Photo Safaris in Kenya (page 3 of 18)

No worries Muriel, I’ll share them at the end of the travel journal 😊😊😊

The problem is that animals rarely come within 5 meters of us to get their picture taken Laugh

Unfortunately! 🙁

It reminds me that I’ll need to invest in a lens for my trip to Tanzania (or Kenya, who knows...)

le Simba Cottage

It looks totally fine. 🙂

Why lug around so many kilos of camera gear when a good smartphone is enough (just teasing ;))

You're right, it's the photographer who makes the photo ;) But here, the gear is there to serve the photographer's talent.

The problem is that animals rarely come within 5 meters of us to get their picture taken Laugh

Unfortunately! :(

It reminds me that I’ll need to invest in a lens for my trip to Tanzania (or Kenya, who knows...)

Ah! Photographing animals in their environment isn’t the easiest... proximity is very rare, the wait is often long, and the gear is big and heavy but what made us want to do wildlife photography?

Simba Cottage

It looks totally fine. :)

Yeah, honestly, having been there twice, it’s perfect :) I mention in my review that it’s not brand new, so don’t expect lodge-level quality, but personally, that’s not what I’m looking for ;)

Why lug around so many kilos of photography gear when a good smartphone is enough (just teasing [;])

You're right, it's the photographer who makes the photo 😉 But here, the gear is at the service of the photographer's talent.

Thanks Kate for your comment, that's sweet Actually, I have a friend who has a bridge camera and takes amazing photos because she has the eye. However, she doesn’t photograph animals—she mainly does urban photography, which requires less gear investment.

Ah! Photographing animals in their environment isn’t the easiest... proximity is very rare, the wait is often very long, and the gear is big and heavy but what a crazy idea to want to do wildlife photography!

What would you say if you’d joined Vincent Munier tracking the snow leopard across the Tibetan plateaus, waiting for days on end in the snow and cold, motionless and silent? 😉

The Snow Leopard

Oh! Photographing animals in their environment isn't the easiest... proximity is very rare, the wait is often very long, and the gear is big and heavy but what a crazy idea to want to do wildlife photography?

And what would you say if you had joined Vincent Munier tracking the snow leopard in the Tibetan plateaus, waiting for entire days in the snow and cold, motionless and silent? 😉

The Snow Leopard

Not even a thought for me... I can't handle the cold 🏴‍☠️ I saw the film *The Snow Leopard* and recently the documentary by Frédéric and Olivier Larrey on the same topic. Really, I'm in awe—the cold, the altitude, the wait for just a few moments with this magnificent feline. The wait doesn’t bother me that much, actually. Recently, I spent 5 days staking out lynxes for 11 hours a day, totaling about 15 minutes with them, and honestly, when they’re right in front of us, you forget everything and just snap away 🙂

Today, I took these with my iPhone 15… I won’t tell you (yet, even though some of you know 😉 ) where this is or the name of the bird… But anyway, this is Isa’s travel journal, not the photo contest section, so let’s get back to the topic—well, the savanna animals, that is

Yes, your "over-there" magpie is gorgeous 🙂, the iPhone is amazing... I’m gonna challenge you—take a photo of that bird for me, it doesn’t seem too skittish, in flight at 15–20 m from you 😉

Yeah, your magpie "from over there" is gorgeous 🙂, the iPhone is amazing... I challenge you—get me a shot of that bird, which doesn’t seem too skittish, in flight at 15–20 meters from you [;)

And that’s when the mediocre photographer I am only had this to offer 🙁 Oh, if only I’d brought my DSLR…😉



PS: It’s true, it wasn’t skittish at all…

Isabelle, I'm excited to join in! A double safari journal sounds amazing, especially after such a tease!!

Yes, your magpie "from over there" is gorgeous 🙂, the iPhone is amazing... I'm going to challenge you—take a photo of that bird, which doesn’t seem too skittish, in flight at 15–20 meters from you [;)

And that’s when the mediocre photographer I am only had this to offer 🙁 Oh, if only I’d brought my DSLR …😉



PS: It’s true, it wasn’t skittish at all …

Alright … I’ll let you off this time, but you can do better next time 😄😄😄

Isabelle, I'm on board with pleasure! A double safari journal, that sounds amazing, especially after such a tease!!

