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Graniteman posted:Has anyone worked with one of these photographer-led tours? I'm really only interested in a tour that will get me to the animals and not any sort of photography workshop, though I guess I'm not opposed to a workshop if anyone has been to a great one. Last year I went on a photography group tour to Finland to spend four nights photographing brown bears. It was an amazing experience so unlikely an 'normal' holiday. I can't recommend them highly enough. There's a perverse pleasure to be had from knowing instead of doing something sane like sit on a beach and read, you've been dedicated enough to spent 14 hours in a small garden shed and nothing but a bucket if you need a piss. It's also nice to be around other like-minded individuals, even if it's depressing that they all sport 1-series cameras and 500mm primes. If you're after one of the dedicated photography tour led by a pro wildlife photorapher, you'll probably not find many that go on for as long as three or four weeks. I think the combination of cost and physical strain would deter most potential customers. The only one's that seem to routinely go for three weeks are Falklands-Antarctica. As a reference, I'm doing a first Ecuador rainforect plus Galapagos trip in a few months. For what is a two week holiday (well, 17 days what with Europe to S.Am travelling) the base cost is 4k GBP / 6.5k USD. Unfortunately it's not a specific photo tour, which would probably cost more on top but would give a better structure for photography; photo ops before sleep, food or anything else. I'll probably have to put up with other guests wanting breakfast or wanting the guide to whiz around the island trails. Galapagos has a strict policy that you must always remain close to your landing party. Not sure how useful this is, but here's a brain-dump of links (all UK based people). http://www.northshots.com/photo_tours.asp?ID=69&tour=Face%20to%20Face%20Grizzlies!&dates=217 http://www.naturesphotos.co.uk/pages/workshops-tours-abroad.php http://www.natures-images.co.uk/pages/holidays.php http://davidlloyd.net/tours/masai-mara-big-cat-photo-safari/ http://sakertour.com/ http://hidephotography.com/ http://www.elliottneep.com/#!/p/safari-expedition End of ramble.
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Jan 13, 2014 22:05
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Graniteman posted:I have a chance to take a 3-4 week vacation later this year and I'm interested in a wildlife photography focused trip. I am limited to mid-July until late September, but I can go anywhere in that time frame. Does anyone have recommendations for trips? I'm game for a guided tour / safari thing, or a self guided hiking (only moderate difficulty hiking though, I'm not a hardcore hiker). Anywhere in the world is fine. I'm thinking about something like madagascar, or the galapagos, or maybe an African safari thing. I don't really have a budget in mind, but several thousand bucks is fine. I guess if you aren't planning on lugging big lenses around the sardine aspect of a normal safari (where they can seat 9 per vehicle) probably isn't such a big deal, but with an outfit like Cheesemans they make sure you're out at the animals for morning light and don't come back until the sun goes down. I would hate to travel to Africa and be stuck with a group of old people who, once they get their ipad shot of a Cheetah, want to move on so they can make afternoon tea.
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Jan 14, 2014 00:30
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Early September is the right time to get out to Lake Clark in Alaska for some bear-on-salmon action. An area that is equivalent to about 10% of England but gets a total of 12 thousand visitors a year. Check out Danny Green's selection of photos from this year (near the bottom). I recall they used http://www.silversalmoncreek.com/
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Jan 14, 2014 01:10
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ElZilcho posted:Where did you get that picture?, looks too nice and clean to be out in the ocean! Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. It took a bit of cleaning up in Photoshop. Here's the original: 
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Jan 14, 2014 01:53
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I drove 400km from Reykjavik to Latrabjarg to take pictures of puffins and it was amazing. Hundreds of puffins (and a few other sea birds) that would let you get to within 10 feet of them without blinking. We went too early in the year, but I know if you go even further up north as well there's a national park type place with an enormous amount of northern wildlife which is apparently exceptional to see.
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Jan 14, 2014 02:07
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Great recommendations! Pablo, I don't have to do a full three weeks anywhere. The deal is every six years at work I get a six week sabbatical, and I'm planning to do 2-3 weeks with my family in Hawaii then I have the rest of the time by myself to go where I want. I could do a couple of different tours, whatever. I'm US-based so I don't know how useful your links are. I assume since it's not like I'm going to their shop it doesn't matter. iJunk, the Cheeseman thing looks pretty great to me. The price is high, but I think for two weeks in Africa with the right focus on wildlife (versus dicking around with casual sightseers) I'd be fine with it. If anyone else knows of good tour companies like that please throw them out there please!
