Madagascar: A Wildlife Wonderland

When Madagascar broke off Africa 160 million years ago I wonder if anyone knew just how precious its cargo was. Each time I travel to this island I am constantly amazed at the uniqueness, the evolutionary process and the levels of endemism. It is truly a wonderland of discovery. Think about it-in the last year they have discovered new trees, three new frogs and a new carnivore. That is not even mentioning the vast amount of undiscovered insects that scientists haven't had the time to describe.



Of course our C4 tour in November wasn't about discovering new species, it was about photographing the iconic ones. With a specific itinerary in place, we worked hard on getting great images of the wailing Indri, Chameleons, Ring tail Lemurs and the Dancing Verreaux's Sifakas. Our itinerary was based on maximizing our time in the best locations and having exclusive access to some very productive areas. Of course our local knowledge allowed us access to places that not many people get to, so the time we spent with the sifakas and ring tails was just brilliant. We had access for two whole days while no other people were around at all. Something not quite common in Madagascar!

Below are a few of the images form the trip. Hope you enjoy them!
























Read more...

A Photo Guide's Year with C4 by Albie Venter

I cannot believe how much time flew. I was still thinking of putting these pics up about a month ago. Well in the meantime Christmas has come and gone and I already need to process the last Kenya pics. It has been almost a full year now since I have been guiding C4 Images and Safaris trips to Tuli and in the process have come to know the many and varied moods of this remarkable wilderness.



What striked me most of this last trip to Mashatu was how everything has come full circle since my first trip in April 2010. During April the area had excessive flooding and we almost got washed down the river.
On our last visit the last of some of the pools had dried up completely leaving the hundreds of Tilapia and Side striped Barbs stranded. A feast for the numerous storks, kingfishers and Herons. We even noticed tracks of Black backed Jackals frequenting these easy pickings.



Fortunately the rains were not far and several millimetres fell during our stay bringing much needed respite, especially to the fish! The area transformed from dry dusty stubble to a parklike environment in a few days and I cannot wait to get there soon to witness the next stage of this ephemeral region.



The thought then came up that as photographers we are always so focussed in getting the ultimate shot that at times we miss the dramas in nature unfolding everywhere around us. And it is often only when you are really aware of the area when the decisive shots present themselves.

Mashatu Photo Workshop: 16 - 20 March
Mashatu Photo Workshop: 16 - 20 June
Mashatu Photo Workshop: 05 - 09 August






Read more...

Okavango Delta Photo Safari - Client Images

During December one of our clients, Michael Parker, spend 12 days on our Okavango Delta Photo Safari and 5 days at Chiefs Camp on our Chiefs Island Photo Workshop. Here is a selection of his images taken whilst on safari.







































Chiefs Island Photo Workshop: 2-6 November 2011
Chiefs Island Photo Workshop: 7-11 December 2011



Read more...

Rounding off the year with the magic of Chiefs Camp - by Isak Pretorius

The scenic beauty and wilderness feeling that Chiefs Island offers makes it one of my favorite places in Africa to visit. It was quite fitting to end the year for C4 Workshops at such a great location.






With the early December rains, the area has transformed into beautiful green, different from what we had seen five weeks earlier on our previous workshop to the island. It was quite noticeable how much more water was around from the local rains they've had - a beautiful sight to see and exactly what one always envisage the Okavango Delta to look like.





The workshop was a great success - from the flight into the lodge over the Okavango Delta that gets the excitement going at the beginning of the workshop, to the sharing of photos during our afternoon informal workshop sessions. Anywhere in the bush where you have great game-viewing and a relaxed atmosphere is a great place to learn and put the theory of wildlife photography into practice.





December in the Okavango Delta means lots of birds, and we had great sightings of raptors, waders and the all the migrant species. Some of our highlights included seeing Pygmy Geese and Rosy-throated Longclaw, and in addition we got great photos of kingfishers and the African Painted Snipe to name a few.

We made the most of the variable weather conditions we experienced as we photographed everything from early morning backlit buffalo, carmine bee-eaters in the rain, to lions shaking their head after the rain. I loved the variable weather and mild temperatures and I like in particular how it forces you to be creative and experiment with all the different genres of photography to make the most of the trip.





Chiefs Camp is one of the best camps in Africa. Having cocktails on the deck while watching elephants bathing in the water right in front of you makes you realize that this is a special camp. It's not just the location, the luxury, the quality of the service or the food, but also the homey feeling that it provides that people always enjoy the most. Besides game drives, the camp also offer a variety of other activities. A flip over the swamps with a helicopter was a great way to end our workshop and we were all very sad to leave Chiefs Island. We are already looking forward to visiting there next year again. We'd like to say a big thanks to Rory, Jade, Basil, Petra, the rest of the camp staff, and our fantastic driver guides Rex and Jonathan who made this such a memorable trip for us all!

Happy shooting everyone and see you next year!
2-6 November Chiefs Island
7-11 December Chiefs Island






Read more...

Changing Angles at Mashatu - Trip report December 2010 by Isak Pretorius

"Changing your angle" is one of the techniques we teach during our photographic workshops. It means photographing from a different angle than normal, usually from a lower angle, close to the ground, capturing the subject eye-level with a soft background to create more striking photographs. With the right subject and conditions, this technique can help you make a good photo, GREAT!





During C4 Images' last Mashatu workshop for 2010, in early December, we focussed on applying this technique - with great success I might add. It's not just the freedom that a place like Mashatu Game Reserve gives us to get out the vehicles and try different techniques, but also the number of photographic opportunities that makes Mashatu such a productive photographic destination. It always delivers unique and spectacular subjects and environments.





During the photographic workshop, our clients thoroughly enjoyed exploring all genres of photography. It was not only the striking images we got from changing our angle and photographing laying flat on the ground on numerous occasions, but also one afternoon's spectacular thunderstorm with photographs of lightning and landscapes that had everybody very excited. A great sighting of a leopard on a log and lions with very small playful cubs rounded off a very successful five days spent in the bush.





Mashatu always deliver spectacular subjects in unique environments. C4 Images are looking forward to 2011 and our workshops to this wonderful place!

16 - 20 March 2011








Read more...