Back from Safari

[pgr@pr]

Fortunate enough to escape England for 3 weeks at the end of Jan to Kenya. Saw some amazing sites at Lake Nakuru and in the Masai Mara including a Cheetah chase and kill! I'm a self employed pro-photographer but first time on safari so it was kind of fun. Considering doing something with them but interested to see how they are received first....































>>> Edited by pgr@pr on Friday 4th March 02:19

[rico]

Very impressive photos Peter. I especially like this one:



The sheer sharpness on the cheetah is just mindblowingly impressive.

[towman]

WOW. Astonishing work.

Personal favourite is No 5 (Love the depth of field}
Pelican a close second.

Any objections to my using them as wallpaper?

Steve

[BrianTheYank]

Awesome pictures. Soo sharp.
I love the look in the cheetahs eyes while its going for the kill.

[rich 36]

giraffes, love it, nice work

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

Very nice. I'm looking to go in May. Lense etc?

[V6GTO]

Mmmmm...

Martin.

[docevi1]

I like all of them bar the two giraffe's & the first, it all seems a little out of focus/blurred. I think my favourites are 4, 6, 7 and 11

Very nice shots either way, may I echo the request to know what camera/lens you used?

[Mrs Fish]

WOW they are fantastic

I thought I managed to get some good safari pics but they pale into significance with yours. You were very lucky to get a picture of a cheetah never mind one hunting, we only managed to see one from a great distance.

You must have some serious kit to get such good sharp pictures

[selmer]

Brilliant. I love number 1. The focus is so sharp on the cheetah yet the foreground animal is blurred; probably the complete opposite of the vision from the cheetah's eyes!
The fact that the prey is partially blurred gives you some sense of it's impending doom. The other animals just walk on.
Fantastic.

[cliff123]

Fantastic. Great photos. Assume you had some fairly large lenses on the camera to get that close to the subjects. Are you pro meaning you only sell you photos, or is there any chance you could provide the flying pelican photo (or all of them) large enough for the desktop? (1600 x 1024, or bigger). Please email if you can, understand if you dont.

[simpo two]

They're so good I actually feel sorry for the baby gazelle with only seconds to live.

What camera/lens did you use for those shots? And how did you ensure the camera focused on the subject when it's not central?

[luca brazzi]

simpo two said:

They're so good I actually feel sorry for the baby gazelle with only seconds to live.

Totally agree.

Simply stunning images....your sunset pic sums up the set I feel

Feel sad about the kill, but superbly captured. First class image making.

As to what to do with them....get some A3 prints made up for yourself....and offer your pics for sale wherever you can.

Onto the technical side
Camera(s)
Lens(es)
Jpeg/Raw
ISO
Filters (The shot of the cheetah laying in the grass looks like there's a bit of double image of the long blades of grass to the left of the picture - I had this issue when I had a filter attached to my 70-200,2.8 even on a tripod. Took the filter off, image fine again.)

Anyway, top stuff !!!

LB

[Phil S]

Some top quality wide aperture work there.

[chim_knee]

Simply stunning pictures (highlights for me are 2, 11, 12 & 14) but they are all fantastic.

We're off to the Masai Mara soon and if I take one shot anywhere near as good as yours I will be over the moon.

Thanks for the inspiration too!

[gravymaster]

I like them all! It would have been awesome if you could have got some slow shutter panning shots of the cheetah too!

[beano500]

Obviously you're pretty familiar with your equipment, and used to dealing with cheetah-like speeds in your day job!

The sequence, especially is very stunning. If anything the first shot with the individual separated out from the herd and the cheetah mid-engagement has a particularly strong dimension.

Difficult, otherwise to come up with a favourite, but the giraffes in the sunset were an inspired piece of work, too!

My guess is you've got one of those top quality bits of Jap-Shrapnel that we all lust after. But there's more to those shots than just good gear.

I can imagine a sequence of those first chase once selling like hot cakes as a poster.....

[pgr@pr]

Hi Guys. Thanks for your comments. Here's the kit in my bag:

Nikon D100 x2
Nikkor f2.8 80-200AFS
Nikkor f2.8 17-35AFS
Nikkor f2.8 10.5mm Fisheye
Nikkor f4.5-5.6 24-120AFS (not used on Safari)
Nikkor TC-20E II (2x) Teleconverter - Had some problems with focusing in past (+100mph motorsport tracking! with d100's somewhat amateur occasional focusing capabilities) but performed well on the trip.

Next time I'd like to take a Nikkor F4 200-400AFS if I could muster the money. I prefer zoom lenses as it gives me more creativity over framing the shot - although admitedly you may lose some sharpness and brightness over prime. And not for this forum but eargerly awaiting performance of D2X - hope its good.

Thanks for the comment of photo 1 - not the best I took but it was the start of the chase and so sets the sequence.

[pgr@pr]

Pro as in I work for my own company (with a business partner) doing Weddings, Motorsport and Events. Take a look at my profile for websites if you are interested. I'm 24 and self taught.

Considering going to Africa again for work paid holiday if I can make it happen next year - a fairly wealthy couple in the lodge bar who saw the pics offered to take me with as their photographer so might try and pursue that!

I have one burning question - other than private hire (am sceptical it will happen) can you make money out of travel / nature photography? If so I'm out of this country for Jan / Feb when work is quiet.


>> Edited by pgr@pr on Friday 4th March 12:19

[ehasler]

Some fantastic shots there - especially the Cheetah sequence and I love the expression in no. 11.

Have you thought about submitting them to an image library? www.alamy.com are on the lookout for wildlife shots at the moment, so well worth sending these in.