nature photography - Kaleel Zibe

WILDLIFE BABIES

Kaleel — Wed, 15 May 2019 09:32:00 +0000

I’ve been a professional wildlife photographer since 2008 and for all of that time I’ve been trying to take pictures that will invoke an emotional response with people. In my experience, there is nothing that does that quite as well as baby animals. It’s probably got a lot to do with the cute factor.

I’ve collected here some of the baby animals and young wildlife photos that I’ve taken over the years. Each one of them triggers a fond memory and takes me back to where and when I took that photo. Whilst I’ve described a little about how to approach taking these shots below, this is perhaps less of a Tips blog post than a celebration of young wildlife. Having said that, there are one are two things that are worth noting about taking photographs of juveniles and baby animals and birds and it would be broadly covered under the heading of creating a disturbance to the animal at its most vulnerable. More of that in a minute.

What’s not to love about lion and leopard cubs?

It’s so rewarding to photograph and film young animals: they tend to be more playful and more cute than their parents. It’s often just a case of pointing your camera and waiting for them to do something funny or cute. All the usual rules of wildlife photography composition and camera settings apply just in the way that they would for adults, but one thing that I think often sets young animals apart from adults is that they are often really good for interactive shots because of that playfulness. Watching lion cubs or young elephants play-fighting is an absolute joy. And to photograph them doing that: even better.

Baby elephants play-fighting, young grey seals, an Arctic tern chick and a baby rabbit

One useful thing to note is that because young animals are usually much smaller than their parents, it’s worth making that connection in the photograph. So for example you might want to put a cute baby with its parent to show the different sizes and parental love and protection, rather than only taking photographs of the young animal by itself. Putting a parent in the frame also underlines how small the babies can be.

Some examples of young animals and birds with their parents: elephants, humpback whales, giraffes, zebras, grey seals, shags (the brown one is the baby), guillemots, Arctic terns and ostriches

Lastly, the prickly business of whether you should be taking the photo in the first place. This is particularly important to consider where the species is threatened or endangered. For these animals and birds, they need the utmost protection when at their most vulnerable, which is usually when they are very young and still at the nest / den etc. As such, they are often protected by laws and rules that stipulate when they can and can’t be approached – including to be photographed.

An example of this would be birds in the UK covered under Schedule 1 licenses: you would need one of these licenses to get anywhere near these creatures at their nest. The BTO issues licenses on behalf of Natural England. They also have a list that tells you which birds are protected and in which territories. These licenses are often called disturbance licenses because you are intentionally creating a disturbance at this species’ most vulnerable point by approaching them. Obviously, photographing the animals at this sensitive time is a disturbance too, particularly if you get close, as we often want to in photography for that special shot.

With endangered species, this is not only a risk for their survival (nest abandonment, behavioural change, increased risk of predation, etc.), but it is illegal and you could be prosecuted. So, the long and the short of it is that you need to know which species are vulnerable and protected before you even attempt to go and photograph them. Occasionally you may be allowed to photograph a sensitive species for a specific purpose if in the long run it does the conservation of that species some good.

For example, several years ago I did a project on red kites, which are protected birds. I was attached to the RSPB who were doing a project in our local area and was asked to take photographs at and near the nest sites of some of the kites. This could only be done under the supervision of the local RSPB team who had a Schedule 1 disturbance license. I was then allowed to photograph the nest site and young birds as long as I made myself scarce if anybody walked nearby and never disclosed to anybody where the nest was. I also ended up taking a photograph of a young kite that had fallen out of its nest and was being kept in an undisclosed location before being later released.

Red kite on a nest, photographed with a Schedule 1 license. The second photograph is the young kite that hatched from the egg you can just see in the first photo. It actually fell out of the nest and was rescued. After recuperation, I was allowed to photograph it before it was re-released into the wild

Similarly when photographing lion cubs or any other mammals in Africa, as I often do when taking people on photography safaris, I and all of the clients I take under my wing must always pay attention to what our guides tell us is possible. Sometimes they will say we must move away from an animal to avoid distress. This must be the baseline for all wildlife viewing, never mind photography. And it is particularly important where young animals are concerned.

All this being said, if you’ve done your research and you either know the species is not threatened, or you have the permission of a body who can grant you access, then carry on.

You may at this point be thinking, well there are plenty of garden birds or woodland animals that are not threatened that would be fair game to photograph when young. Just bear in mind that all animals when very young are vulnerable, even if the species itself is not protected. Always exercise caution and don’t get too close. Use your common sense: you can usually tell when wildlife feels under threat.

An olive baboon baby on the back of its mother

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THE BEAUTY OF BACK-LIGHT

Kaleel — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:19:31 +0000

A rufous-tailed hummingbird in Costa Rica

Back-light is, as you might expect, where the light on the subject is predominantly from behind. What this does is produce a dramatic effect, outlining the subject in rim light. All the more stunning if that light is warm in colour and there is some detail in the subject, like fur or feathers to make an interesting outline, or where the light can shine through those feathers or fur.

A bellowing red deer stag in Studley Royal deer park, Ripon, UK

Camera exposure is important, as you’ll have to capture a wide dynamic range. Shooting in raw will give you the best quality to work with, as you may have to brighten the foreground shadows in post production whilst keeping the highlights where they are. Typically you’ll expose for the bright back-light and make sure those bright parts are on the right hand side of your histogram. Cameras vary greatly in their dynamic range capabilities and the smaller the dynamic range, the less able the camera is to record everything from dark to bright and all in between. The reason I say that you should expose for the highlights is that there’s more data stored in those highlights. Even if the photograph looks a little too bright, you can darken the image later and retain more dynamic range than if you shot with a lower exposure. Just make sure you don’t blow the highlights out so that the brightest pixels fall just within the right hand end of the histogram.

Plains zebra running in the Maasai Mara, Kenya

In the zebra image above, the brightest parts of the photograph are where the sun is behind the zebras’ manes and on their hooves. These pixels will be at the right hand edge of the histogram. Make sure they’re almost but not quite white.

Exposing for the highlights with back lighting often ends up with silhouettes, or near-silhouettes. If you don’t want this effect, you can provide some fill light in the form of flash, or a bounce card. This isn’t always practical for wildlife, and sometimes it isn’t ethical if it would compromise the sight of the animal. I’ll do a separate blog on flash with wildlife, but it’s a very useful tool that’s often overlooked.

Fallow deer at Studley Royal

If flash isn’t an option and you have an image which you’ve exposed perfectly for the highlights with back-light, but the foreground is too dark, all is not lost – as long as you’ve shot in RAW. I was reminded of this when submitting some tropical bird photos to the RSPB’s image library yesterday, where the back light was often very strong. With a RAW image, you can boost the shadows quite a bit in post production without introducing blockiness or noise. This has the effect of balancing out the dynamic range in the image to be more what the eye can see. Very few cameras can match the range of the human eye, so RAW shooting is definitely your friend here. I’ll do an article about when and how to boost shadows in the future. The image of fallow deer above was shot with the highlights at the right hand end of the histogram and the foreground shadows needed lifting to balance the photograph.

