Canoe Break, Lower Zambezi

 Africa, Travel, Zambia, Zimbabwe  1 Response »
May 092012
 

I like this photo a lot. It’s not often I’ll open a post like that. The thing is, I’m not sure if it’s that this is that good a photo or if it’s more to do with the memory associated with it. We stopped here for our first lunch on the Lower Zambezi. This is actually on the Zimbabwe side of the river and is the first of two times I’ve set foot in the country (both within a day of each other). You can see where we actually set foot in Zimbabwe for the first time, down by where the canoes are beached. We’d spent about two hours paddling to reach this spot and it was pretty nerve-wracking. We weren’t used to the canoes and were still pretty paranoid about wild animals. It’s funny comparing those first couple hours with the next few days where we became perfectly comfortable floating down the river… for the most part.

When I took this, HDR was still quite new to me (I guess it still is) and I was fascinated with the textures I was able to portray. When I saw this tree I knew that I had to photograph it’s old wrinkled and cracked bark. I also liked the idea of capturing the canoes on the shoreline through the trees, which would be difficult with more traditional photography methods. After eating lunch everyone took a snooze. I thought this was interesting as we were completely exposed to any wild animals that should decide to stroll past. I became numb to this threat over the next five days, except for a couple of moments when I wasn’t in sight of the rest of the group (bathroom breaks mostly).

As the group snored around me,  which I decided was a natural wildlife deterrent, I set about taking the following photo, which I must have tried to process twenty times before. I hope you like it.

Old tree with cracked wrinkled bark and five blue canoes on the shoreline on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe.

 

 

Lower Zambezi Fire

 Africa, Travel, Zambia, Zimbabwe  1 Response »
Apr 232012
 

Mornings on the Zambezi

I’ve posted photos from my canoe safari down the Lower Zambezi before (you can click “Zambia” in the categories to the right to see them). Inspiration for this particular adventure came to me a while back in National Geographic’s Journey’s of a Lifetime. It outlines 500 of the world’s greatest trips and is one of my travel bibles. Out of these 500 journeys, this one stuck out in my mind. My desire to take this trip was cemented when I bought what would become another of my favorite travel references, Ultimate Adventures from Rough Guides, and I found the Lower Zambezi canoe safari in there as well.

Both books summarize the sights you’ll see as you drift down the river including elephants, numerous hippos, and crocodiles that slowly disappear from view. Both books also mention how you’ll be able to silently approach the wildlife in your canoe, getting much closer than otherwise possible. On our trip, we managed to sneak up on a skittish warthog without scaring it away and pass within spraying distance of a sizable herd of wallowing elephants. We even managed to see a pack of wild dogs, a very rare sighting.

What neither book tells you about, however, is the incredible feeling of waking up on the shores of the Zambezi River. This feeling may be partly down to the elation felt after surviving the night surrounded by wild animals. It may just be because it means getting to leave the confines of your tent, or that breakfast is on the way. I think for me, that incredible feeling was fueled by waking up to sunrises like the one below. Everything feels perfectly still, the river slides smoothly by, while a fiery light show spreads from the horizon.

Lower Zambezi Fire

I have to question whether I can call this an HDR photo. I went through the usual process and combined 7 exposures, but then I masked out large amounts of detail to create silhouettes in front of the sunrise. I felt that so much detail on the bank directly in front of the sunrise was too distracting. However, I did maintain detail pulled out to the left and right of the photo. This would not have been possible without the HDR process. What do you think? Can I call this HDR? Let me know in the comments section.

Fiery sunrise with land and trees in silhouette reflected in the Lower Zambezi River in Zambia

Operation: Horseshoe Bay Postcard

I mentioned yesterday that I’d be going down to Horseshoe Bay, for sunrise, everyday this week, to take the standard photo from on top of the rock at the West end of the beach. I figure if I research the conditions and go down everyday I’ll get better at predicting the best locations and times to shoot wherever I go. Naturally, this is a useful skill when exploring new places with minimal time. Admittedly, this isn’t the most creative shot, but there’s a reason why so many people endeavor to capture it. It’s a good view.

My decision to head down there was initially inspired by a new tool I’ve discovered, called “The Photographer’s Ephemeris“. This tool allows you to predict where on the horizon the sun will rise relative to your position. At the moment I’m testing it out using the free desktop version, but I can already see that I’ll likely be getting the app for iPad so I can keep track of the sun in Iceland.

As you can see in the screenshot below, at the moment, if you stand on the rock at Horseshoe, the sun will rise just at the end of the point at the very end of the beach. I thought this would make for a nice composition.

