Kenya or bust (56k waaagh!)

MacX · 3 Dec 2006 at 12:31

Hello everyone.

As some may remember I had a little trip out to Kenya earlier this year and I returned with a few pictures which thanks to you received a good reception.

So here we are again with the results of another trip from the end of November. In many ways a very different trip from the last one even though I returned to one of the same reserves as before. For a start, last time I met very few elephants. This time the visit rapidly changed into the Kenya Elephant Tour 2006 with us seeing literally hundreds of different elephants. This included one hormonally imbalanced fully grown bull elephant that charged our vehicle as soon as it spotted us moving slowly through the bush. :eek:

Also, we had unprecedented access to a Samburu village when we were invited as family guests rather than tourists, so hopefully I'll have a few pictures from that day as well.

So like before as I work through the images during the next week or so I'll post a small selection for you to view. At the end, if you're not all bored to death I'll link to an online gallery with all of the unposted ones so you can see the good, the bad, the blurred shots and ropey landscapes, coz I just don't do landscapes.

Unforunately, no cute lion clubs this time. I did cute cubs to death last time I think!

But there will be big cats, but not a leopard as I couldn't better the photos from the earlier trip.

And for our resident African bird expert Colin_da_Killer I hope I have some nicer bird shots for you this time to i.d.

So lets start with a Reticulated Giraffe.

And a lizard sitting on a post at the first campsite.

MacX · 3 Dec 2006 at 12:32

Elephants who want to cross the river but turn back due to the rains. This was just the beginning of some very bad rains that have caused deaths and many problems for Kenya this last few weeks.

A couple of a Heron (which one Colin_da_Killer?

) that appeared to be waiting for us everyday when we returned back to camp.

MacX · 3 Dec 2006 at 12:32

Elephant my ****!

What sort of Hornbill?

More to come over the next few days. This is a big job. Again.

tom_e · 3 Dec 2006 at 12:54

some nice photos there looking forward to seeing the rest

Hagel · 4 Dec 2006 at 12:11

I remember your previous thread and look forward to seeing some more from your latest trip. Seem to remember you were 100% film last time - was it the same again this time?

That elephant with the flappy ears looks great....there's just something about elephants!
Very crisp shot of the reticulated giraffe.

Will be good to see your shots from the Samburu village...from what I understand the Samburu are quite a reserved tribe.

panthro · 4 Dec 2006 at 12:31

Great photos. Wildlife photos like this is the main reason I want to get into photography.

MacX · 4 Dec 2006 at 16:21

Hagel said:
I remember your previous thread and look forward to seeing some more from your latest trip. Seem to remember you were 100% film last time - was it the same again this time?

That elephant with the flappy ears looks great....there's just something about elephants!
Very crisp shot of the reticulated giraffe.

Will be good to see your shots from the Samburu village...from what I understand the Samburu are quite a reserved tribe.

Oh yes. This project is 100% film once again. Which has its good and bad points.

For those who may be interested in the kit I used, and there must be a few as I did see a Safari lens thread the other week it is as follows.

Canon EOS 3 35mm x 2
Ye olde worlde truste Canon 100-400mm 4.5/5.6 as favoured by 9 out of 10 Safari going SLR owners.
Canon 300mm f2.8 (yum

)
Canon x2 converter for above.
Canon 17-40mm f4

Regarding the Samburu people. I did feel very honoured to be invited as a family guest. They certainly were not used to westerners visiting and it showed. To be fair, I was suffering culture shock as well, and really didn't make the most of the opportunity to freely take photographs. Nevermind, I suspect there will be a return visit next year and I'll be better prepared mentally. Although the slaughtering of the goat to celebrate our visit might have upset some visitors. Especially the warriors drinking the blood from the slit neck of the dead goat. :eek:

But we did eat the roasted meat with them.

Some of the village shots coming soon, as well as more elephants. So MANY elephants!

****Blitz.. how's Corby? I can see the fires at night from over here in Kettering.

****Panthro... Go get that camera and do it!

Mattw · 4 Dec 2006 at 16:38

some inspiring shots, i would love to get the oppertunity to visit some where like that. Not just from a photographic point of view but it would be a life memory certainly

Felix Da Housecat · 4 Dec 2006 at 16:42

WOW very nice, I look forward to seeing the rest

tom_e · 4 Dec 2006 at 19:20

MacX said:
****Blitz.. how's Corby? I can see the fires at night from over here in Kettering.

It keeps the place warm

how are the sheep doing over there

MacX · 4 Dec 2006 at 20:03

blitz2163 said:
It keeps the place warm how are the sheep doing over there

They keep us nice and warm.