If you have warm sunshine, particularly at dawn and dusk, the camera’s white balance (if on auto) will often assume the scene is a lot cooler than it actually is. You can counteract this by setting a warmer white balance of cloudy or even shade. Occasionally it may have to go beyond this. The best method is to shoot in raw and choose the white balance that matched what you saw in post production. The following image was taken at dawn and the colours really were that orange. I had to dial the colour temperature in to Lightroom afterwards to match what I saw.

Ultra runners near Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland, UK

Similarly with this robin, I had to make sure the white balance matched the strong warm colours. Sometimes it will be necessary to boost vibrance and/or saturation to really bring out the colours, too.

A robin in our garden, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

Interestingly with this robin image, you’ll also notice the strong lens flare and out of focus blurring of direct sunlight into the lens. It can be quite a creative thing to harness, although be careful when looking directly at strong sunlight through your camera, as you could damage your eyes and the camera’s sensor.

I’ll round this post off with three more images which show the use of lovely warm back light: firstly a rim-lit wildebeest (its beard works perfectly for back-light), then a short-eared owl (the lovely evening back-light is when these crepuscular predators hunt) and lastly dawn in Kielder Forest (the back-light coming through the trees and other foliage makes the image so much more interesting than if it had been shot with the sun behind).

A lone wildbeest, Maasai Mara, Kenya

A short-eared owl hunting in the evening light, Northumberland, UK

Kielder Forest in December, Northumberland, UK

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Farne Islands June 2017

Kaleel — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 13:02:32 +0000

Another fantastic day at the Farne Islands yesterday! Thank you to my lovely workshop clients: welcome back to old friends and welcome aboard to new ones! Here are a few images I took during the trip:

Sunset gannet taking off from a feeding frenzy

Incoming puffin in flight with sand eels

Arctic tern eruption on Inner Farne

Preening kittiwake

Puffin with sand eels on Staple Island

Kittiwake shouting its own name

Razorbill having a stretch

Puffin mouthful

Shag close-up

Guillemot colony on the stacks of Staple Island

Arctic tern attack!

Yup, more sand eels

Inner Farne lighthouse and Lighthouse Cliff

Guillemot jumpling being encouraged down the sheer rock face into the water. Baby guillemots don’t fly off, they’re pretty much forced into the water where dad whisks them away and looks after them for weeks at sea

Guillemot sunset bird bath

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How To Prepare and Pack For a Photography Safari to Africa

Kaleel — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 22:04:05 +0000

I’m writing this article because I remember the mixture of excitement and bewilderment at tackling my first African photography safari in 2008. What to take? What to leave at home? What to prepare? What clothing, money, insurance, visas? All these questions and more I’ll attempt to answer here.

Going away on your first photography safari is an incredibly exhilarating thing to do, but it can present a bit of a headache from a practical point of view.

I run safaris in Kenya’s Masai Mara and this blog post has a nod towards that destination, but really, most of the advice is good for a photo safari anywhere in Africa. I’ve also photographed the amazing wildlife in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Uganda.

How should I pack for air travel?

An airline-compatible camera case like this Tamrac roller is fantastic for cabin baggage. But make sure you have the weight allowance on your connecting flights within Africa.

For aircraft travel, I tend to make sure all my important and expensive stuff is with me in my hand luggage. That’s whether I’m going to Africa or anywhere else in the world. I don’t think I’d ever trust it in the hold. Hand luggage can actually be quite large and heavy and I use a camera case that has specially padded sections inside it. You don’t need to do this if you don’t have so much gear, but I find that solution very convenient and safe. The key thing is to take cameras and lenses in hand luggage so you know where they are at all times. I’ve often thought that if I have my main camera gear and a spare pair of underpants, all will be well if the rest of the luggage goes astray.

What are the airline weight allowances and are there any costs for excess baggage?

As a photographer, the heaviest part of your luggage probably consists of your camera(s), lenses, tripods and other photo gear. Excess baggage is unlikely to be a problem on international flights to African countries, but may well be if you’re transferring to regions within the country on smaller aircraft. Let’s take the journey from the UK to the Masai Mara as a good example. The international flight from the UK will have a hold luggage allowance of something like 20-23Kg plus a pretty generous hand-luggage allowance. The latter is often not weighed and the restrictions are more around the size and shape of the hand luggage and whether it fits into the over-head lockers. This is why a) it’s essential to check the specific airline for their specifications (they all vary) and b) it’s a great idea to put all your expensive, heavy stuff in the hand luggage!

So, the international leg isn’t likely to be an issue. However, when you get to Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi, Kenya, you’ll have to transfer to the smaller Wilson airport in order to fly into the Mara. Typically, the aircraft (run for example by Safari Link) are much smaller than the ones you’ll have arrived on at Nariobi. In fact, so much smaller, that your luggage allowance plummets to 15Kg including hand luggage. Yes, I did say including hand luggage. So that’s everything you have – no more than 15Kg. This is why it’s essential to plan ahead and book an extra allowance. The standard way of doing it with Safari Link for example is to book an additional child seat, which gives you an extra 75Kg. In practise, this isn’t actually another seat – that would also be one humungously heavy child! – but this allowance factors in the extra weight and bulk of additional luggage on the flight. When taking a group to the Masai Mara, I always make sure I book enough child seats to cater for the additional baggage of the entire group.

Either that or take your camera stuff and live in the same clothes for a fortnight. Just please don’t sit near me!

[Remember, I’ll have my spare undies ;-)]

Softly does it

There is one other consideration for these smaller aircraft, the hold-space is small and often a funny shape internally due to the construction of the plane. For this reason, the airline might request that you bring soft holdall type of cases so they can fit them into the awkward hold space easier. They warn that if they can’t fit your case into the hold, it may end up on the next plane. Or the one after that… This isn’t ideal for us as photographers and might require a bit of ingenuity! Fear not if you’re coming on one of my trips as I’ve already checked with Safari Link that the extra baggage I’ve ordered can include typical roller camera cases and tripods, but it’s certainly something to be aware of in advance.

Anyway, bear these possible limitations in mind when packing and if in doubt, contact the airline to check.

One of Safari Link’s aircraft landing in the Masai Mara

Which lenses should I take on safari?

Ideally, all of them! But that’s not usually practical from a weight point of view. I’m not renowned for travelling light (ahem) and there’s always something I want to take that doesn’t make the final list. This ‘something’ is often my 600mm f/4, but if I can get away with it, I will. You’ll probably find that most of your shots are taken between 200-600mm on a safari and teleconverters and crop factors (see below) will help you out here. Longer lenses are undeniably useful, but the biggest ones will often tip your baggage allowance over the edge, so there’s a compromise to be assessed.