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Jan 14, 2014 05:47
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Graniteman posted:I'm US-based so I don't know how useful your links are. I assume since it's not like I'm going to their shop it doesn't matter.
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Jan 14, 2014 09:07
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Some parks in South Africa will let you drive yourself around in a rental car if you would rather do a self-guided tour. It might be a little cheaper and, if it were me, I would rather be more autonomous than stuck with a tour group if at all possible.
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Jan 14, 2014 15:55
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Just be careful not to drive too close.
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Jan 14, 2014 20:27
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Pablo Bluth posted:Just be careful not to drive too close. Or you might go to a place that does not exist (404)?
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Jan 16, 2014 04:34
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Elephant kicks the poo poo out of a car.
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Jan 16, 2014 04:53
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That's the one. The BBC have removed their copy of the video for some reason.
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Jan 16, 2014 09:39
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Zooming in your hatchback may get you trampled.
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Jan 16, 2014 16:39
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Jan 17, 2014 21:15
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Graniteman posted:
In January 2012, my wife and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro then went on Safari through several parks in Tanzania (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire). We did the entire thing "privately" through a tour company called Team Kilimanjaro and we found that the pricing to do it with just her and I and a guide/driver wasn't really much worse than doing it as a big group. We were in a pop-top Range Rover and I was able to have the guide stop whenever I wanted, for as long as I wanted, so I could shoot. Conversely, we would often see larger groups that were being toured around in closed-window buses, which really seemed like it would be terrible for photography. It wasn't a photo-specific tour, which I'm sure has benefits you wouldn't get otherwise, but I was rarely at a loss for something to take a picture of. In May 2013, we went to Peru to do the Inca Trail, then spent another week or so in the Peruvian Amazon at a little jungle lodge. We also spent a few nights camping. Again, we did this privately, this time through a company called G Adventures. They offer tours throughout the world, and can easily customize them to be private if you choose. Next year we are planning to do a trip to Borneo and are planning to use G Adventures again, and I wouldn't have any hesitation using Team Kilimanjaro if we go back to that area. In fact, we recommended them to my wife's cousin who used them just recently for his trek up Kilimanjaro and a short mini-safari.
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Jan 20, 2014 18:30
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jtd123 posted:Next year we are planning to do a trip to Borneo and are planning to use G Adventures again, and I wouldn't have any hesitation using Team Kilimanjaro if we go back to that area. In fact, we recommended them to my wife's cousin who used them just recently for his trek up Kilimanjaro and a short mini-safari. Thanks for the recommendation. G Adventures looks like a huge operation with a lot of options. That sounds good for finding trips but makes me a little nervous about how good any recommendation can be, since the quality of a tour group and guide will vary among the (apparently) hundreds of tours they organize. I'd trust a review for a specific trip that you went on of course, but I wonder how uniform the quality is across all the tours.
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Jan 21, 2014 00:27
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edit: gently caress
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Jan 21, 2014 05:31
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jtd123 posted:In January 2012, my wife and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro then went on Safari through several parks in Tanzania (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire). We did the entire thing "privately" through a tour company called Team Kilimanjaro and we found that the pricing to do it with just her and I and a guide/driver wasn't really much worse than doing it as a big group. We were in a pop-top Range Rover and I was able to have the guide stop whenever I wanted, for as long as I wanted, so I could shoot. Conversely, we would often see larger groups that were being toured around in closed-window buses, which really seemed like it would be terrible for photography. It wasn't a photo-specific tour, which I'm sure has benefits you wouldn't get otherwise, but I was rarely at a loss for something to take a picture of. well jesus post some goddamned pictures
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Jan 22, 2014 05:19
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Graniteman posted:Thanks for the recommendation. G Adventures looks like a huge operation with a lot of options. That sounds good for finding trips but makes me a little nervous about how good any recommendation can be, since the quality of a tour group and guide will vary among the (apparently) hundreds of tours they organize. I'd trust a review for a specific trip that you went on of course, but I wonder how uniform the quality is across all the tours. I agree with you on that point, and I have to assume that even tours conducted in the same country could possibly vary widely in quality and level of enjoyment, largely dependent upon the guide in my opinion. The expertise of the guide has been paramount in my experience. Their ability to spot wildlife, their professionalism, friendliness, and ability to answer all of the questions that tend to get thrown at them over the course of a couple weeks all directly contribute to how good of a time I have. For full disclosure, unless a place is leaking water on my bed/sleeping bag, or there's toxic mold or something everywhere, I'm generally not going to care much about the accommodations; I'm there for the history/wildlife/scenery, so I won't tend to 1-star something because the sheets only get changed every 3 days. We initially went with G Adventures because a friend used them about 10 years ago and gave a glowing review. It's a little tedious, but Trip Advisor, if you sift through, inadvertently will review guide companies through people reviewing a hotel or attraction that they were brought to by way of the tour, so you can get a pretty good feel for various operators that way as well. Hope you have a great trip regardless of where you go and who you go through! voodoorootbeer posted:well jesus post some goddamned pictures I very unreliably use 500px, but here's a few from those trips (1-2 may have been posted around here in other threads). Don't want to post too much non-wildlife and hijack the thread. There's also a bunch on my website http://www.johndubicki.com, but I have no idea how to thumbnail them here.     
