A Safari Guide to Photography
A No-Filters Guide to Epic Safari Snaps
“A live hunt” is too short an epithet to describe the trill of watching it unfold. The exhilaration is indescribable. There’s no feeling quite like it – the adrenaline, the drama, and the raw connection with nature. It is a dramatic moment of sudden, noticeable, and surprising events that tells stories and conveys the emotions of nature’s brutality most people have only imagined through motion pictures and a well captured photo. If in happenstance you are staring at the events, don’t forget to capture the moment. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to hone your skills, the camera, of any formation, is your key tool to capture amazing safari moments.
Capturing safari moments, laboriously negotiated through vast wildlife reserves and conservancies, always has the element of surprise and is a unique experience every day. Experienced guides are a big whip-hand in tracking and locating game, and uncovering incredible safari moments, often by an instinct-knack of tracking where wildlife is found at different times of day. To be at tandem with their logic it’s seminal to know a few basics and be in the moment. It’s not just about what’s in the frame; it’s about what you feel when you look at it. Emotions can transform a simple snap into a story that lingers long after you’ve put down your camera.
Whether you use a DSLR, mirrorless, or smartphone, safari photography is first and foremost about capturing light. Light is the best of painters. Anything looks beautiful in the right light. A well-lit subject can be captured poorly, but a poorly-lit subject will never look good. The general rule, in good lighting, is to have the source of light (the sun) behind or at the side of your subject. The best lighting conditions are in the early morning and evening with pleasant warm lighting. Late mornings and afternoons, with the sun overhead, have rather flat lighting effects.
At sunset, the warm glow of sun provides superb front lighting and produces the iconic orange-hued silhouette of African, which is worth experimenting by putting the subject in front of the sun. Today’s camera with built-in metering systems has reduced the ‘innards’ of exposure and picture failure resulting from odd exposure. Auto Focus: good for everyday shooting. A godsend for today’s amateur lensman. When taking a photo, the camera opens its shutter and lets in light through the lens. This light hits the sensor and is processed as an image. A quick shutter speed will minimize the exposure time so the setting sun doesn’t burn out your photo.
Exposure is a detailed field of professional photography, so consider the above as a simple introductory. The three fundamental elements that control the exposure (or brightness) of your image are aperture, shutter speed, and the sensitivity of the camera sensor to light. Thanks to the ever-dynamic machine learning, many of today’s smartphone camera come with in-built algorithms to automatically adjust these for the user, however, with the option to manually adjust exposure, it offers multiple variants of a portrait – depending on speed and time of exposure – and is quite an interesting feature that takes hold with practice and experimentation.
Rather more importantly, depth of field in your photo depends on the strength of the lens. Depth is the scale of foreground, middle ground and far distances with an aim to render as much of each in the photo. Most landscape photos are taken using a wide-angle lens with a small aperture. That’s panorama in today’s lingua. Close-ups of wildlife are often achieved using longer lenses with a large aperture.
By the same token, steady your hands. Photography seems to be to the eye what dancing is to the limbs and a good photo calls for steady hands to guarantee good definition. Definition is the level of sharpness. The good old tripod helps keep your photos from being blurry. Enter today’s selfie stick, which get little commendation for all the magic moments it has helped create. It requires little set up and can be easily pulled out of a bag, pronto. Selfie sticks are available for many varied phone models and a useful travel accessory. If the following are not at hand, a camera with image stabilization can compensate for hand vibrations. Otherwise, keep your elbows close to your body to reduce movement. Position your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your knees slightly flexed. Before taking the picture, exhale.
Unlike many elements of a photo which are, thankfully, automatically configured, composition calls for an active input. It’s this element that separates the men from the boys. This is the soul of the instagramable snap. Again, auto focus: good for everyday shooting. Otherwise, manual focus, best for precise control, especially in macro or landscape photography, has three generally accepted modes: Manual Mode (M) with full control over exposure; Aperture Priority (A or Av) where you set the aperture, and the camera selects the shutter speed; and Shutter Priority (S or Tv) where you self set the shutter speed, and the camera adjusts the aperture.