Don’t rule out wide lenses for landscape shots and you may get a chance to do some macro, too. For flexibility, zoom lenses are the best, although be aware that cheap zooms can be far from good quality. I tend to think of lenses in terms of ranges and make sure I’ve got the following covered (based on a full size sensor):

ultra wide often including fish-eye: e.g. 14 – 24mm zoom, 20mm prime, 16mm fish-eye
wide to normal: 24 – 70mm zoom, 50mm prime
short telephoto: 70 – 200mm zoom
macro: 60, 105, 180 or 200mm
medium telephoto: 200-400 zoom or 300mm prime
long telephoto: 400, 500 or 600mm prime

I’m not saying you should rush out and buy the above list! One or two reasonable / good quality zooms will cover pretty much everything you’ll need.

Teleconverters

A practical consideration is a shorter lens with a teleconverter, but do try this combination before you leave; many lenses don’t let enough light in to enable a teleconverter to work with them and you’ll find the camera struggles to find focus, or fails altogether. Indeed some teleconverters are designed to only fit on lenses that the manufacturers deem good enough to cope with the loss of light. Some cheaper or older teleconverters are, frankly, crap. They’ll often soften the image too much and cause aberrations, so do check reviews of the exact one you’re considering or try it out. Teleconverters typically come in 1.4x and 2x magnification – although there are others available – and they cut the amount of light transmission by half and a quarter respectively. This is important because camera autofocus systems are rated to a specific f-stop, meaning for example that your camera simply won’t focus with a lens that has a maximum aperture of f/8. You may not think this is a problem with your current lens, but let’s take a typical lens as an example to illustrate.

Say you have a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L. This is undeniably a good lens (unless you’ve got one of the Friday afternoon ones) and the maximum aperture at the 400mm zoom end is f/5.6. This figure tells you the maximum amount of light that the lens can let in. It would be very unusual to find a camera body that couldn’t focus quickly with an f/5.6 maximum aperture lens. However, as soon as you stick a 1.4x teleconverter on this lens, its maximum aperture at the long end becomes f/8, which is a lot dimmer, even if you do get a very useful 560mm. Some cameras will struggle with this lack of light. Now consider a 2x teleconverter on the same lens: 800mm – awesome! But at what cost? Well, f/11 actually, which all but top end cameras will fail to focus with, so beware. You can manually focus in these circumstances, but you’ll be looking through a dim viewfinder and will find it difficult unless there’s a huge amount of light.

Crop Factors

Because lenses’ focal lengths are listed as the number of millimetres when used with a full frame sensor (i.e. a sensor that’s the same size as a 35mm film camera), all of these lenses will give you greater reach on an APS-C sized cropped sensor because the latter is physically smaller. Cropped sensor camera bodies form the greater part of the non-professional gear line-up, so most people will benefit from a multiplication of focal length of between 1.5 and 1.6 times. Keeping with the 100-400mm lens as our example, the same lens on a typical Canon body with a cropped sensor will actually deliver 160 – 640mm, which is a radical improvement. Those physical pixels won’t be as big and therefore aren’t usually as good quality those on a full frame sensor, but the practicality of the extra reach is a boon for wildlife photography.

Rocket-launchers like this 600mm f/4 are great for long range shots, but are not necessary on a safari. Having said that, if you have the space and weight allowance, the more the merrier!

Big lenses

The light in Africa is generally excellent, although if you’re going to a heavily forested area you may find yourself very short of light. On the whole, the Big Five, big cats and Great Migration type of safaris are not short of light.

Having said that, it’s worth explaining why large lenses look like rocket launchers rather than big pencils. The width of the front element of the lens is what gathers the light and the bigger the diameter, the more light is let in. A large amount of light helps with autofocus and also has the pleasant consequence of allowing a larger maximum aperture, which gives a lovely background blur.

Lens Hire

If you fancy treating yourself to a big prime lens for your trip, there is an industry that has sprung up around offering short period hire on all manner of expensive kit. Just type in “lens hire” into Google and a whole raft will pop up.

Which camera body should I take?

This will be a rather academic question if you only have one and that’s the one you’re taking regardless. However, if you’re in the market for a new camera, or have more than one to choose from, it’s my opinion that you should have prioritised your spending on good quality lenses first and camera bodies second. A good lens can make an average camera stand out and a crap lens will make a good camera look awful.

Sensels

Having said that, if you do have the option, bring / buy / hire the best camera body you can afford. High resolution isn’t the be-all-and-end-all it’s often touted to be, although more pixels on a sensor will allow you to zoom in more digitally after the shot has been taken. Be careful though; the physical size of each sensel (sensor element – or pixel to you and me) is often inversely proportional to the ability of that sensel to record high quality images. In fact the best, top of the range digital cameras for wildlife photography have fewer, but larger sensels on the sensor than cheaper models and they produce images with better noise control and higher dynamic range than their more densely-packed brethren.

Ok, with the health warning out of the way, the light in Africa for most safari purposes is amazing and abundant, so high ISO values are less of an issue than if you’re heading off into the darkest jungles.

Speed merchants

Probably more important than astounding ISO performance in bright conditions is drive speed, or the ability to take multiple, quick-fire shots in a row. There are a few factors at play here. Firstly, there is the ability of the camera to physically take a high number of shots per second. Secondly, there is the speed of the camera’s processor that has to deal with all these shots and put them onto the media card. Thirdly – and this is often the one that catches people out – there is the buffer.

The buffer is an area of fast memory that the camera writes images to as soon as they’re taken. This memory is needed to put the queue of images into while the processor writes them to the media card, which is often much slower than the ability of the camera to take the shots in the first place. Buffer-lock-up / lock-out happens when the camera refuses to take any more pictures in a sequence because it hasn’t had a chance to write all the images in the buffer to the media card. The main factor that affects lock-up is the size of the buffer and more expensive cameras will have larger buffers than cheaper models. It’s also worth noting that media card speeds vary a lot and it’s worth checking the optimum speed for your camera. The slower the card is, the slower the camera will be able to write to it.

Ironically, having said that about fast drive speeds being more important than ISO abilities in bright conditions, fast burst speeds and good noise control and high dynamic range at high ISOs tend to go hand-in-hand on the top-of the-range cameras.

Should I take more than one camera body?

If you have more than one and you have the space and weight allowance, then yes, definitely. The main reason for this is that you can have a different lens on each body, which gives you immediate flexibility when shooting different subjects. It also gives you a backup if one of the bodies should fail, although that’s unlikely these days. Another reason that two bodies is useful is that sensor dust can be an issue when changing lenses and if you have two lenses on two bodies, the necessity for lens changes is significantly reduced.

Should I take a tripod, or other support?

If you can fit it in your luggage, I’d definitely recommend some kind of support.

