C4 Images and Safaris Masai Mara Tour 2009

The big news from C4 Images and Safaris’ is the success of another Masai Mara tour in Kenya. The Masai Mara, or Mara as it is known locally, is one of those places that makes you realise just how much nature can throw at you. It simply is the “Greatest wildlife show on earth”.

Consider this: We saw 2 river crossings, two lion prides of about 12 each (one with very small cubs), a herd of 250 buffalo, about 15 000 wildebeest and three cheetah brothers; all in the first afternoon…

This was just the start of it. At one stage the lion count was higher than the bird count! We quickly sorted that one out, but we ended up seeing 82 individual lions…

Over the next 5 days, highlights were: 5 river crossings, 6 cheetah hunts with 2 kills, leopard stalking on the open plains, finding large herds of zebra all on our own and parking amongst the thousands of animals allowing them to quietly mill around you; lion hunts, a black rhino bull right in camp, 9 different cheetah, lions playing for an hour, a river crossing right in front of camp and of course thousands of wildebeest roaming the plains.

These were just a few of the highlights- every day was so action packed that the mind got saturated with great sightings.

Our camp could not have been more perfectly placed. C4 Images and Safaris negotiated an entire camp right on the banks of the Mara River; conveniently placed near a crossing point. A real highlight was watching a wildebeest crossing right in front of our camp with no one else around. Being in the middle of the reserve, we didn’t have to race for gates- allowing us to work the light right until the last rays of sun had dipped.

Everything we do, we aim for it to be of benefit to the photographer. The Mara, and the camp we use allow us to do exactly that.

Keep listening for next years Mara trip. We have a few exciting new changes to add to an already excellent tour. Until then, we hope you enjoy some of the images taken on this years Mara tour.

View our Masai Mara video here.

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South Africa/Botswana Tour Report back - Part 2

Part two of our 2 week photo tour through South Africa and Botswana lead by professional photographer Villiers Steyn.

Olifants Camp

The weather tested our character at Olifants with a very humid 37 degrees Celcius on the first afternoon, followed with three windy, overcast days. Despite this we still had some incredible sightings in the park, including a mother spotted hyaena and two pups playing in the open right next to the vehicle, a day-old elephant calf stumbling across the road in front of us, a massive troop of baboons playing and drinking next to the vehicle, and two white rhino bulls resting at the side of the road. The Balule low-water bridge was especially productive for birding, producing photographs of wood sandpiper, wire-tailed swallow, brown-hooded kingfisher, grey go-away-bird, little bee-eater and African spoonbill, amongst others.

In camp birding was just as good, with opportunities to photograph scarlet-chested sunbird, grey-headed bush-shrike, red-winged starling, red-headed weaver, yellow-billed kite, black-backed puffback and chinspot battis, to name but a few. The resident tree squirrels were also playing model for the cameras!

Elephant Plains

The Sabi Sands never disappoints and produced excellent photographic opportunities for buffalo (and red-billed oxpeckers), elephant and leopard. The highlight, however, was the action around a hippo carcass next to a dam – it first attracted two spotted hyaenas before a horde of white-backed vultures descended on the carcass later in the day, providing excellent photographic opportunities in great light! Another memorable sighting was that of two nyala bulls doing a lateral display during which the white hair on the ridge of the back is lifted to make the animal appear larger. During the display the animals do a slow-motion ballet, walking in circles around each other.

Read the first part of the photo tour here.

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South Africa/Botswana Tour Report back

C4 Images and Safaris has just returned from another magnificent Photo tour. This two week tour through South Africa and Botswana was lead by professional photographer Villiers Steyn. Firstly we visited the ever popular Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana, from there we went to Olifants Camp in the Kruger National Park and ended in Sabi Sands... Enjoy some of the images taken on the tour. Text and images by Villiers Styen.

Mashatu

Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana’s Northern Tuli Game reserve was as reliable as ever, producing unforgettable sightings and photographic opportunities. Highlights included a breeding herd of approximately 70 elephants taking a mud bath, a pack of African wild dogs playing around the vehicle at sunset, six massive kudu bulls walking through the Majale River in front of us, and of course, a leopard on almost every drive! A few lucky ones were also able to get a head-photograph of the elusive aardwolf during the day as it stuck its head out of its den in the ground. Tent Camp’s bird bath was very quiet on the first day, but more than made up for it over the next two as we were able to photograph, amongst others, melba finch, blue waxbill, black-cheeked waxbill, lesser honeyguide, crested barbet and red-headed weaver.
Birding in the bush was equally productive and we were treated with excellent sightings of white-fronted bee-eaters, red-billed queleas and saddle-billed storks.

Read part two of the photo tour here.

