Ultimate Antarctica
January 5–February 1, 2008
Greater galagos. Marico sunbirds. Baglafecht weavers. Flap-necked chameleons. Common agamas. Hippopotamuses. Vervet monkeys. These are just a few of the many subjects we filmed recently while on safari. And none of them were filmed while on a game drive. Instead, all were photographed during the break times when we were back in camp.

While most photo tours have itineraries that may keep you going all day, an East African safari is usually different. Game drives are made in the early morning and late afternoonwhen wildlife is most active and the light is bestleaving the hottest time of the day for a relaxing break back in camp. To be sure, midday along the equator is no time for a game drive. The sun is hot and high, and the lighting is harsh and contrasty. Game is scarce, as most animalsfrom elephants to dik-diksseek shelter in whatever available shade they can find. As the saying goes, only mad dogs and Englishmen are out under a boiling sun.

Midday breaks are often needed, too, just to mentally and physically recharge after what can be a stimulating and sometimes exhausting morning afield. Since morning game drives often last until nearly noon , and the afternoon game drive is usually off by four oclock , that doesnt leave much down time. Between lunch, reloading film canisters or dumping digital images onto a computer or digital wallet, charging batteries, and cleaning gear, the afternoon break can seem to fly by.



But as this article will illustrate, there are still plenty of things to shoot even during this down time. If youre a high-energy person who cant relax, who wants to get as much out of any travel or outdoor experience as you can, there are things to do. In fact, sometimes I feel that it is virtually impossible to relax between game drivesthere is just so much going on!

Almost every lodge or camp is located in areas where midday shooting is possible. In Kenya, for examplein addition to the birds and animals already listedIve filmed Egyptian geese, Maribou storks, mousebirds, firefinches, kingfishers, francolins, spurfowl, flycatchers, trogons, thrushes, monitor lizards, geckos, treefrogs and reed frogs, snakes, bats, swallows and several other species of beautiful, iridescent sunbirds and colorful weaver finches in my down time between game drives. As you can see, theres a lot that can be photographedits just a matter of having the energy to do so.

Surely the easiest subjects to shoot during a midday break are birds, and fortunately almost all of the lodges put out bread for the weavers and finches. By midmorning the trees and shrubs surrounding these feeders are typically packed with birds. Ironically, photographers too frequently ignore these birds, almost as if they are not real photo subjects if theyre not photographed while out on a game drive. Ive watched, with some amusement, folks working hard to get close to a weaver finch in their safari vehicle when, at the lodge they just left, the same species sat in trees only feet away from their dining tables!



What a mistake! Camp and lodge birds will provide some of the best bird photography opportunities youll have while on safari. At camp you can be sure youll have rock-steady images if you are using a tripodyou wont be limited to the clamps or beanbags most photographers use when shooting from a vehicle. Further, if youre working around a feeder or a bait site, you can rig up one or several electronic flash units for even better images. Believe me, its sometimes difficult to even use a single flash when on a game drive, so being able to set up a couple of lights is a real bonus!

Admittedly, most of the feeding areas around the lodges were not designed with photographers in mind, and it shows. The shooting area often looks pretty sterilegenerally just a flat rock or tree stump, and with the confusing cluster of squabbling birds milling around the husks of bread and scattered bread crumbs, the opportunity does not look very enticing. Yet it can be, with just a little fine-tuning on your part. Consider adding a couple of dead branches or reeds close to the feeder where the birds can perch before arriving at the food. It usually only takes a few minutes for birds to become accustomed to a new perch, and its worth the effort. At Lion Hill Lodge in Lake Nakuru , Mary and I set up branches above the flat-topped stone used as the feeding station, which made a huge difference in the effectiveness of the set. On the bait rock, the birds looked completely unnatural and were certainly unappealing photo subjects. But by adding several acacia limbs, all found along the lodge grounds by the way, the area was magically transformed. Weve had speckled mousebirds, glossy starlings, doves, sparrows, arrow-marked babblers and several weaver species at this setup.

We spend a lot of time at the Mara River Camp whenever were in Kenya and there, it seems, the birds practically conspire to keep me busy through the day. One year we had a paradise flycatcher, a spectacular chestnut-colored bird with a blue-black head and an impossibly long tail, nesting right outside our tent. Using a single tele-flash I filmed the birds as they built their web-and-lichen nest over the course of several afternoons.



This year, a Marico sunbird nested in front of our tent. Sunbirds make a hanging nest that superficially resembles an orioles, but disguised by lichens and fibers its pretty easy to overlook. The birds darted in and fed their baby quickly, and I didnt get too many opportunities before the single occupant of the nest fledged.

One day, as we returned from our morning game drive, Mary noticed a young bird sitting on one of the low perches wed placed in front of our tent for the weavers to use. We were busy and only gave the bird a brief glance, assuming it was the fledgling sunbird, an opinion strengthened when the adult came in and fed the chirping young bird. The fledgling remained on its perch while we went to lunch. When we returned, I decided to take a few close-ups and noticed, then, that the baby bird didnt look like a sunbird at all. It looked like a cuckoo, and then it hit methe sunbird had raised a cuckooan African emerald cuckoo!