Full of beans

On a typical photography safari, most of the photography you’ll be doing will be from vehicles, so a bean-bag of some sort is very useful. You can bring this empty, to be filled at your destination. I usually fill mine with small polystyrene balls, which are virtually weightless – the type that fill the sort of bean bag you sit on, although this does take up some room in your luggage. Polystyrene balls also eventually compress and need to be replaced. Indeed they’re not as solid as rice or other heavy fillers, but they do make an excellent alternative to filling the bag on arrival. A double bean-bag is best if you have one because the lens rests in a channel between the two bags. An attaching string is always a useful feature on a beanbag and will make a fallen beanbag recoverable even if there’s a lion two feet away!

Tripods and monopods

Tripods are perhaps a bit less useful as they’re quite cumbersome in a vehicle. Having said that, you can hang them out of the vehicle and rest them on the ground. If you’re going to shoot any video, a tripod is an absolute must! I found this out to my cost the first time I filmed in Kenya from a vehicle: the suspension of the jeep picked up every tiny movement and transmitted that directly to the footage. If in doubt, bring a tripod if you have the space. The usual adage about tripods applies: if you bring it, you’ll not need it; if you leave it at home, you’ll wish you’d brought it.

If you’re bringing a tripod, you’ll need a head for it. In general I find the best heads for large lenses are gimbal heads like the Wimberley. A shorter lens can be supported on any other type of head. For video, you’ll need a fluid video head.

A monopod is a good compromise on weight and portability, but obviously isn’t free-standing. It can still be useful for hanging out of a vehicle, or using collapsed within the vehicle.

For a more detailed article on camera supports, see When to use a tripod, monopod, beanbag or other camera support.

Tawny eagle roosting at the end of the day. Masai Mara, Kenya

What other camera equipment is useful?

I tend to take a flash with me wherever I go, just in case. You never know!

Make sure you have plenty of batteries (with their chargers) and media cards for the entire duration. If in doubt, bring more than you need.

If you’re into filters for landscape use, then bring them for that. It’s unlikely that you’ll need any for wildlife, although a polariser can reduce reflections on water and wet foliage at the expense of cutting down two stops worth of light.

I always have some kind of tape with me – in fact I’m rather known for it! A small amount of gaffer tape can fix a multitude of things in the field.

If you’re shooting video, don’t forget to include an external microphone, as onboard sound is rubbish. It’s beyond the scope of this article to cover video because the amount of equipment needed to do it properly seems to multiply every time I press ‘record’.

How do I keep everything clean?

A soft lens-cloth is essential to keep the front element of your lenses clean. As mentioned above, if you have two camera bodies, you immediately cut down the possibility of dust entering into the system. If you do have to change lenses whilst out and about, try to do so inside a plastic bag and use a rocket blower to gently blow the back end of the lens and camera lens mount. If you find that your sensor has spots on it that can’t be removed with a rocket blower, you’ll need something that directly cleans the sensor. I find Visible Dust’s Arctic butterfly a great piece of portable kit for sensor cleaning. It’s lightweight and small and can be used without much fear of damaging your sensor – although please read the instructions before you attempt a cleaning operation. The ingenious piece of kit uses static to attract dust particles from your sensor.

If you find you have more stubborn marks on the sensor, you may need to wet-clean the surface. This involves buying sensor swabs and special sensor cleaning fluid. This shouldn’t be undertaken without reading the instructions for the swabs and if you’re in doubt, leave this to a professional to clean your sensor. Having said that, it doesn’t help you if you’re stuck up the Congo!

A quick tip if you have a dirty sensor and can’t clean it immediately is to only use wider apertures such as f/2.8 – f/5.6 so that the camera doesn’t ‘see’ the sensor muck as much. i.e. it looks straight through it. Sensor dirt is most noticeable at small apertures where the depth of field is greatest.

A lens cover for rainy conditions is essential, although in the dry season will seldom be needed. A cheap plastic shower cap can be used to guard against dust and rain and is easy to pop onto the end of your lens at a moment’s notice.

Should I bring a computer and/or backup device?

The first thing to do is to make sure you have plenty of storage media: SD cards / compact flash. Don’t be too tempted by massive capacities as it’s probably best to take more smaller ones than one big one that, if it goes wrong, takes your entire trip’s worth of images with it.

Standard USB 2 is dead slow with large raw photos and particularly video crawling onto your computer from the card reader. If you can, use USB3 or Apple’s Thunderbolt to transfer your files.

I do fret a bit about backups. Under normal circumstances, I have my laptop and a couple of external USB drives. This is the extent of my photo / video library and is portable enough. I then make sure I have two independent backups of all this storage, one in my office and one at home. That caters for most eventualities. But what about in the field?

When I first started travelling with photography gear, I used a Jobo Gigavu backup / viewer device. It was ok, but eventually broke and would’t have nearly enough storage for my needs these days. I think I’d be hard pressed to find an all-in-one device like this now and they have been superseded by laptops or even tablets and phones.

I did do one safari with an iPad. I cleared off everything I didn’t need and connected the compact flash reader via an adaptor. The iPad then allowed me to copy all my raw files onto the device and view them there. Phones can be connected in the same way. The nice thing about using tablets and phones is that they have a good screen with which to view your images – many even catering for raw files directly. The down-size is lack of storage. If you’re in Africa for a week or more, that’s a lot of photos to backup and it’s extremely unlikely that any tablet or phone will have enough memory spare to take all your raw images.

These days I always travel with a laptop and some external USB storage drives.

What clothing do I need?

It’s warm or hot during the day in most parts of Africa, but be aware that it can get cold at night at altitude. Specifically for Kenya / Tanzania, the Great Rift Valley, which contains the Mara – Serengeti ecosystem, is actually quite an elevated plateau at 1500m+ above sea level. For those early morning starts and evening / night drives it’s definitely worth taking a fleece or other warm clothing. I’ve found that lightweight walking trousers are good on the bottom half and a t-shirt or shirt on top during the day. A lightweight rain coat is useful in the wet season.

Bring a hat to ward off the sun.

Adult & baby giraffe – Matopos, Zimbabwe

What documentation do I need?

You’ll need a valid passport to travel to anywhere in Africa and it must have at least 6 months to run after the end of your trip, as is standard advice in most places in the world. If you need to update your passport, it’s best to do this in non-peak holiday periods to avoid the rush. If you’re running a bit late, you can pay extra to expedite a passport renewal, but you’ll have to visit a specific passport office in person.

There are so many different countries in Africa that I couldn’t possibly list all the visa requirements; not least because it depends on your nationality as well as where you’re visiting. The best place to start looking (if you’re coming from the UK) is the Foreign Office Travel Advice portal.

If you’re visiting Kenya, visas are not a problem and are simply bought online for about $US 50 in advance. Check to see if you need a valid yellow fever certificate in your passport.

