Tuesday, December 07, 2010

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!

7 comments:

  1. Wow! just stunning!!!! Love the last one .....can't wait to see more!!!!!

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  2. Great work Ethan and of course an experience of a lifetime.

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  3. You must be having a grand time Ethan. I love this shot of the Giraffes and Zebra. For me, including the landscape 'speaks' Africa. The close-ups of the lions, apes, etc. are great to have, but this is simply more!

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  4. Thanks for the comments!
    Mike, you're bang on about that.... I really like the context of the landscape!!
    cheers,
    Ethan

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  5. You captured beautiful moments!
    Nice shots, all of them.
    Best regards

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  6. Dave Gignac9:16 AM

    Hey Ethan!!!!! Great photos as usual, and just wanted to let you know how jealous i am of your weather conditions there!!!!! My glove froze to my tripod this morning while taking photos of a nice twelve point buck in subzero weather!!!! Enjoy your warmth and keep up the great work!!! Dave Gignac

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  7. Thank you very much for your wonderful

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