Some from last months trip to the Masai Mara in Kenya and Murchison Falls in Uganda, I had a D800 with 1.4TC and the 300mm f/4 as well as a D300s and 80-200mm f/2.8, I mostly used the D800 and 300mm and TC. I took far too many photos, I came back with over 5000 shots, even after deleting lots in camera there, I guess I got a bit carried away with catching the animals!
I did take my travel tripod and some other shorter lenses (14mm, 24mm, 50mm) which were useful at times, I would recommend a tripod if you can take one as there isn't much else to do at night and you get some very clear skies usually.
For the Mara trip we stayed in the Mara Leisure Camp which we would recommend, it's right on the edge of the reserve. We purposefully (myself and a friend) organised our own vehicle and driver as part of the package, if you are wanting to get any good shots I would recommend it as it would be hard work with more than two of you in the car to get good positions.
Here's the typical safari vehicle we had, it was good as all the windows slide open, I usually shot from the back seat windows and my friend was stood up at the front. It does get a bit dusty so I wouldn't advise on changing lenses too often, which is primarily why I decided to take two bodies.
I loved the D800, I was concerned it wouldn't be fast enough for any action shots but most of the time it was fine, the DX crop mode was useful if only for reducing file sizes by cutting out bits that I would crop in PP anyway.
After this trip I'd love a 400mm f/2.8 and TCs or 600mm f/4 as I did find I needed more reach some of the time.
Surprisingly light conditions were tricky even in bright sunlight, most of the time I was at ISO 400 or more to get the shutter speeds up, I guess the D800 shows off any imperfections in your technique.
In no real order (mostly chronological), EXIF should be embedded.
Millions of wildebeast and zebra!
Great clear skies at night, they turned the lodge lights off at midnight so it was very clear.
We did see one migration crossing but we got there near the end and not in a very good position, it's very hit and miss where they will cross.
You see quite a few bodies in the water
Murchison Falls in North West Uganda, we were only here for one full day, took a boat trip up the river to near the falls, you can normally see a variety of animals along the shore but we didn't get that many interesting ones.
If Kingfishers are your thing then these guys (Pied Kingfisher) are everywhere in Kenya and Uganda near lakes and rivers, they are a bit larger than our Kingfishers which make them easier to spot, but their plumage isn't as nice.
The view from the top of the falls, the river has to flow through a 20ft gap at this point which makes it quite fast and turbulent. You can walk here if you get dropped off near it on the boat ride but it's easier to drive, plus you don't have to pay a guide to take you.
Lake Naivasha in Kenya, we stopped there on the way back from Uganda, spent a few hours on the boats trying to get the eagles (mostly unsuccessfully!).
Photographically a great trip, we got spoilt with the migration happening early in the Mara, we saw everything we hoped for and more. I'd love to go back and try and getter some better shots of the fish eagles as these are quite cropped.
I have a few more photos on my site:
http://www.refinedlight.co.uk/kenya_uganda_2013
I did take my travel tripod and some other shorter lenses (14mm, 24mm, 50mm) which were useful at times, I would recommend a tripod if you can take one as there isn't much else to do at night and you get some very clear skies usually.
For the Mara trip we stayed in the Mara Leisure Camp which we would recommend, it's right on the edge of the reserve. We purposefully (myself and a friend) organised our own vehicle and driver as part of the package, if you are wanting to get any good shots I would recommend it as it would be hard work with more than two of you in the car to get good positions.
Here's the typical safari vehicle we had, it was good as all the windows slide open, I usually shot from the back seat windows and my friend was stood up at the front. It does get a bit dusty so I wouldn't advise on changing lenses too often, which is primarily why I decided to take two bodies.
I loved the D800, I was concerned it wouldn't be fast enough for any action shots but most of the time it was fine, the DX crop mode was useful if only for reducing file sizes by cutting out bits that I would crop in PP anyway.
After this trip I'd love a 400mm f/2.8 and TCs or 600mm f/4 as I did find I needed more reach some of the time.
Surprisingly light conditions were tricky even in bright sunlight, most of the time I was at ISO 400 or more to get the shutter speeds up, I guess the D800 shows off any imperfections in your technique.
In no real order (mostly chronological), EXIF should be embedded.
Millions of wildebeast and zebra!
Great clear skies at night, they turned the lodge lights off at midnight so it was very clear.
We did see one migration crossing but we got there near the end and not in a very good position, it's very hit and miss where they will cross.
You see quite a few bodies in the water
Murchison Falls in North West Uganda, we were only here for one full day, took a boat trip up the river to near the falls, you can normally see a variety of animals along the shore but we didn't get that many interesting ones.
If Kingfishers are your thing then these guys (Pied Kingfisher) are everywhere in Kenya and Uganda near lakes and rivers, they are a bit larger than our Kingfishers which make them easier to spot, but their plumage isn't as nice.
The view from the top of the falls, the river has to flow through a 20ft gap at this point which makes it quite fast and turbulent. You can walk here if you get dropped off near it on the boat ride but it's easier to drive, plus you don't have to pay a guide to take you.
Lake Naivasha in Kenya, we stopped there on the way back from Uganda, spent a few hours on the boats trying to get the eagles (mostly unsuccessfully!).
Photographically a great trip, we got spoilt with the migration happening early in the Mara, we saw everything we hoped for and more. I'd love to go back and try and getter some better shots of the fish eagles as these are quite cropped.
I have a few more photos on my site:
http://www.refinedlight.co.uk/kenya_uganda_2013
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I definitely need to get myself on a Safari at some point in my life! Maybe after I save up for my EF 200-400mm F4 lens lol :/
Looks like you had an awesome time!