Other Practical Stuff

Mosquito repellant with a high DEET content
Mosquito net if your accommodation doesn’t have full screens
Torch
Sun cream
Books, apps on wildlife and countries visited
Chargers / mini power generators
Maps, compass, GPS if you’re not going with a safari company
Anti-bacterial hand wash

What Insurance do I need?

Travel / holiday insurance?

Yes. If you’re coming with me, I have public liability insurance in case of my own negligence (e.g. if you trip over my tripod!) but you’ll need to cover yourself against any problem that may happen, such as if you become ill, the flights are delayed, someone nicks your camera, or your luggage is delayed. That’s not an exhaustive list and travel policies vary quite a bit. Travel insurance tends to come in two flavours: one that is for your holiday only and the other is an annual policy. The latter can be surprisingly cost effective if you travel abroad more than once and this is how I cover our entire family. If you’re not sure what you need, talk to a trusted travel agent or insurance broker that specialises in travel insurance.

Do I need camera equipment insurance?

That’s entirely up to you, but I’d definitely recommend it. If you don’t have specific photographic insurance, chances are your household contents policy will cover you at least in part. It’s essential though to check with them that your camera equipment is actually covered away from home and specifically on the trip you’re about to embark on. I would never rely on my own household insurance and have specific photo insurance, but your home insurance might be more comprehensive. Do check with your insurance whether your gear is covered in the hold of an aircraft. Some policies specify it must be in hand luggage.

Young chacma baboon – Chobe, Botswana

Batteries

Most camera batteries contain lithium, which is a potential fire risk. Airlines have regulations about where you can carry these batteries and how big they can be. If you come on safari with me, I send out comprehensive information on this. Look on your airline’s website for their policy on carrying lithium batteries.

Medical

Check the country you’re visiting, as each has its own recommendations. Anti-malarials are recommended for many countries. I personally find Malarone (or their generic equivalent) the best tablets and s pharmacies several pharmacies and supermarkets offer cost-effective treatment course. If you travel a lot, monthly plans might suit you. Ask a pharmacist or travel clinic.

You may need travel vaccinations for your destination. Kenya, for example, requires you to have a yellow fever certificate in your passport if you’re coming in from a yellow fever risk area. The easiest thing to do is visit your doctor / nurse or a pharmacist that offers a travel clinic and they’ll advise on what you might need.

Again, the Foreign Office Travel Advice portal is useful here.

Kenya-Specific Advice

Currencies

For Kenya, the most useful currencies are US dollars and Kenyan Shillings (KES). I would take the bulk of your money in dollars and a smaller amount in shillings. The shilling exchange rate can be found here.

What electricity will be available?

It’s the same as the UK at 240v and 50Hz, with the same three-pin plug sockets. If you’re traveling from a country other than the UK, a UK adaptor can be used. Check with the camp / operator you’re using as the availability of electricity may vary depending on the time of day. It’s worth asking whether your room / tent will have power to it or just to a communal area. Either is fine, as long as you know in advance.

What time of year is best?

August! Well, I would say that, as I’ve scheduled my own safari for this month. Actually, any time of year is good but August is in the dry season when the grass isn’t too long to hide the animals and they are more likely to come to waterholes to drink. All good for visibility and great photos. The Great Migration should be happening at this time, although being a natural phenomenon, it’s impossible to predict. The wildebeest will follow the rains around the Mara / Serengeti ecosystem and hopefully we’ll see the spectacle of tens of thousands of animals on the move and possibly witness a river-crossing.

What’s the weather like?

Kenya is pretty dry in August and very pleasantly warm, with comfortable humidity. Even though Kenya lies on the equator, the Masai Mara is at an altitude of about 1,500m, so you can expect mid 20s celsius during the day and about 10 at night. Early mornings can be quite chilly, so it’s worth bringing a warm top for early starts.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this article and that the information has been useful you might like to come on one of my photography safaris, check out: photography safaris.

Bon voyage!
Kaleel

The post How To Prepare and Pack For a Photography Safari to Africa first appeared on Kaleel Zibe.

Rhinos: here today, gone tomorrow?

Kaleel — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 14:09:44 +0000

Peek-a-boo, rhino style. I see you now, but will I see you in a decade?

Rhinos are back in the news, for the usual bad reasons. Poaching has gone crazy again and the worry is that at the current rate, in a few years’ time, more animals will be killed than are born. And there can be only one outcome if that continues. It’s a desperate situation.

The horns are highly prized for ornamental status symbols or are powdered for oriental medicines. Bizarre, seeing as horn is made of keratin, which is essentially toenails. I wonder what the herbalists would think if I offered them my clippings.

The black rhinoceros is critically endangered and white rhinos are near threatened.

In the field, rhinos have crap eyesight, so it’s possible to get quite close to them on foot, which is what we did on this trip to Matopos National Park in Zimbabwe. This white rhino was aware of our presence, but didn’t get spooked. I was slightly concerned about my guide’s insistence that I should climb a tree if the animal got agitated and charged. There weren’t any trees! I needn’t have worried though, and the colossal animal continued placidly munching and lumbered on with its business without any fuss.

Seeing a rhino in the wild is an increasingly rare experience. On my last trip to the Masai Mara, I didn’t see a single wild rhino. I’ve compensated for this somewhat in my 2015 Mara safari by adding in a visit to the rhino sanctuary, just in case. It seems incredible that even with armed guards watching over them, these iconic animals are still being slaughtered for their horns. The scale of the problem is frightening and those that watch over rhinos simply can’t keep up with the poachers.

I have my fingers crossed for the survival of these magnificent creatures, which are reminiscent more of dinosaurs than modern day animals. But I suspect crossing everything I have won’t be enough. All I can do is hope that my small contribution in getting the conservation message out there with my images and writing will help.

Here’s a video that’s targeted at China and Vietnam about not buying rhino horn. You may be ambivalent about the celebrity nature of the video, but it’s this sort of thing that raises awareness:

White rhino – Matopos, Zimbabwe. ‘White’ is actually a corruption of ‘wijd’, meaning ‘wide’ in Dutch (of which Afrikaans is a major influence). It doesn’t refer to the colour (black rhinos are much the same) but to the width of the mouth. Black rhinos have a more pointed mouth, which they use for browsing twigs and leaves, whereas the wide mouth of a white rhino mows the grass. Probably overkill for the lawn though

If you can, please share this on social media so that global awareness can eventually drive enough action to save threatened species. Thanks.

These rhino shots were taken in Matopos National Park, Zimbabwe

The post Rhinos: here today, gone tomorrow? first appeared on Kaleel Zibe.

When to use a tripod, monopod, beanbag or other camera support

Kaleel — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:44:12 +0000

Male urban peregrine falcon – a shot like this taken at 1200mm (600mm + 2x converter) simply can’t be taken without a tripod. Nikon D800E, 600mm f/4 lens, 1/400sec , f/11, ISO 1600, Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley Head

Tripod? Monopod? Gorillapod?
Baffled? Read on!