So, at 5:40 this morning I woke up completely confused as to why my alarm was going off as it was still dark. I was even more confused when I looked and saw the time. Then I remembered the plan. I looked outside and couldn’t see any clouds and figured it was completely overcast. I nearly went back to bed, but decided I should at least check it out to see if the Photographers Ephemeris had gotten the position right.

Upon arrival at horseshoe things actually looked promising. There was still a half hour until sunrise and already color was breaking through the clouds. But then, after scampering up the rocks I realized just how windy it was. 20 knot winds felt pretty intense up there. Looking across the beach I saw a crack in the clouds that I thought might allow the colours of the sunrise to escape and light up the sheet covering the beach. Sure enough, this is what happened. It was pretty spectacular, but short. This intense colouring only lasted for a few minutes and then faded drastically. Unfortunately, it was so windy that the photos I fired off are all blurry. I knew they would be, I could see the camera vibrating with the shutter open. Even so, I learned a few points from this misadventure:

  1. Overcast skies aren’t an excuse to go back to bed, or not shoot. The sunrise actually provided a brilliant backdrop for the beach, even if the light on the sand was a bit flat.
  2. Sunrise time and location are not the only variables to take into account. Weather matters, a lot, especially the wind if shooting long exposures. Looking at WindGuru (a site I use a lot when looking for good wakeboarding weather) it looks like the next few mornings will be better than today, but still a bit hit and miss. I may have to extend this project another week to get the results I want.
  3. I’m in the habit of leaving my lens hood on no matter what. I’ve never found a reason not to, at the very least it helps protect my lens. While trying to still the camera in the wind I realized the hood was acting like a sail. When I took it off the shaking calmed down drastically. By the time I did this the colour had dropped down. I should have taken a set of photos to see if this was enough to get sharp photos… but I didn’t.
  4. On a positive note, the Photographers Ephemeris was really accurate and the sun rose right where I’d pictured it would. It does look like it will make for a good composition, so worth going down over the next few days.

At the moment it looks like the wind will be between 15 and 12 knots, which should be easier to work with. Unfortunately, the weather men are predicting lightening storms. I’ll still head down to check it out. At the very least I may get to capture some lightning off the beach. I sure as hell won’t be doing it from on top of the highest rock around though. At the moment, I’m predicting getting the shot I’m after on Thursday. The wind should be low enough, and the weather predicted is partly cloudy.

 

An Elephant Built for Two (or three)

 Africa, Animals, Travel, Zambia  2 Responses »
Apr 132012
 

In a previous post (Dip on a Rebel Elephant) I wrote about how Soniko and Chris’s elephant was a bit of a rebel. Here, early in the trip, you can see it stopping for an unplanned snack. I feel I should mention that Soniko and Chris didn’t plan on getting so cozy atop a munching herbivore. When the elephants were being assigned, there were three available for single riders. A man there with his two daughter’s jumped at the opportunity, quickly followed by Soniko and Chris. Unfortunately, one of the elephants decided that it didn’t feel like going for a walk so was left behind, putting Chris and Soniko on the worst behaved elephant they had. Sharing was probably a good thing, at least they could share some of the trauma they went through. This included charging through thorn bushes, swimming through crocodile infested water, and regular breaking into a trot as the handler tried to slow it down. All the while, they must have heard the sound of Shannon and I laughing off in the distance. All summed up though, they definitely had the most adventure.

Soniko had a knack for finding himself in the most exciting situations. It was interesting because, as he readily admits, he was the person in the group least interested in the more adrenaline filled aspects. Despite this, he got to sit closest to the open doors of a Huey Helicopter, in Cape Town, for a simulated combat ride. He was first to get thrown from our raft on the rapids of the Middle Zambezi. He was even the first to get involved in a staring match with an agitated silver-back gorilla in Rwanda (until he snuck behind Cameron as evidenced by this video… watch the navy blue legs move behind the khaki ones). That being said, he survived it all and definitely seemed to enjoy himself.

I’ve mentioned before that it’s not easy shooting while straddling a lumbering elephant. My three exposures for this shot weren’t even close to being lined up. As a result, this is an HDR image from a single RAW.

Three men sitting atop a large elephant as he takes a detour to eat from a tasty tree in Zambia.

Batoka Gorge, Victoria Falls

 Africa, Travel, Waterfall, Zambia, Zimbabwe  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 

During the wet season water cascades over these cliffs. During the dry season you get to walk along them. It’s amazing how the water carves this chasm in the landscape. While down in the gorge rafting I felt like we were surrounded by mountains. As a result, when I went micro-lighting a couple of days later I was shocked to see just how flat the landscape is. It’s completely flat, all the way to the horizon, but for this fissure gouged out of the Earth’s surface. Also shocking is the zig-zag shape of the gorge as the waterfall has cut back on itself, forever retreating, the old face of the waterfall being left dry as a new face evolves.