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Elephant Charging Wild dogs

Wild dogs cause havoc wherever they go. Have a look at this video by Craig Jackson- the predator officer at Mashatu (Northern Tuli Predator Project), of elephants charging the wild dogs C4 Images and Safaris have come to know so well on our Photo Workshops there.
Electric stuff!


Find more videos like this on Northern Tuli Predator Project



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Mashatu Workshop, 6 - 10 August 2009

Well, if Mashatu had been giving us a good show over the last few workshops, she wasn’t about to give up… this workshop again provided fantastic viewing and photography- really top class sightings with some added bonuses too! But you will have to read on to see what that bonus was…

As always, Ill detail the workshop drive by drive
1. The first drive was by all accounts very quiet. We did find some elephants in the last evening light and got some stunning images of babies in the evening golden glow, but that was the extent of it. I wasn’t at all concerned. In fact I was quite happy, as things could only get better and I knew how good the mornings were here. So I was quietly confident. Of course, this is nature we are dealing with, so we enjoy the quiet days and work hard through the good ones. A highlight was seeing a martial eagle come down to drink. Stunning bird, stunning light and some very good images!

2. If any one was not awake by the time they got onto the vehicle, they were sure awake by the time the sun rose. We found a young male leopard near his kill. However, the real highlight was him grooming himself in stunning morning light out in the open on the bank of a riverbed. If there were no pixels used last evening, they sure were being used now… from there it was off to see three cheetahs. Of course we bumped into a herd of elephant and had to spend 30 minutes with them- made all the more beautiful by the low white clouds in the sky and the tiny baby that scurried across an open patch of ground allowing it to be covered in pixels- I would expect around 100 million in fact. The cheetah were very co operative and allowed a few nice portraits- but by now it was getting late and we headed back to camp with cards full and stomachs empty- it was after all 11h30 by the time we arrived back!

3. The wild dogs are still denning. C4 Images and Safaris organised that we were to be the one vehicle allowed to the den site. This is to minimise disturbance and the guides are under strict orders to follow certain protocol around the den site. This is very important to ensure that the den is not unduly disturbed. By this time the pups are out and lying around the den. 13 pups to be exact! We spent 90 minutes watching them sleep, get up, walk around and then flop down to sleep again. Just as we though nothing was going to happen that evening, the whole pack arrived and the quiet atmosphere turned into absolute chaos! 25 dogs running around you, next to you and away from you is somewhat overwhelming- try photographing it! It was absolute bliss. There was begging regurgitation, play, chase and action all around. The dogs then tried to go and hunt and the pups tried to follow. There was constant to and fro as the adults tried to get the pups into the den and the pups tried to go and follow the hunt… A real highlight and one that won’t be forgotten soon. By the time we were back at camp, everyone was knackered. Leopard at dawn, elephants, cheetah, wild dogs at den for 3 hours… it’s a hard life.

4. Morning wake up and we are back out there. Our intention is to work some smaller species rather than the big mammals. First up is a herd of 300 eland- perfect, who said anything about large mammals? At least we also got a beautiful steenbuck in mopane golden colours, a blacksmith lapwing bathing, some nice landscapes and then another small mammal in a herd of elephants. A full morning indeed.

5. The evening started where we left off, with more elephants feeding quietly. Some got so close we were using the wide-angle lenses- only in Mashatu! After dark we found the young male leopard again. He was up a tree, but grooming, meaning he would soon be up and about. We stayed with him and followed him on his evening meanderings until he drank and then headed off into the dark to hunt.

6. The morning was about more elephants crossing riverbeds, wide-angle shots of impala drinking and bee-eaters at the colony. We latched onto a few lions hunting. However, they gave up, but we noticed they were hungry, so planned to return…

7. Red billed quelea's back lit was the challenge for the afternoon and we were doing very well when we noticed how good the light was getting and decided to head to the lion. We arrived in that last 45 minutes of light, just as the glow starts and the lions wake up. We positioned ourselves perfectly- with a nice dark background and the lions in sunlight. Then the show began. The lions groomed and licked and yawned while we photographed happily away. Having an open setting and no thick grass proved such help here and it is one of the great advantages of Mashatu. (One of the reasons we keep holding our workshops here..)

8. Last morning- never nice, as every one is leaving. We drove through one of the most scenic parts of the reserve- white cliffs on the Mojale river- and it rewarded us well. The pools of water are still around from an exceptional rainy season. Saddle billed storks, herons, fish eagles and hamerkops were all fishing in the pools for trapped fish. We were happily photographing away, when all of a sudden baboons, kudu and impala surrounded us. It was a very tranquil scene of animals and birds all around us below these huge cliffs, and one that fittingly ended an exceptional photo workshop with C4 Images and Safaris.

Or view a video taken whilst on workshop in Mashatu here.