Whether or not to use a tripod is one of those questions I’m asked before several of my workshops – I suspect because people would prefer not to lug a tripod around the Farne Islands for example, which is fair enough!

This article is mostly about using tripods and other forms of support like beanbags and monopods for outdoor photography and in particular wildlife and nature photography. I’ve written a separate post on maximising your chances of getting great shots hand-held. In fact a lot of the information in that article will be useful even when you’re using a tripod to further minimise camera shake and the two posts are companion articles.

But do you need a tripod to obtain sharp shots? There are several situations when some kind of support for your camera and lens are required and this support comes in a multitude of forms. Let’s look at when to use a tripod, monopod, beanbag, or any other type of support – and when to leave it at home.

So what’s a tripod for anyway?

In short: to avoid camera shake. But it’s also useful for framing a shot when the camera is to remain static (landscapes and architectural photography spring to mind) and is an essential staple in most videography to ensure shake-free footage and smooth movements during a scene.

Whenever you have a situation where the shutter speed of the camera is too slow for hand-holding, camera movement can ruin a shot by making the image soft. It’s simply down to the fact that the image moves about on the sensor as the camera exposes the image. The longer the shutter speed, the more pronounced the effect and the more stable and still the camera needs to be to avoid shaky shots. Generally, the faster the shutter speed you can use, the more camera shake is eliminated. However, a fast shutter speed is often not practical. It isn’t just limited to the effect of us as humans handling the camera either, but anything that can shake a camera, including wind.

This shot of a red grouse was taken using a bean-bag resting on my car door

Choosing a tripod

Wooden tripods are, mostly, a thing of the past and usually you’ll find aluminium or carbon fibre as the main materials used. Aluminium is heavier and cheaper than carbon fibre, but the latter is a lot lighter. When choosing a tripod, make sure it’s as stiff as possible when fully extended. Tripods are rated for the weight they can carry, so make sure you buy one that’s sturdy enough. If you put a long lens and camera on a tripod and tap on the legs lightly while looking through the viewfinder, you’ll see the image wobble if the tripod isn’t stiff enough.

Three legs, one leg, or, er six legs?!

Tripod literally means ‘three footed’ and three legs are the most common form of camera support. Leaving aside the three-legged school sports day race, which appears to have been designed to make children as unstable as possible, three feet on the ground stabilises in three dimensions on any surface, even if the ground is uneven. But what about a monopod? One foot is certainly not as stable as three, but is usually a lot lighter, more portable and simpler to use.

Most monopods are portable enough to carry with you when a tripod is out of the question. Some have fold out feet, which emerge from the bottom tube. This isn’t a substitute for a tripod, but can make a good, firm base when there’s no alternative. I’ve also seen walking poles that double up as monopods with a screw head.

What’s all this about six legs, then? Well, if you’ve ever seen anyone using a highly curious beast that resembles a metallic spider more than a camera support, they may well have been using a double tripod setup.

This is an extremely stable setup for use in very challenging situations – typically where a very long lens is being used with a teleconverter in windy conditions. The long focal length really amplifies any vibrations and the lens acts as a sail to catch the wind.

I’ve only rarely ever used this (because it means lugging two tripods around), but the idea is to fix two points on the camera setup, rather than just one. The front tripod attaches to the lens foot and the rear tripod to the camera body.

A modification to this double tripod setup is to use a monopod on the back (camera end), which means a bit less to carry round.

This shot was taken from a boat in Botswana using a tripod and Wimberley Head

Centre Columns

Not all tripods have centre columns, but those that do, have a central tube that runs through the tripod collar where the legs meet at the top. This column is used to extend the tripod height above the collar. In general, a short centre column is a good idea. It’s tempting to extend this column above the collar to increase height, but be aware that the higher you go with this single rod, the more instability it will introduce. It’s better to buy a taller tripod than to extend above the collar.

Some tripods have a reversible centre column, which allows you to turn the camera upside down and get close to the ground. Others have a completely flexible centre column (like the Gitzo Explorer top right) which means you can have the camera in pretty much any position. Great for low and awkward shots and particularly macro photography.

Head Hunting

A tripod has a screw on the top end to either attach the camera directly (in an immovable position), or more usually a tripod head with which to attach the camera whilst giving freedom of motion.

A monopod can be used without a head because you can move the whole leg around while keeping the foot on the ground. But it still doesn’t give you the freedom of motion that a head would give you, so you can add a head onto the top of the ‘pod.

Heads come in quite a variety of forms and all will be rated for a particular maximum weight. This is important because if you try to balance and move a camera and lens on top of a head that can’t cope, it’s unlikely the camera position will stay where you want it.

The heads most useful for wildlife photography are gimbal heads and fluid heads. Gimbal heads, such as the Wimberley Head are great at perfectly balancing a big lens on while allowing completely free movement. You can adjust how much movement there is in each axis to fine-tune to the situation in hand. For big lenses, this is my favourite form of shooting.

A lot of people swear by using a fluid head (sometimes called a video head) for large lenses because of the ability to move around smoothly with the handle at the back. I find them quite good, but just not as easy in the field as a gimbal head. They’re superb for video and lighter lenses.

Ball heads have a ball in a socket with a tripod screw. You can get large ball heads that can cope with big lenses, but ball heads are really better suited to smaller lenses.

Three-way geared heads are fantastic for landscape and architectural images, but hopeless with a big lens.

Quick Release

All my tripod heads and cameras have quick release plates attached so I can easily mount and unmount the camera. I’ve found it useful to buy spare plates for the cameras so I know I’ve always got one handy. I can then use other cameras and other equipment (flashes and so on) on one tripod head. Sometimes, as with the Wimberley Head, the release plate attaches to the lens foot.

This shot was taken using a bean bag from a vehicle (engine off)

Extra stability

When you’re using tripods or monopods, remember to keep the centre column short. Here are a few other tips. You can put your hand on top of the lens to dampen down vibrations. A heavy bag or other weight can be hung from the bottom of the centre column if it has a hook. This can really help with vibrations. If you’re forced to use very slow shutter speeds, you can use a remote release cable or wireless remote to disconnect yourself from the camera.

A similar effect can be achieved by using the self timer function or Exposure Delay (Nikon only I think) to create a short delay between the shutter button being pressed and the shot being taken. Lastly, if you’re using an SLR, you can use mirror lock-up to create a two stage shutter operation. The first press of the shutter button raises the mirror out of the way and the second press (best done via a remote release) actually fires the shutter. What this does is get all vibrations associated with raising the mirror out of the way before the shot is taken.

Legless

If you’re in a hide or a vehicle, tripods and monopods can actually be a nuisance. If you’re not tripping over the legs, or finding that the head plus lens doesn’t fit through the opening, you’re rueing the fixed position that doesn’t allow full movement. Enter: the beanbag.

