African Wildlife Photography

My wife and I are going on our third safari in Aug-Sept - our first to

Botswana. We are spending several days each in the Okavango Delta and in the

Tuli Block area in the southwestern corner bordering South Africa and

Zimbabwe. Prior to each of our two trips (Kruger, Masai Mara, & Serengeti) at

the suggestion of a friend, I read several books (photography and gen'l info)

on the parks we were visiting. Any suggestion of books to read will be most

appreciated.

Check out the suggested reading books at this photo safari link:

http://www.andybiggs.com/article_reading.html

 

Joe Smith

I have done a couple long trips to Kenya, and acquired quite a few books on the subject. The most appropriate and comprehensive was "Photographing on Safari" by Joe McDonald (ISBN: 0-8174-5440-3). While it is now out of print, it is availabe at Amazon. Not expensive, and will conveniently fit in a carry-on bag. I believe that he has an updated edition for digital photography.

<p>It won't be in time for your upcoming trip to Botswana, but a new book about this

subject with the title: "Digital Safari Photography" is coming. It is supposed

to be available this autumn (Oct 2007).<br>

<br>

How do I know? Well, I will tell you a secret. :-)  </p>

 

<p>I am writing this book and am now at the final stage with the text. After that the

editing and layout process will start, which would mean that hopefully the book is ready

for print this autumn. I'll also be in Africa on safari for another month to shoot the

last images I need in the book to demonstrate certain parts of technique and equipment.</p>

 

<p>The book will be A4/8x11 size and have approximately 160 full color pages. Subjects

will include:

 

<ul>

<li>Fundamentals of photography</li>

<li>Composition</li>

<li>Equipment</li>

<li>    camera </li>

<li>    lenses (incl converters, filters etc)</li>

<li>    accesories (incl. support, packing, cleaning, storage and backup etc)

</li>

<li>Technique</li>

<li>    When to go</li>

<li>    Where to go</li>

<li>    How to go (different types of safari, daily routine, medical etc)</li>

<li>    Airline travel</li>

<li>Photo technique</li>

<li>    Light conditions</li>

<li>    Safari vehicles    </li>

<li>    Supporting big lenses</li>

<li>    Animals</li>

<li>        Where to find them</li>

<li>        Behaviour</li>

<li>        Mammals</li>

<li>        Birds </li>

<li>        Reptiles</li>

<li>        Scenery</li>

<li>Digital technique</li>

<li>    Hardware and software</li>

<li>    Backup strategy</li>

<li>    Workflow</li>

</ul>

 

<p>Why did I start writing such a book? Well, I never managed to find any decent book on

this subject. The book by McDonald is supposed to be quite good but was out of print and I

could never get hold of a copy. Later when I got more experienced, people started asking

me for help and I tried to be helpfull in many internet fora over the years. I also keep

receiving numerous direct e-mails asking for advice. So I thought it would be nice to

somehow combine all this advice into a practical book.</p>

 

<p>In the past 15+ years I have travelled quite a lot in Africa to photograph. I have

visited about a dozen different countries in eastern, western and southern Africa. Already

more than ten years ago I was one of the first non-South Africans to succesfully complete

a FGASA Safari Guide training. At the moment I am enrolled in a master program in Wildlife

Management at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The subject of my research

thesis is about economical aspects of game farm management for wildlife photography.</p>

<br>

Regards,<br>

Hans<br>

For inspiration, I recommend "Okavango: Africa's Last Eden"

by Frans Lanting (available on Amazon). The absolute must-have general travel guide for Botswana is "The Shell Tourist Travel and Field Guide of Botswana + Botswana road map" by Veronica Roodt & Shell Oil Botswana, 4th edition, 2006. It's full of useful information about the country. You may only be able to obtain it once in South Africa or Botswana. Veronica Roodt has also authored a "Shell Guide to the Trees & Shrubs of the Okavango Delta", which could help expand your photography beyond the wildlife.

I suggest that you check out the web site: www.treknature.com and look up Botswana. You'll see lots of different nature photos from many different people, some are good and some are bad. But it gives you an idea anyway.