Zebras are definitely one of the most sighted species on most African safaris. In the Masai Mara of Kenya, they’re all over the place. That said, I still love seeing and photographing them. Most foals are born during the rainy season of March and May, making our visit in June perfect for shots like this. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
Lions can be (and are) ferocious predators. But they can also look like giant house cats at times. This big boy was rolling around on a grassy hill putting on a show for us on our first full day in the Masai Mara. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1100, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second.
Gerenuks are native to northern parts of Kenya — one of the main reasons I like to combine a trip to the Masai Mara in the south with Samburu in the north for a greater variety of species. Gerenuks are often called giraffe-necked antelopes and you can see why. This is a male, as evidenced by the horns. Very interesting looking animals and fun to watch eat as they stand on their hind legs to get as tall as possible to reach the higher foliage (I’ll post one of those shots soon). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
Last week I posted a photo of a lion and mentioned all the other activity at that one spot on that one morning in the Masai Mara of Kenya. This hippo was also part of the action. Just as soon as the two lions had passed, we noticed the hippo making its way back to the water after a spending the night on solid ground. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 170mm) ISO 1100, f/2.8 at 1/500th of a second.
I had a great time photographing the dwarf mongooses that were scurrying around outside our tents in the Masai Mara. Always fun to have a few subjects back at camp. As the name suggests, these guys are the smallest of the 34 different species of mongoose in the world. More on them in upcoming posts. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 2000, f/5.6 at 1/100th of a second.
I was able to visit mountain gorillas twice on this recent trip. You never know where the gorillas are going to be or how long it will take to find them. But once found, you only have an hour to visit — which park rangers are very strict about. That said, as a photographer I’m always praying for overcast light (a dark furred animal, in a forest, in bright sunshine, without the ability to use flash, is a deadly combination). Both days presented just such a lighting challenge. So be it. I had to work around the light and use longer focal length lenses, trying to get the gorillas in mostly full shade. Occasionally they complied. For this rare wide-angle shot, it wasn’t exactly full shade, but good enough for a somewhat even exposure. This is one of three silverbacks (mature males) in the family of nine individual gorillas we visited. He may look fierce (and in need of dental work) but he was simply letting out a big yawn. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (at 43mm) ISO 2500, f/2.8 at 1/320th of a second.
Here’s another situation where I was able to get the camera on the ground and shoot using a handheld remote trigger. Samburu National Reserve in the north of Kenya is a nice contrast to the Masai Mara in the south. The Mara is more fertile, with green rolling hills, while Samburu is more of a desert-like landscape. The elephants are the same species in both places, but they appear less grey in Samburu due to the red clay dirt that exists throughout the park. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (at 41mm) ISO 2200, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.
We had one very Garden of Eden-y morning. The sunlight was filtering through a forested area of the Masai Mara as a hippo was making his way back to the river, passing a giraffe reaching for the trees, an elephant feeding on the lower grasses, baboons basking in the sun along a cliff, a warthog family resting in a clearing, eagles perched above, and two male lions backlit as they passed within a few feet of our vehicle. Easily the best half hour of the trip. More photos from this magical morning in upcoming posts. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 360, f/2.8 at 1/500th of a second.
The aardwolf is a new species for me. I’ve seen glimpses of them before but have never been able to capture decent images. I let everyone know how rare it was to see one — and then we saw five more. They are nocturnal, which is one reason for their elusiveness, but we kept seeing them early morning, just before they returned to their dens to spend the day. At first placed in their own classification, aardwolves are now generally considered part of the hyena family. Unlike other hyenas, however, the aardwolf does not hunt large mammals, preferring instead to eat insects. Their diet consists mainly of termites, and they can eat up to 300,000 in a single night. Photographed in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 640, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
We had good luck with cats on this trip, particularly cheetahs. We saw a few kill attempts in the Masai Mara, one successful, and in Samburu we had daily run ins with a mother and her four cubs. The cubs seemed to be constantly at play while the mother was on the look out for the next meal. This photo was taken early in the morning while the cubs were chasing each other back and forth. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, IOS 900, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.