A beanbag is arguably more stable than a tripod or monopod because it has a very wide base to put your camera or lens on and is only a few centimetres high. That’s obviously no good in outdoor situations where you have to walk around and place the camera somewhere stable (except for ground shots), but a beanbag is a godsend in a hide or car.

Beanbags come in two main flavours: single and double. The double bags are better because they’re bigger and have a natural channel to rest your camera and lens on the top where the two bags meet.

Beanbags are also flexible. They’re often filled with rice and (not surprisingly) beans, but you can fill them full of pretty much anything, including earth. The beauty when travelling by air with them is that you carry them empty and fill them when you arrive. I actually use polystyrene balls to fill mine, which weigh virtually nothing. This is great for general, year round use, although I have to top the bag up every now and again as the balls squash over time. The support isn’t quite as sturdy as with rice either, but the portability of it means that’s my filler of choice most of the year round.

I have heard of a cautionary tale of elephants taking a fancy to the food content of someone’s beanbag, but thankfully I think this is rare!

I’ll get my coat

If you haven’t got a beanbag handy, a coat or fleece will do – folded or scrunched up. They’re not as good as a beanbag, but in those situations where you’ve left yours at home and an opportunity arises, they’re a good option.

Other options

Gorillapods are a great invention: they allow you to wrap their three, flexible legs around anything: a branch or fence post for example. You can also use them for low-level shooting. I often have one in my backpack even when I’m carrying one of my usual tripods. A great example would be for squirrel photography. I’ve set a gorillapod up with a camera and wide angle lens and remotely triggered the shutter. This low position gives a great viewpoint.

Ground pods are are a good option if you need to get down really low. These can be bought (or even made out of a frying pan with a screw mount in it!) and they take a tripod head, including a gimbal head. This means you can use even a really big lens very close to the ground and still achieve nice, fluid movements. They have a flat base, which means you can move them around on the ground easily.

Studio lighting stands are a potential option – sort of. They really aren’t flexible and usually come with fixed, fold-out legs that need a very flat surface, but if you have one handy, they can be used in certain circumstances. They’re not much use outdoors, although I have used them when I’ve needed the camera in a fixed position and have already used both my tripods for wireless flashes.

Foot cords are something I’ve never seen anyone use! Indeed I’ve never tried one myself, although I know they exist. They consist of a cord with a screw to attach to the camera base and are obviously very light weight. The principle is that you put your foot on the end of the cord and pull the camera upwards until the cord is tight. In this position, the amount of vertical movement is limited and therefore it cuts down on some vibration.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed the article. If I’ve missed anything, or you’d like me to expand on something a little more, drop me an email or leave a comment on the post and I’ll try to include your suggestion.

By the way, the answer to whether you should bring a tripod to the Farnes or leave it at home is that if you bring one, you won’t need it, but if you don’t, you’ll wish you had…

Shot using a camera on a Gorillapod and a remote release, the low angle gives an intimate perspective on this red squirrel

My carbon fibre Gitzo Explorer Mk2 G2227 with Wimberley Head supporting the 600mm f/4 lens

The Wimberley Head is a gimbal, which allows smooth and free two-axis motion for big lenses. This setup perfectly balances even the heaviest of equipment

A fairly lightweight monopod with a 300mm f/2.8 lens. Not as sturdy as a tripod, but much more portable and lightweight

A more substantial monopod with fold-out feet. Very convenient and more stable than a thinner, lighter monopod, but much heavier

Using a bag to weigh down my Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 carbon tripod. The bag damps down vibrations, especially in wind. And it was very windy at Bamburgh Castle that day!

Six legs! Two tripods: one on the lens and one on the camera. The camera bag adds vertical stability

A closer look at the double-tripod setup. Note the remote shutter release cable so I don’t even have to touch the camera

A more substantial Gitzo GT5541LS tripod for heavy work. Taken by my friend, Alan Hewitt for N-Photo magazine. In fact it’s his tripod and I wish I’d kept it! If you’re wondering about the gaffer tape, the magazine wanted to know what my 5 essential pieces of equipment are. The world would fall apart without gaffer tape

A Gorillapod in action. The legs can be put in any position, or wrapped around an object

Coat-pod!

A double beanbag on my car. And yes, it’s always this filthy. Note the cord to attach to the car. A very thoughtful addition to a beanbag. Imagine photographing a lion in the Masai Mara 10 feet from your vehicle when the beanbag drops out in your excitement. That’s why they have a safety cord

My Manfrotto 501HDV Pro fluid head, also known as a video head. It allows lovely, damped pan and tilt motion for video and can be very useful for most short to medium lenses. I prefer not to use them for long lenses

My Manfrotto 405 Pro geared three-way head. Great for landscape shots and fine adjustments. Rubbish for anything that moves

This is what the underside of a tripod head looks like with a quick-release plate. The two halves of the plate attach to each other in no time

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A Pot Full of Grey Wagtails

Kaleel — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 09:35:58 +0000

Pelargoniums aren’t the first place you’d think of if you were trying to locate the nest of a pair of grey wagtails. Thankfully, this pair in Northumberland don’t think like this and have successfully raised a brood of chicks this year. It certainly makes nice photographs!

Nice floral arrangement

Tasty

Open wide

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Flight of the Hummingbird

Kaleel — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:00:28 +0000

July 2014 cover – my green-breasted mango hummer!

Did you know that hummingbirds can fly sideways, backwards and even upside down? And that they effectively go into hibernation every night to save energy?

Hummingbirds are among the most colourful species in the wild kingdom, yet far from easy to photograph. Kaleel Zibe travelled to Costa Rica to capture a bird that flies faster than autofocus…

I wouldn’t be surprised if J.K. Rowling had hummingbirds in mind when she invented Harry Potter’s quidditch snitch, such is their dizzyingly fast speed and ability to change direction at break-neck speed. These incredible creatures are a dream to watch, but a nightmare to photograph. In this article I explore some of the techniques that helped me capture images of these tiny birds in Costa Rica.

Well now, I got quite a surprise when I went to download my copy of Wild Planet Photo magazine on Sunday. I was looking forward to seeing how the article was laid out when I discovered that my photo was on the front cover! That’s my first front cover ever! Very chuffed indeed.

For the full 10 page article, please see the July 2014 edition of Wild Planet Photo magazine. Screen-shots are below.

I have various other blog posts about Costa Rica on the blog page.

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Costa Rica 2014 Part 3

Kaleel — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:50:17 +0000

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Long-billed hermit hummingbird. No, it’s not a seahorse

Parts 1 and 2 were about getting some images out into the world after my recent photography trip to Costa Rica. Of course there are lots more images here too, but I think it’s about time I went into a little more detail about my adventure and the wonderful wildlife I found when I arrived. The people were very welcoming, if a little baffled by my abysmal Spanish!