Have some more elephants.

Mattw said:
some inspiring shots, i would love to get the oppertunity to visit some where like that. Not just from a photographic point of view but it would be a life memory certainly

Thanks, and yes, it can get to you in that way.

G.O.A.T · 5 Dec 2006 at 07:49

Some excellent stuff so far! Keep em comming.

BruceLee · 5 Dec 2006 at 08:15

We went this time last year, a trip round Samburu, Nakuru etc, was a dusty but fantastic trip.

You really need a good zoom to get any real decent pics, I was stuck with my Canon Ixus which was annoying at times, missed some good photo ops because of it.

Still, it was enjoyable, the gf loved it and as an experience you cant get better really.

Heres a few of mine, as you can see the leopard one and the group of giraffes would have been better if I had had a better zoom.

MacX · 5 Dec 2006 at 11:44

G.O.A.T said:
Some excellent stuff so far! Keep em comming.

Okay! As you wish.

And as a change of pace a couple of the shots took during our invitation to a Samburu village by one of the residents.

One of the mothers. A man can have as many wives as he can afford. One of the children here is suffering from Malaria. Almost all children get it at some point or another. Using drugs from plants and letting them rest is how they are left to get over it. One of the warriors who was suffering from a bout of malaria drank the blood from the neck of our slaughtered goat as apparently this helps.

One of the Samburu warriors.

MacX · 5 Dec 2006 at 12:06

BruceLee said:
We went this time last year, a trip round Samburu, Nakuru etc, was a dusty but fantastic trip.

You really need a good zoom to get any real decent pics, I was stuck with my Canon Ixus which was annoying at times, missed some good photo ops because of it.

Well that must have been at the height of the droughts. When we went in March this year the rains were just starting, then later they suffered very bad floods which washed out many of the camps at Samburu. Some of the smaller temporary sites appeared to be washed out completely, Larsons was badly hit, and Intrepids was partially underwater. Things were fixed when we were there last month, but I'm not sure how the current round of flooding they are having may be effecting Samburu. Although I did hear the main airstrip was a washout at one point.

As you can see from my pictures the whole place was unusually green.

My GF had an Ixus the first time. She found the Panasonic FZ7 a much better all round camera this time.

BruceLee · 5 Dec 2006 at 12:21

Yes, most of the rivers we saw were almost non existent and it didnt rain at all (AFAIK) when we were there.

My Dad lives and works in Nairobi so we at least had somewhere else to go after the safari. We went on a trip to Mombassa etc which was very hot and humid, at least Nairobi is elevated so it doesnt get so bad.

The difference in lifestyles over there is a real eye opener, driving through some of the shanty towns you realised the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor out there.

MacX · 5 Dec 2006 at 19:25

BruceLee said:
My Dad lives and works in Nairobi so we at least had somewhere else to go after the safari. We went on a trip to Mombassa etc which was very hot and humid, at least Nairobi is elevated so it doesnt get so bad.

The difference in lifestyles over there is a real eye opener, driving through some of the shanty towns you realised the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor out there.

Cool. What does your dad do? Does he need an assistant?

And the poverty is bad in some areas, though I found it to be visibly much worse around Mombassa than Nairobi.

BruceLee · 5 Dec 2006 at 19:37

Im sure he may do

, he works for the UN in Nairobi, nothing exciting, chief accountant for one of the divisions they have, but he seems to enjoy it. We originally lived there for 5 years when I was 1, but moved back to the UK. Hes been back there for 8 years now, just finished building his house out there, so its safe to say hes staying there

Shame the airfare is expensive for more frequent visits, but he does a lot of travelling so usually stops over in the UK from time to time.

Not sure if you took the main motorway they have from Nairobi to Mombassa but there are a lot of little towns along the way, mainly for truck stops etc, that are fairly bad. I personally wouldnt stop there but I always felt a bit self conscious being white out there.

MacX · 5 Dec 2006 at 21:16

BruceLee said:
Not sure if you took the main motorway they have from Nairobi to Mombassa but there are a lot of little towns along the way, mainly for truck stops etc, that are fairly bad. I personally wouldnt stop there but I always felt a bit self conscious being white out there.

I have experienced that road. I like the way the potholes regulate the speed of the vehicles.

But have some more pics.
(Which I'm sure Colin_da_Killer can id for me when he returns.

)

Scam · 5 Dec 2006 at 21:32

Great shots. I seem drawn to the bokeh in your shots, what lens were you using? Have you exaggerated it at all in PS? It would be nice if you could keep the EXIF in your files, i'm always interested in how people took particular shots.

I really like this one in particular. And the bokeh is mad!