Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya



Photo 1 (above): Lions playing before the evening hunt, Masai Mara, Kenya. Canon EOS 1Ds mark III, EF 500mm f/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor

We departed from Masai Mara National Reserve this morning after several days of shooting in the park. To say that it was awesome is an understatement. There were lions and giraffes and hippos and wildebeast and so much more!! If you dream of photographing wildlife in plentiful quantities, of many species, and very close, then book yourself a trip to Kenya right now and go to the Mara.

There are three of us photographing together - myself, Craig Blair aka "the Canon Rumors guy" and friend Mike Gaudaur who lives in Kenya and is most generously hosting us. In the Mara you have to stay in your vehicle (there are lions to eat you and cape buffalo to charge you), so we had Mike's Toyota Prado SUV jam packed with camera gear.... there were big lenses bouncing all over on the bumpy roads.


Photo 2 (above): Lions relaxing before the evening hunt, Masai Mara, Kenya. Canon EOS 1Ds mark III, EF 500mm f/4 lens & 2x teleconvertor. We saw lions every day in the Mara; I likely have hundreds of photos of them to edit.


Photo 3 (above): Vervet Monkey, Masai Mara, Kenya. Canon EOS 1Ds mark III, EF 500mm f/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor. We ate a boxed lunch at the Mara River after photographing hippos for a couple of hours. A group of Vervet Monkeys quickly swarmed us and picked through the remains of our lunch boxes.


Photo 4 (above): Caracal, Masai Mara, Kenya. Canon EOS 1Ds mark III, EF 500mm f/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor. We lucked into this cat, an elusive and rarely seen species. We each managed to fire a handful of photos before it took off to start hunting for the evening.


Photo 5 (above): Giraffe and Zebra, Masai Mara, Kenya. Canon EOS 1Ds mark III, EF 500mm f/4 lens & 1.4x teleconvertor. The Mara has magnificent vistas of the African savannah ecosystem, all the better when there are animals posing in the frame!