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Namibia - A desert Tour, Part 2

From Sesfontein, we headed east to the infamous Etosha. Staying at Okeakeujo, we never had to leave camp. The days went something like this:

• Wake up and photograph the pygmy falcons at first light
• 07h00 quickly check the waterhole (if it was quiet-which it often is early morning- then grab a quick breakfast, otherwise carry on photographing and try and get a meal in between photographing)
• Head to the waterhole after breakfast and start photographing as the animals come down. You can expect springbuck, kudu, zebra, gemsbuck and wildebeest any time of day.
• At 09h30 the sand grouse start to arrive in there hundreds and the coveys fly right over you head!

• Elephants usually are after that- arriving around 10h30
• By this time you are either exhausted or the light is too hard. Lunch usually sorts this out and for the afternoon you have more of the same.
• Giraffe and elephants are usually the afternoon visitors, amongst all the other game animals.
• After dinner, check up on the waterhole and watch the black rhino drinking!

Really a full day of photographing!
For the last two days we drove across the park to the eastern side where we worked a few waterholes and looked for a couple of mammal specials. These are the black-faced impala and damara dik dik- both which were seen and photographed beautifully.
Unfortunately this was the end of the tour- 13 nights had just flown by like that! The last morning saw us head south to the airport for good byes and farewells. The end of a very successful tour and one that will definitely be done again!

Luckily its only a few weeks till the South African tour when C4 Images and Safaris will lead many of the same faces in showing some different and new wonders. Till then!

You can see the more images that Shem, owner of C4 Images and Safaris took on this tour here:
Shem black and white collection
Shem colour collection
Blog on dunes

Read part one of the Namibia photo tour here.

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Namibia - A desert Tour, Part 1

This trip had been in motion for a year, so understandably, all were quite excited about actually getting out and photographing. After the landing and settling in at the guesthouse in Windhoek, it was all go, and we headed south to those infamous dunes of Sossusvlei.

Of course the nature of the tour was photography, and so in that vein, C4 Images and Safaris had sought out the best places to stay to maximise photography in the park. If you stay outside the park, you are only allowed in at 05h30 – with Sossusvlei dunes being an hour further into the park, that does not leave you much time to set up. We however, stayed in the NWR lodge right inside the park. Not only were we 15km closer to the dunes than everyone else, but we could also leave earlier mornings and return later in the evenings: A boon that aided us considerably- especially when wanting to capture than evening magenta in the sky after sunset.

Here we spent three days working the dunes from different angles. Driving along the road and photographing with the long lenses, walking into Dead pan, with its mesmerising camel thorn trees reaching skyward, lying in amongst the dunes and photographing the ripples at dusk and also walking out over the gravel flats to find our own piece of untouched sand. It was a stunning time and before we knew it, we had to head north.

Barring one vehicle almost getting stuck in some soft sand for 20 minutes, the drive to Erongo was easily negotiated. We arrived in the golden hour- just in time to whip out the cameras and work on some excellent landscape photography. Erongo is a granite complex weathered into domes and round rocks. It proved an excellent end to the day as everyone got to stretch out their legs as well as get some good images.
In addition to landscapes, Erongo is also a birding paradise. Breakfast was treat with all manner of birds (some of the Namibian endemics) feeding around the restaurant. The sight of the tour occurred here with the table left bare and all the photographers pointing their lenses outside at the birds!

From here it was up to Sesfontein via Twyfelfontein. A stop at the rock engravings here is a must. Absolutely the best I have ever seen and every time I go here I am reminded just how brilliantly these are preserved. Nothing in Africa compares.

Sesfontein is far up north and west. We arrived hot and dusty and ready to see out goal- desert adapted elephants. We departed at the crack of dawn the following morning to find to try and find these elusive pachyderms. You drive for an hour before dropping into the Hoanib riverbed. From here it is a journey of millennia. You see rugged, rocky cliffs towering above you, scarred by the eroding and meandering river through which you a e driving down. The large Ana trees line the riverbed, providing shade and relief in terms of heat, for us, and the elephants. We found a few at around 12h00. For most photographers this is the wrong time to photograph, but here it aided the cause- creating hard shadows with the backdrop of the Damara Mountains giving a stark reference to it all. Truly a sight to remember and the drive to get here was well worth it. I have never seen so many clients as happy for a mid day photo shoot before!

The next day was a rest morning and then in the afternoon we visited a Himba village. The Himba are southern Africa’s last remaining true nomadic tribe. They roam one of the remotest parts of Namibia, and have for the most part ignored the advance of western culture. It was a privilege to visit this particular village.

Read part two of our Namibian photo tour here.

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National Geographic/Getaway Wildlife Photo Workshop

Join Shem Compion on this unique one day photo workshop where he will take you through the most important aspects of wildlife photography and digital workflow. Not only will he cover the usual techniques but he will also be highlighting how you can use digital workflow to easily get your work out there for all to see. Shem will also be talking about marketing your images and getting them to the right people. It promises to be popular talk, so get in touch with Tracy-Lee for booking information.

