Back from Africa!!

[mjs1973]

Hey everyone. Amy and I made it home last night from our trip to South Africa. It took us 44 hours to get home, from the time we woke up to go to the airport, till the time we got home. We took a shower, and went straight to bed after getting home.

I'm still pretty tired, but managed to give my photos from the trip a once over. Looks like I will have a lot of processing to do in the next couple of weeks. Here is one shot I managed to process for this post. This was taken from a blind at the Tembe Elephant Park. I could have sat in this blind all day! They have a web cam on this watering hole that you can watch at www.zulucam.com. Don't forget the time difference. They are 7 hours ahead of us in the central time zone.

The trip was great, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back if given the chance. The only down side of the trip for me was that it seemed like we were always out at the worst time of day to be taking photos, and the harsh lighting made for some difficult shooting. Not to mention that it's almost impossible to get everyone to sit still in the back of an open top truck! Other than that, it was a great trip, and I still managed to come home with some pics I'm pretty happy with, despite the challenging conditions.

Look for more to come later on.

[Knight]

Well im glad to see your back Mike . Im anxious to see what you captured for us It must be a very memorable trip I can only imagine how it must have been hard to get some photos under harsh lighting conditions.

[Alison]

WOW! Great shot! I'd love to have the time, let alone the money, to go on a trip like that. Not so sure I'd want the 44 hour journey though.

[AgingEyes]

Looking forward to more of your photos from the trip, Mike !

[Loupey]

Glad you had a safe trip!

Put a big check mark on your bucket list Being grouped with a bunch of other people probably would be frustrating at times. But can't tell the driver, "just drop me off here and pick me up in 6 hours"

Looking forward to your images and stories.

[gahspidy]

Looking forward to seeing the shots from the trip. This one is very cool and a great preview. What a tremendous experience it must have been to visit the land of extremes.
Glad your both back safe

[AmberC]

OMG that is so awesome! I cant wait to see all of your photos!!!! (No rush now.. )
Glad you had a safe trip and are back home!

[serenity]

I can't wait to see more! This is a great capture.

[mn shutterbug]

Hey Mike, glad to see a black mamba didn't get you. Your sample shot looks great. I'll be anxiously awaiting more.

[mjs1973]

Thanks everyone, for the kind thoughts. If you haven't seen it already, I started a new thread in the VF forum with more details, and pics from our trip. You can check it out here:

My trip to Africa, and post #5k!!

[Loupey]

Mike, I'm curious how all the equipment worked out for you.

Which lens did you use the most?
Was there something additional you would recommend for someone planning such a trip?
What equipment would you not take the next time?
How did the 40D stand up?
How was traveling with all that equipment like?
Any problems/difficulty with airport security?

Sorry for the many questions

[mjs1973]

Hey Loupey. Lots of great questions there. I will post a detailed reply when I get home.

[mjs1973]

Ok, here is a long winded summary of what I took, and what it was like traveling with all this stuff.

I'll start with a list of what I took with me.

Bodies: 40D w/battery grip, 300D w/battery grip & Elan7n (yes, I took a
film camera)

Lenses: EF 100-400mm IS L, 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L, EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, EF
24-70mm f/2.8 L, Tokina 12-24 f/4, EF 50mm f/1.8, EF 1.4x TC.

Misc. Slik carbon fiber monopod, Manfroto 3021BPro tripod, EX 580 flash,
B&W Circular Polarizer, B&W color enhancing filter, 7 batteries for the digital cameras & 2 chargers, lots of AA’s for my flash and the wife’s P&S, 17" laptop, a set of extension tubes, cheap 2x TC, lens cleaner and papers, remote release for 40D, remote release for 300D & Elan7n, and 26.5 GB of CF cards. I also had about a dozen rolls for slide film ranging from ISO 50-400.

There were a few other things, but that is the bulk of it. It was all
packed into my LowePro Photo Trekker AW backpack, except for the laptop, tripod and monopod. This Photo Trekker backpack was my carry on bag. The laptop was carried in a separate attaché case that my wife used as here carry on bag. The tripod and monopod were packed in my checked bag. Also packed in my checked bag were about 10 blank DVD’s.

I found myself using the 100-400mm IS L lens the most. I used it both hand
held, and on a monopod while sitting in the back of the open top truck. I
was a bit worried about giving up the extra 100mm from my Sigma, but it
wasn't a big deal. Most of the animals were large enough, and close enough
that I didn't really need the extra length. There were a few times that I
did add the 1.4x TC to this lens to get some extra reach. The lack of IS on the Sigma lens would have made using it in the back of the truck very difficult. I also found
myself taking the Elan7n with a smaller lens for wider views, or for things
that were too close for the 100-400mm lens. I would either have the
70-200mm or the 24-70mm lens on it. Both made a nice complement to the
100-400mm lens. I took about 90 photos using the film camera.

I only used the 50mm f/1.8 for a few night shots. There were some dancers that I wanted to try to captures. This was also the only time I used the EX 580 flash. There were other times that I wish I would have used the flash, but do to limited space, I didn’t have it with me.

That brings me to something that I would have liked to have had with me, and that is a smaller, shoulder sized bag. The only camera bag I had with me was the Photo Trekker. There was only one time where I took the backpack with me and that is when we went to the elephant park to sit in the blind. The rest of the time I would only take two bodies with a lens attached to each, my monopod and some extra memory cards. A medium sized bag to set on the floor by my feet with anything extra that I might have wanted to take would have been nice. That is really the only thing that I wished I had had while I was there. I did use the attaché from the laptop once, but having a bag designed for camera equipment would have been a better choice.