Either way, composition is about how you arrange the elements in your photo to create balance, focus, and interest. The rule of thirds is a proven go-to-wisdom in composing your photo to capture the subject, place and circumstance – and to avoid placing your subject in the center of the picture. Mentally divide the shot into thirds using two vertical lines and two horizontal lines, then place elements of high visual interest at any of the four intersections. In other words, imagine a 3×3 grid overlaying your frame or landscape in focus. Place the subject at one of the intersections or along the grid lines to create a more dynamic and balanced snap.
Notes for self: Use natural lines like roads, rivers, or bridges to guide the viewer’s eyes toward the main subject. Incorporate natural frames like trees, windows, arches to focus attention on your subject. The humans eye is naturally drawn to symmetry. Use reflections, architecture, or repeating patterns to create visually appealing images. Create a sense of depth by including foreground, middle ground, and background elements. Use a wide aperture to blur the background, or stop down the aperture (high f-stop) to keep everything in focus. Anticipate the moment! Last but not least, editing is a key part of the modern photography work flow. It helps fine-tune the exposure, color balance, and sharpness of the image.
In Africa you can see a sunset and believe you have witnessed the Hand of God. You watch the slope lope of a lioness and forget to breathe. You marvel at the tripod of a giraffe bent to water. In Africa, there are iridescent blues on the wings of birds that you do not see anywhere else in nature. In Africa, in the midday heart, you can see blisters in the atmosphere. When you are in Africa, you feel primordial, rocked in the cradle of the mankind. The journey is as important as the destination. It is about experiences, the memories, and capturing the moments.
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Kenya certainly has enormous touring resources. There are no less than sixty national narks, reserves and game sanctuaries, covering approximately 11% of the land surface. Each of these diverse and stunning national parks and reserves offers unique wildlife experiences and unique, breathtaking landscapes.
Index of National Parks & Reserves in Kenya
Baringo County - Lake Baringo National Reserve, Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Kerio Valley National Reserve, Lake Kamnarok National Reserve, Bomet County - The South Western Mau National Reserve, Busia County - Malaba Sanctuary, Elgeyo Marakwet County - Rimoi National Reserve, Embu County - Mount Kenya National Park; Irangi Forest Station, Mwea National Reserve, Garissa County - Bour-Algi Giraffe Sanctuary, Rahole National Reserve, Arawale National Reserve, Boni National Reserve, Homa Bay County - Ruma National Park, Isiolo County - The Bisanadi National Reserve, Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Shaba National Reserve, Kajiado County - Amboseli National Park, Kakamega County - Kakamega National Reserve, Kilifi County - Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve, Watamu Marine National Park, Malindi Marine Reserve, Kisumu County - Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, Ndere Island National Park, Kitui County - Mwingi National Reserve, South Kitui National Reserve, Kwale County - Shimba Hills National Reserve, Diani-Chale Marine National Reserve, Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park & Reserve, Lamu County - Dodori National Reserve, Kiunga Marine National Reserve, Machakos County - Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, Makueni County - Chyulu Hills National Park, Ngai Ndethya National Reserve, Mandera County - Malka Mari National Park, Marsabit County - Losai National Reserve, South Island National Park, Marsabit National Park & Reserve, Sibiloi National Park, Meru County - Meru National Park, Mombasa County - Mombasa Marine National Reserve & Park, Nairobi County - The Nairobi National Park, Nakuru County - Mount Longonot National Park, Crescent Island Sanctuary, Hell's Gate National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park, Nandi County - Bonjoge National Reserve, Narok County - Masai Mara National Reserve, Nyeri County - The Aberdare National Park, Samburu County - Samburu National Reserve, Maralal National Reserve, Siaya County - Lake Kanyaboli Reserve, Tana River County - Kora National Park, The Tana Primate National Reserve, Taita Taveta County - Tsavo East National Park, Tsavo West National Park, Tharaka Nithi County - Mutejwa National Reserve, Trans Nzoia County - Mount Elgon National Park, Saiwa Swamp National Park, Turkana County - Central Island Reserve, South Turkana Reserve, West Pokot County - Nasolot National Reserve
Abiri Kenya 