When: 4 October 2009
Where: Kloofzight Lodge, Muldersdrift
Cost: R700
Bookings: Tracy-Lee Behr
021 530 3379
tracy-lee@ramsaymedia.co.za

Click the image for larger version.

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Photo Workshop 12 - 16 June 2009

In quick succession, we have another photo workshop at Mashatu Nature Reserve, and what an action packed one it proved to be. Again, I will list the highlights by the drives we did.
Due to the exceptional rains over the wet season, there was still a lot of water in the rivers. This has turned the reserve into a dry season paradise, with herons, storks, egrets and hamerkops all feasting on the drying pools filled with trapped fish. Fish eagles even bred along the river course and we saw the young juvenile also enjoying the buffet available in the Mojale River.

1. First drive is normally a look around to get a feel for the area- although we all had to get into action photography mode very quickly when a herd of Wildebeest stampeded through one of the rivers, creating beautiful backlit splashes in the afternoon sun. What a great start. Then it was off to a Lion kill, with an interested leopard not 60m from the lions. At one stage the leopard walked up to within 12m from the male lion! I thought it was going to get ugly, but the leopard thought better of his intentions and disappeared to fond his own dinner. The photography highlight was sitting with a lioness in the last golden rays of the sunset, upon which she decided to crouch at something in the bush. Perfect.

2. The morning was characterised by elephants. Once again this place never fails to disappoint with regards elephant sightings. The highlight was elephant herd walking on top of a ridge. We parked low down and got great and unusual images of these well-photographed animals. An elephant walking through grass with a blue sky is not your usual image!

3. The wild dogs are denning. C4 Images and Safaris organised that we were to be the one vehicle allowed to the den site. This is to minimise disturbance and the guides are under strict orders to follow certain protocol around the den site. This is very important because under the ground there are a few blind pups that need the packs help to survive. We found the dogs relaxing at the den. A half hour before sunset they decided to head out for the hunt. They moved out of the thick bush and into the open area. Brilliant light greeted us as they moved over the flat grasslands. What a sight! We lost them in some thick vlei thorn and heard their frantic calls 10 minutes later, some 3 km away. Following up we found that they had killed and eaten an impala in that short time. Not 5 minutes had passed and the impala was gone!

4. Elephant morning. Herds of mothers, sisters, cousins and babies passed within 3m of our vehicles. Lenses were strewn everywhere with people ditching the long lenses for the shorter wide angles! If any one had not photographed an elephant before, well this was the time to get all the images you could manage. I have never seen so much activity on a vehicle before- with clients swapping cameras and lenses at the elephants feeding at the vehicles tyres!

5. Mating warthogs were the highlight with backlit queleas adding to the afternoon’s activity. The other vehicle was having their time with the wild dogs, which they also out hunting. We had located a very well positioned baobab and set up a star trail while having our sundowners: It really is a great feeling to be working while having your evening drink!

6. Before finding our customary elephant herd, we spent some time at one of the drying pools in the Mojale River. It led to great images of hamerkops and pied kingfishers feeding on the fish trapped in the pool. We spent some time with another herd of elephant before finding this good-looking leopard relaxing on the cool sand of the riverbed. A great way to end the morning’s proceedings. Of course the cards were filled again and everyone went back to camp more out of necessity to download rather than brunch!

7. We checked up on the leopard in the afternoon and found him lazing in a tree not far from the mornings spot. We decided to stay with him, as we knew he would head down to drink soon enough. The other vehicle headed on towards the wild dogs. Their highlight was to come: witnessing the wild dogs hunt, catch and eat an impala. An extremely rare sighting and one that will stand out for many a month here at Mashatu! We enjoyed beautiful time with the leopard, watching him come out the tree and drink in a clear pool in the river. He then proceeded to groom himself right in front of us, sitting in the open riverbed. Lovely stuff and the cameras were working overtime again. The light faded fast and it was a good time to work on flash technique at night; making sure that everyone got the shots in very difficult lighting conditions. The drive home was notable for the sighting of a flap necked chameleon, which almost caused as much activity and excitement as the leopard!

8. The last morning was one to stock up on the landscapes and wide-angle images of Mashatu. We spent time photographing the river courses filled with water, the rocky cliffs and the huge Mashatu trees with kudu and impala feeding on the fruit below them.

All too soon it was time to go. The days had been their usual winter self- clear days with excellent light for photography. Each time we come here, the sightings seem to get better and better. I almost tend to think that the last one is always the “best” workshop I have ever been on!

That is not necessarily true, but it does emphasise how each time I am reminded of why C4 Images and Safaris uses Mashatu for its photo workshops.

View a video taken whilst on workshop in Mashatu here.

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