Never been to Africa. just here to say thank you for following the call and thanks for your selflessness. Stay safe.

Boss - been twice, Tanzania, in 2013 and 2015.

What kind of vehicle will you be in - completely open, pop-top Toyota, etc.?

Completely open - you will hand-hold your camera; possibly using a monopod.

Pop-top - what I was in both times. Can support your camera using the vehicle w/sandbags or clamps.

Yes, she is on the hood of our car, and pregnant-

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
Boss - been twice, Tanzania, in 2013 and 2015.

What kind of vehicle will you be in - completely open, pop-top Toyota, etc.?

Completely open - you will hand-hold your camera; possibly using a monopod.

Pop-top - what I was in both times. Can support your camera using the vehicle w/sandbags or clamps.

Yes, she is on the hood of our car, and pregnant-

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:

Think about a mono pod. Tripods are great but for what your looking at a monopod it better in my experience because it so quick to move and setup, is lighter and doesn't block people in small areas.

229DAK - Don’t have much info on the safari setup yet, supposed to be a top-notch outfit though. Should have more info in a week or two on that. Great pic of the Cheetah!


Comet24/Dak229 - I have a nice Benro CF Monopod that is perfect for travel.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:a

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
As a non-Christian, I've been reading this thread with more than a passing interest. My confusion lies in the statement that the OP is going to a country with a well-established Christian church - on a 'missionary trip'.

How do you combine being a missionary with a photo safari?

And why is there a continuing need for missionary visitations to a Christian country like Kenya?

The “mission” portion of this trip is doing work modernizing/updating classrooms at the Africa Nazarene University - I agree in this case it isn’t what I would describe as “traditional” missionary type work, but needed none the less.

Ah, right. Thank you. I'm afraid that I had a mental image of you preaching the Gospel to a bunch of Africans - á la Christian Missionaries of old.

It now makes sense.

Flash Guy this is where we need your expertise.



You might search his website,
He had tons of info there.

Heck , he probably has everyone of the pictures that you will be trying to get, and then some

Our pop-top Toyota had a rail around the top opening. I used this ball clamp to mount one of my my cameras. Sandbags were also available. Nice thing about the clamp was I could keep it pointed at my subject w/o worry it would fall while scanning the area with binoculars or using another camera.

Often we were very close to wildlife - especially lions. Leopards were another story - very wary of us/vehicles and hence the need for a good telephoto lens.

Coordination with your fellow travelers is important. No one wants others jumping around in the vehicle while they are trying to take photos, especially with long lenses.

If you are in an open vehicle, a monopod (one axis) or a small-ish bipod (two axis) can be of great help in steadying your camera.

Binoculars - have them. Sometimes your tour company will have some in your vehicle. We took our own - Leupold 10x50 (mine) and 8x42 (wife's). Clean every night. Nice thing about having your own - you don't have to share.

And, you probably already know this, when photographing wildlife, focus on the eyes.

I have a close relative in Nairobi at this (April 21st) moment, also on a missionary trip. She and her husband are visiting missionaries that their sending church supports throughout the interior of Africa. This is not her first trip. She has shared some amazing stories of the changed lives because of the truths of the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. We (in the USA) have a tremendous tolerance of christianity (for at least a little while longer). There are christian churches on practically every street. It simply is not that way in most places of the world.

Bump - update to original post