One of the things I love about Costa Rica is its amazing diversity of wildlife – over 800 species of birds for example. It’s regarded as having the highest diversity of species anywhere on the planet: half a million of them; hundreds of which are endemic and many of which are endangered. Not bad for such a small country!

The tropical climate, large variety of habitats and the geography of the place has created an explosion of species. The South and North American continents and Pacific and Caribbean waters meet at Costa Rica creating everything from coastal mangroves to highland cloud forest.

The country has a good recent history of ecological stewardship and the number of national parks is quite staggering. Ecotourism is very much encouraged and well managed. Despite the threats of deforestation for grazing land and monoculture farming such as palm and bananas, the government has really understood the value of its natural heritage and appears to conserve it very well. This is particularly impressive for a country that couldn’t be described as wealthy.

But its natural wealth is breathtaking.

I left the UK in January where the near zero temperatures had gone on long enough frankly. A quick overnight stop in bitterly cold New York and I landed the following day in the tropical heat of San Jose. Actually the temperature was very pleasant with San José lying on an elevated plateau. My fleeting impression of driving through San José was that it wasn’t especially somewhere I’d come on a city break! I probably didn’t stay in the most salubrious of establishments and getting out of the urban areas and driving over the volcanoes was, quite literally a breath of fresh air.

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The mention of volcanoes reminds me: I should say something about driving in Costa Rica! If you’re used to driving anywhere in Europe or North America take a deep breath, multiply your expected arrival time by about four and hope for the best. I had a paper map with me, but really it wasn’t all that much use. I was heading north to the Nicaraguan border for the birds of the northern rainforest and I’d been told to arrive before dark to avoid running into difficulties(!) Duly warned, I picked up my hire car and distractedly answered “yes” to the question “Do you have GPS”. To be honest, I was thinking about the extra insurance I’d decided to add onto the package and most of my brain thought, “Yes I have GPS on my phone and on my triathlon watch.” As you can tell, this was a rather literal response and a smaller part of my brain was saying, “Excuse me, I don’t think that’s what he means when he says GPS.”

Keel-billed toucan in the rain

Black-cheeked woodpecker excavating nest hole

Indeed he didn’t just mean GPS; what he actually meant was sat nav. After about two hours of getting lost on the volcanoes (lovely though they were), the alarming possibility that I was in the middle of absolutely nowhere, with a nearly useless map, no sat nav, half a bottle of water and some pistachio nuts for company and about three hours of daylight left was occupying every part of my now rather frazzled brain.

You see the main problem with driving in Costa Rica is not the long chain of potholes joined up by a few sections of road, or the single carriageways everywhere outside major cities, or the precarious Don’t Look Down bridges, or indeed the tens and tens of kilometres of gravel and dirt tracks that pass for roads with people, cattle and dogs randomly sprinkled across them. Lots of dogs by the way. No, it’s the fact that there are no road signs. Anywhere. In the UK, the smallest hamlet has its own sign saying “Bingley cum Widdlington welcomes careful juggernaut – Twinned with Narine Saint Miscreant” or some-such. In France, you even get a little sign telling you that you’ve left said hamlet. In Costa Rica everyone knows where they are right now and that’s just fine. Foreigners? Sorry! You want to go where? Oh that’ll take you hours. I know!

The issue for those who don’t know where they are is exactly that: there are no signs saying where you are at the present moment. Ok, occasionally -and indeed randomly – there is a sign saying where you might want to go, although these precious pointers are extremely few and far between. But the thing is that you can’t tell if you’ve arrived at a way-point or gone down a completely different road through a different village. The villages themselves don’t announce their names.

By the way, if you like what I’m doing, please subscribe to my blog on the right (you’ll get updates when I post). I’m also in the process of writing a FREE digital book on how to take photos of wildlife. Sign up to the email list (also on the right) to receive a copy when it’s published.

Through a more-or-less cunning system of pointing, grinning my best Lost Foreigner grin and a few choice (but undoubtedly misleading and badly pronounced) Spanish words I somehow managed to arrive at the lodge just as darkness fully took hold. You have no idea how happy I was to arrive at a place in the pitch black in the middle of absolutely nowhere (and I really mean that) and be welcomed by smiling people. I barely refrained from hugging anyone, but the relief must have been palpable.

Collaraed araçari

Once ensconce at the ecolodge, I spent a few sweaty days in this delightful remote northern tropical rainforest soaking up the scenes of vibrant birds, occasional mammals, frogs, bats and other wildlife and being liberally soaked by the rain. In fact some of my favourite shots are of the birds in rain. Phone reception was almost non-existent, but the food, lodge and company were great. I met a few fellow photographers with whom I’ll be glad to keep in touch: like minds. After a few days at this location, moving between various hides – some with one-way glass, others open onto feeding perches, I reluctantly moved on south. But I’ll be back to this region of Costa Rica in the future without a doubt. The toucans and hummingbirds couldn’t fail to melt the heart!

Technically speaking, the light was quite good a lot of the time because we were situated on the rainforest edge a fair bit, but I still regularly used high ISO values to get sharp shots, often going to 3200 and occasionally 6400. The main equipment I was using was my Nikon D4 (reviewed recently) with a 300mm f2.8 Nikon lens. A gorgeous combination. I also used Nikon’s version III 2x converter on the 300mm lens with good results. Sadly I discovered that my macro lens was well and truly knackered on arrival with no prospect of getting it fixed. Such a shame for all the small stuff. Shooting frogs with a 300mm lens (see previous posts) was pretty odd I have to say!

Now then, I’ll let the images speak for themselves.

In part 4, I’ll talk about my trip to Monteverde’s cloud forest and the hunt for resplendent quetzals! Part 5 will be all about Corcovado National Park on the south west Pacific coast.

Cheers!
Kaleel

Male green-breasted mango hummingbird

Montezuma oropendola

Baltimore oriole chasing a male red-legged honeycreeper

Leaf-nosed bat – Costa Rica

Clay coloured robin

Female red-legged honeycreeper

Golden-hooded tanager

Great kiskadee

Orange-chinned parakeet

White-nosed coati

Juvenile king vulture and black vultures

The post Costa Rica 2014 Part 3 first appeared on Kaleel Zibe.

Costa Rica 2014 Part 2

Kaleel — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 10:19:01 +0000

The adventure continues! Here are some more images from my recent trip to Costa Rica. Here also are parts 1 and 3.

Red-eyed tree frog silhouette

Mantled howler monkey

Keel-billed toucan in flight

Rainforest and palm trees on rocky Pacific shore

Female Central American agouti

Male white-necked jacobin hummingbird

Male red-legged honeycreeper

Female green honeycreeper

Hermit crab on Pacific beach

Red-eyed tree frog

Baltimore oriole

Brown-hooded parrot

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