. aequinoctialis); and Southern Savanna Buffalo (S. c. caffer). The forest buffalo are smaller than those found in the savanna.

Cape buffalo are large, adults stand 4-6 feet tall and males weigh in at around 700 kg's (1500 lb's). Even lions don't dare take a chunk out of this beast unless they have friends helping them. Cape Buffalo are said to have killed more big game hunters than any other animal in Africa and are one of Africa's most dangerous animals. Needless to say, the Cape buffalo has never been domesticated, but if left alone they are quite placid, just like their bovine brethren.

This is just one of the amazing animals we see on our African Safari's. Please see our next trip back here, http://www.photographers-lounge.com/international-workshops/2014-workshops/tanzania-photo-safari/

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/