African cuckoos, as is common with all Old World cuckoos, parasitize other bird nests, much as our brown-headed cowbirds do in the US . Although I felt some pity for the poor sunbirds that had lost their young to this bulky parasitic species, I was thrilled at the opportunity to film the birds feeding the much larger youngster. Several afternoons were eaten up in doing so until, finally, the birds moved off.



If your camp has rock outcroppings, chances are youll find common agama lizards sunning themselves. Male common agamas are particularly colorful, with bright orangey-red heads and bright blue bodies. At Samburu Intrepids Lodge, the agamas are particularly accommodating. Several hang out around the pool and are very approachable.

At that same lodge both red-billed and the very colorful Von der Deckens hornbills nest in the large trees that shade the riverside tents. The birds are incredibly tame. One day, while Mary and I went for a pre-lunch walk, we passed within two feet of a hornbill that refused to leave the path. We spent several minutes crouched down next to the bird as it sifted through the fallen leaves looking for bugs less than two feet away. On a game drive, in contrast, were lucky to get within twenty feet of one of these birds!



While baboons and vervet monkeys can be a real nuisance around a lodge, their tameness in these locations makes for some great photographic opportunities. In Samburu, vervets are definitely a nuisance as they raid tables at breakfast or chew into unattended beanbags resting on parked Land Rovers. Ive had more than one beanbag destroyed by a vervet that gnawed through the nylon material. On the plus side, the monkeys allow a very close approach, and photography is easy. Ive made some of my best vervet portraits from camp, including some killer shots of mothers with tiny black babies. Remember, however, that these monkeys are pests, so dont contribute to the problem by offering them any food as bait.

This advice is even more important if baboons frequent a camp or lodge, as they can be bold, fearless and dangerous, too. Ive seen baboons leap onto a lunch table, spilling drinks and scattering plates and terrified tourists as the primate grabs a bread roll before running off. In Nakuru National Park tourists are warned to keep their doors closed at all times, as baboons will stroll inside a room looking for edibles. Once, we failed to heed that advice and Mary stepped out of the bathroom to find a large male baboon sitting on our bed, picking through our film bags looking for candy! Luckily it ran off without taking the plastic bag that contained half our allotment of film for the safari!

Another time I watched a tourist in Tsavo National Park chase a baboon across the pans surrounding a waterhole. The lodge staff was franticelephants frequent the waterhole and the area is dangerousbut the tourist was even more desperate. The baboon had entered his room and run off with his bag of prescription drugs! (He never caught the baboon.) At another lodge in Samburu, we watched a terrified young couple running to their tent pursued by two large baboons intent on grabbing the bread they were carrying. Whatever you do, dont contribute to the problem by feeding baboons!

Rock hyraxes, a marmot-like relative of the elephant, are also common at some lodges, and weve had some wonderful close-up photo opportunities, especially at Mara Serena Lodge. Here, hyraxes hang out on the patio, ledges and even the lounge chairs surrounding the poolmaking for some amusing images of sunbathing hyraxes. Although we dont stay at Serena, we often stop there during a long game drive for a midmorning or midday break, and it is rare that the cooperative hyraxes dont tempt us into photographing.

At Galdessa Camp in Tsavo East, a bull elephant by the name of Tusker shows up throughout the day. Although its somewhat difficult to get a good photograph of the elephant when it is just feet away from your tent, the thrill of being that close to the huge animal is more than adequate compensation. Galdessa, too, has numerous agamas and a very active bird feeder right outside the dining area.

At Mara River Camp hippos are common and several can usually be seen from the tents and dining area. Ambitious folks who spend their midday break along the rivers edge or who skip a morning game drive to film birds and hippos around camp are never disappointed.



Even at night theres no rest for the weary. At one lodge bats roost above our rooms veranda. Each evening as we watch the first stars materialize in the gathering dusk and listen to the whoops of the spotted hyenas, several dozen bats pour out of cracks in the roof and the uprights where they spend the day. The activity is so reliable Ive been tempted to bring a photo-trap device to catch the bats in flight but so far, at least, Ive resisted the urge. Theres only so much one can pack!

The staff at Mara River Camp feeds bushbabies nightly, and visitors often see these black, raccoon-like primates at the feeding station adjacent to the dining area. Bushbabies are nocturnal and are rarely seen except at a feeder, although their eerie screams can often be heard punctuating the night.

If you try to film bushbabies, remember that these nocturnal primates have huge reflective eyes and youre almost certain to record red-eye, if your flash is not off camera. I usually rig up two off-camera flashes on either side of the bait station and trip the two flashes with a wireless TTL transmitter. To keep the black bushbabies from appearing gray with straight TTL, I dial in a minus 2/3 flash compensation. This keeps the fur of the bushbaby black.



Wildlife around the camps and lodges can provide some of the most rewarding shooting youll ever have in down time, and sometimes Im tempted to skip a morning game drive to concentrate on the local wildlife. Mary did so on our last tripa day where we filmed zebras fighting, a zebra giving birth and a cheetah family climbing a fallen tree before resuming a hunt and making an impala kill. Bad choice. With that in mind, Ill keep busy during our breaks and photograph in the afternoons between game drives! After all, I can catch up on my sleep when I get home!





Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. P.O. Box 655, Vashon Island, Washington USA 98070
Phone: (206) 463-5383   Fax: (206) 463-5484    Email: info@photosafaris.com
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