Yes, Guillaume is coming too… I was thinking, he doesn’t want to come to Africa anymore 😄

Amboseli

Every morning, the routine is the same: an early wake-up while it's still pitch dark, a good breakfast to keep us going until early afternoon for lunch, and making sure we don’t forget anything... Full camera bags, cameras, lenses, charged batteries, cleared memory cards 🙂.

It’s 5:30 AM, we’re alone on the trails, and it feels like the sun is rising just for us. Sunrises in Africa are truly stunning—here’s a sample from Amboseli National Park during our two trips.



A morning encounter with this young lion—he passes right by us.



Amboseli National Park is located on the border with Tanzania, and it’s from here that you get the best view of Kilimanjaro. Of course, we’re all chasing that iconic shot: elephants with Kilimanjaro in the background. But the mountain is often shrouded in mist, and we had to wait until the last morning of our first trip to see it. Luck was on our side the second time around.



Amboseli is also known for its lake, which covers nearly a quarter of the park, but most of the time, it’s dry. We were lucky—both times we visited, there was water. The animals have something to drink, which is the most important thing, but it also makes for beautiful reflections.

The marshes are quite prominent around the lake, and we encounter many elephants there feasting on the lush grass. The young calves struggle to move through it all.



When they’re too close or the lens is too long, I capture portraits and details.



The hippos are in heaven—one even came to graze by the roadside. The sound they make while eating is pretty impressive.



It’s also in Amboseli where you find the Tuskers, very old elephants whose tusks nearly drag on the ground. An elephant’s tusks must weigh over 45 kg each to be registered as a Tusker. The most iconic ones, like Craig (born in 1972), are protected, but they can still be killed. At the end of April 2022, Tolstoy, a 51-year-old Tusker, died after being struck by a poisoned arrow 🏴‍☠️. https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news/updates/farewell-tolstoy?fbclid=IwAR3dp8a9rEOSYj35PFaMMIJpFA28eIJM9qDBl7oQEgrTKQxKOpi5VLd8rS8&trk=public_post_comment-text

In fact, Maasai farmers bring their herds into the park.

We didn’t see any great Tuskers during our two stays, but this one is already very impressive.



Hyenas lurk, jackals carry off their prey, and lionesses hunt.



For a little anecdote, the giraffe hadn’t noticed the two lionesses lying down and walked past calmly. One pretended to chase it, while the other, closer one, didn’t even get up. The giraffe just got a good scare.

Elephants are everywhere in Amboseli—the park has over 1,800 of them.



Over those few days, we had other amazing encounters: monkeys with their young,



A lioness with two playful cubs,



Giraffes always struggling to drink, and zebras.



Amboseli is truly a little paradise for herbivores.

In this park, as in most Kenyan parks, a multitude of birds—each more beautiful than the last—mingle: African fish eagle, royal crane, jabiru, marabou, Goliath heron, to name just a few.





The spectacle is everywhere; you never get tired of the flocks of flamingos.



In 2021, just before we arrived in Kenya, a black serval had been spotted in the park. Tony had taken some amazing photos of it, and we dreamed of seeing one without really hoping to. On the second morning, luck was on our side—it was there, in the plains, hunting rodents. It was quite far away, but we were still thrilled to catch a glimpse of it.



Sunrises in Africa are gorgeous, but sunsets can be truly spectacular, like this one.

Next stop: Aberdare—check it out here

What a stunning photo festival, Isabelle! 👏😍 I’m not about to share my Kenyan travel journal after this… or maybe I’ll just post the text 😂

Photos of zebras or elephants with Kilimanjaro in the background are postcard-perfect 😇! And what a stunning series of bird photos...

What an incredible photo festival, Isabelle! 👏😍 I’m not ready to share my Kenyan travel journal after this... or maybe I’ll just stick to the text 😅

Thanks, Christelle! 😊 But that’s really not the goal here—I’m just posting a few photos to sort through them a bit 😄