jtd123 fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Jan 23, 2014 |
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Jan 23, 2014 20:07
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 Muskoxen of Eureka 6 by Execudork, on Flickr
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Jan 30, 2014 01:59
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Here is a snake in Taipei zoo.
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Feb 1, 2014 13:39
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omg so adorable 
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Feb 4, 2014 06:07
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 Black And White Colobus by William T Hornaday, on Flickr
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Feb 14, 2014 00:14
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Stuff from Yellowstone.  
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Feb 16, 2014 05:14
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Kudu Cow - Kruger National Park Kudu by StraightFace, on Flickr StraightFace fucked around with this message at 09:24 on Feb 21, 2014 |
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Feb 16, 2014 22:11
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Chroisman posted:Here is a snake in Taipei zoo. Here is another snake in Taipei zoo!  And this is a lizard.  I literally purchased my camera right before going to the zoo so most of my shots turned out rubbish, sadly.
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Feb 19, 2014 10:12
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 Watchful and Careful by francography, on Flickr I was happy I ran into this Coyote, i hardly see wildlife in Running Springs.
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Feb 24, 2014 02:26
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Not really a big fan of wildlife photography but it was post it in here or the thread about trees. vOv
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Feb 24, 2014 18:01
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Devils Tower National Monument
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Feb 26, 2014 02:59
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This leopard had an Impala kill stashed in the tree, and kept a weary eye on the hyena loitering close by, image taken into the sun at 6 o’clock in the morning with fill flash. Kruger National Park Leopard sunrise by StraightFace., on Flickr
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Feb 26, 2014 20:13
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Finally more or less figured out how to use my digiscoping rig. This is an Eos M + Canon M-EF adapter + Novagrade digiscope adapter + Alpen scope. Seems OK in the center. Digiscoped Pronghorn on Flickr
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Mar 8, 2014 21:51
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 Baboon by StraightFace., on Flickr
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Mar 8, 2014 23:41
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Mar 9, 2014 09:37
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Mar 16, 2014 19:47
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There is a wetland area near me which forms little inlets during low-tide. The birds like to congregate and feed, so it makes for a great place to photograph waterfowl in the morning. On this particular morning, I found a dolphin strand feeding. The dolphin would herd together a bunch of fish in the river, then force them into the inlet. Then it would continually make passes closer and closer to the beach, flop on his side and flail his tail around to stun/throw the fish onto the shore. Then it would half-way beach itself to eat some tasty fish. The photos aren't the best since the dolphin was cruising around very fast, and it was hard to know where he would pop up on the bank. But wow, really fun to watch!     I love the fish in this one... "I'M FREEEEE"   polyfractal fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Mar 31, 2014 |
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Mar 31, 2014 00:27
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Hello these are some pictures I took in my backyard around 5 years ago. I think they are cool, but definitely not as technically impressive as some the pics posted in here.            You can see the window I took these pics from in last guy's eye
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Mar 31, 2014 00:53
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I love squirrels and those are awesome photos.
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Mar 31, 2014 01:33
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 Not my dog, not a dog I'd met before, unpredictable behaviour (to me). Therefore wildlife.
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Mar 31, 2014 03:11
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Apr 4, 2014 03:18
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Oh yay, squirrels! Those are fun to photograph. California ground squirrels from the Berkeley Marina   On the Humboldt coast, we have Douglas' squirrels, which eat mushrooms when the trees have no cones  The fuzzy end of a fox squirrel  I'm starting to check the Roosevelt elk herds for calves. Nothing yet, but they're enjoying the green grass and Spring weather. 
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Apr 4, 2014 04:40
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