I didn't take a single photo with the 300D or the 100mm macro lens. I could have left the 100mm lens home since I already had that range covered, and the tubes could have been used for macro shots. I didn’t use the tubes at all either. The extra weight of the 300D was worth the effort to take it along IMO. Knowing that I had an extra body in case something happened to the 40D was more important than the extra weight.

Most of the big stuff got used, but some of the smaller things didn’t. I didn’t do any macro shots, so the tubes could have stayed home as well. But since they are so light, and don’t take up much room, I would rather have them and not use them, than want to use them and not have them. When it comes down to it, I think the only piece of equipment that I would have felt comfortable leaving home is the 100mm macro lens.

The IS lenses were a life saver for shooting out of the back of the truck.
With people moving around, it would have been very difficult to get a decent
shot without it. Waiting for them to calm down before taking the shot was
also key to getting sharp images.

The 40D worked great! I had no problems with it at all, and the same goes for the Elan7n.

Traveling with all this gear wasn’t a huge problem. It was heavy, but the backpack made carrying all the gear pretty easy. The laptop is another story. I think my laptop must be made of lead. This thing weighs a ton. Since it was in my wife’s carry on, she ended up carrying it most of the time. She didn’t like that much. For traveling, a smaller, lighter laptop would work much better. If I didn’t have the laptop, I would have wanted to have something to back up my images. An Epson P5000 or something like that would have been much lighter, and taken up much less room. The blank DVD’s I mentioned earlier were used to burn a copy of my photos once I had downloaded them onto the laptop. Only after I had them on both my laptop and a copied burned to DVD would I reformat my memory cards.

We didn’t have any problems at all getting through security with all this stuff. I thought the Photo Trekker would be too big to use as a carry on, but nobody even gave it a second look. On one of the smaller planes we had to take, a 50 seat prop plane, the backpack was too big to fit in the overhead storage. I had to stow it under the seat in front of me. It was a little too big for that, and ended up sticking out a bit. This made the plane ride pretty cramped for me. There wasn’t much leg room to begin with, and having my bag take up most of it made it even worse. That plane ride was only and hour, so it wasn’t a big deal. The lack of comfort was worth not letting the bag out of my sight.

All in all, the only things I would change if I had to do it all over again, is that I would leave the 100mm macro lens at home. I would also take a smaller shoulder bag for day trips. If I could afford it, a smaller backup device so I could leave the laptop at home. Since you can't burn a DVD with the Epson P5000, a few more Sandisk 4GB cards would be nice so I wouldn't have to reformat them while on the trip. That would give me two copies while on the trip. The originals on the cards, and the backup on the Epson.

[Loupey]

Wow, Mike, thank you for such a thorough write-up!

I asked because I've often wondered (as others here I'm sure) what I take if I was in that situation. It is interesting to read about the items that you ended up using frequently and infrequently.

Although I'm not so much a zoom person, I do believe that they are difficult to beat when portability is such a big factor. And the fact that one cannot stalk and pick one's own shooting position makes using a zoom that much more attractive.

Still, I think you packed too much As a former boy scout, the "be prepared" philosophy seems appropriate but I would have to add "...but to the limit that one can still move quickly and comfortably" I can't blame you though for such a major trip.

What about the 12-24mm? Did you get to shoot any sunrise/sunset landscapes? Any recommendations about taking an ultra-wide in similar situations?

Thanks again.

[mjs1973]

I always take too much stuff!! Even when I try to go light, I always seem to pack too much in my shoulder bag. One of these days I will learn. That being said, when we went on our drives, the gear I took was always limited to 2 bodies, 2 lenses, memory cards, a CP and a monopod or less. The only exception was the day we went to the elephant park. That day I took everything. Way too much!

I agree. Having the versatility of a zoom lens for the shooting situations I was in was very important. I really had no way of changing my shooting position other than asking the driver to back up or go forward a bit.

The 12-24mm didn't get used a whole lot. I used it for some night shots of our tent/cabin but that was really about it. I don't think I took it on any of our drives because I felt it was a little too wide. I didn't have much of an opportunity to take landscape shots like I would have liked. I was going to use it for some star trails shots, but decided to use the 24-70mm on the film camera instead. The 24-70mm on the film body seemed to be my choice when I wanted to go wide. Not sure why because I love the Tokina lens. Maybe I felt I had to use it since I carried all that film 8000 miles.

I have to admit that I slept in most mornings and the sun beat me up! So no sunrise shots. We were always in the trucks when the sun was setting, so I didn't get much of a chance for those either. I did get a couple chances tho. One of those opportunities was while back at our room. For those shots, I used the 100-400mm lens. I did this to simplify the composition. To remove a fence, or a building. There wasn't much around our room to make for an interesting FG element. The other time I had the opportunity for the sun set was while on our last game drive. Our ranger backed some snacks for us, and we sat on top of a hill and watched the sunset. Since we were on drive, I didn't have the Tokina. I did have the 24-70mm, and that's what I used, along with the 100-400mm.


If I ever get the opportunity do go on another trip like this, there are a few things I would like to do differently. If I could afford it, I would hire my own ranger while I was there. One who understood a photographers needs. One who would be willing to take me out at better times of the day. Having more control over what, where and when we went would make a major difference in the images I came home with. A trip designed for photographers, like the ones you see advertised in the back of photo magazines, would be a better way to go.

[paulnj]

I really like the effect with the water in that image.

[mjs1973]

Thanks Paul. If you haven't ventured to the VF forum, there are some more images in this thread.

My trip to Africa, and post #5k!!