I shot 7 exposures bracketed from -3 to +3 but decided that the two extremes were not adding any detail so I only used 5 exposures, bracketed from -2 to +2. After running the exposures through Photomatix I actually masked in a lot of the original photos to keep the shadows looking natural. I really like the details that have come out in the turbulent water below. You can get a closer look by clicking the image and selecting a larger size.

View of Batoka Gorge, Zambia with a rainbow between the gorge above the flowing river.

Now Push This Button.

 Africa, People, Travel, Zambia  3 Responses »
Mar 162012
 

Normally I wouldn’t include people posing for a picture in one of my shots. But, as I mentioned in a previous post, taking photos of the kids in this village was great fun! Here you can see my travel companion Chris posing for a picture as Shannon teaches a couple of the kids how to use her camera. The sky was striking and I liked the opportunity to catch a picture of the kids having fun without actually having them pose for me!

This photo is only bracketed from -1 to +1. I had to shoot handheld because if I’d set up the tripod the kids would have flocked long before I was ready to take a shot. I also needed to use a small aperture to get the whole scene in focus. If I’d gone to +2 I never would have been able to get a sharp image.

We’d brought clothes to give as a gift and as thanks for allowing us to visit. We didn’t know that we were going to be visiting this village and had actually packed very light for the safari. It was a shame as Shannon had been carrying a lot of stuff to give away the whole trip (this eventually found a home in a Rwandan orphanage). Everyone managed to pull something out, including Soniko who offered up a brand new world cup rugby jersey. But, Soniko wanted to give this to someone personally and eventually gave it to the older kid in the blue sitting down in the middle of this picture. Being selected for Soniko’s prize possession made his day and he beamed a huge smile as he received the jersey.

Village with round straw huts in Rwanda with groups of local children posing for a photo while others learn to use the camera, under a beautiful blue sky with clouds.

Lower Zambezi Canoe Safari

 Africa, Travel, Zambia  No Responses »
Mar 102012
 

One of my travel mates on our recent trip to Africa, Cameron, is in the back of this canoe. In the front is George. We met him in our hostel in Livingstone and he decided to join us on the Lower Zambezi. He had just finished living in a village teaching a sports program at the local school.

Two men drifting in a blue canoe on safari on the Lower Zambezi in Zambia with a dramatic sky above.

Zambezi Jewel

 Africa, Travel, Zambia, Zimbabwe  1 Response »
Mar 062012
 

Waking up before sunrise is pretty easy when you’re sleeping in a mesh tent surrounded by the sounds of wild animals through the night. Light moving across the flat landscape was a welcome sign.

“You’ll hear animals through the night. They’re going to sound very close, but sound travels a long way here.”

That was the last thing our guide said to us before the group separated into their respective tents. It had been raining, a hard rain as reported in an earlier post, so our fly sheets were on. They were heavy with an almost rubbery feel. It didn’t take long until people emerged in the darkness, flashlights in hand, to remove the stifling material. The fear of another downpour led to discussions on whether to leave it on, leave them half on or take them completely off. My tent mate and I settled on taking it all the way off, but laying it down carefully so it could be pulled up rapidly if need be.

Following this we turned to the darkness. A quick waft of the flashlight revealed a disturbing number of glinting eyes – presumably hippos. Hippos that were already on land and probably only 50 meters from us – they looked back, not moving. I guess they were content to munch away on the long grass surrounding us. With this revelation we returned to our tents. Now, nothing but a thin mesh separated us from the elements, and the wild animals. To be honest, this is exactly what I was after. Why sleep in the bush if you’re just going to lock yourself away? Also, it was much cooler this way.

Just as I dozed off to sleep I was startled by the trumpeting of an elephant. It sounded like it had to be on the same island as us but I repeated the mantra “they sound closer than they are” and drifted off to sleep. I was woken regularly through the night by every noise you feel like a night in the African bush should provide. I heard hyenas, lions, more elephant trumpets, and hippos grunting. This was always punctuated by an eerie silence that you knew would be broken at any moment.

My tent-mate, however, was fortunate enough to be awake for our closest encounter. Having been on an elephant back safari just days before he was finely tuned to recognize the sound of elephant dung hitting the ground. He woke up to feel the ground moving and quickly recognized the thudding. It didn’t take long for him to conclude that an elephant was crapping right next to our tent. I asked if he’d turned on his light to take a look, but the closeness rendered him incapable of moving.

We awoke to a red sky, having survived the night, and exchanged the stories of sounds I’ve just recanted here. Then we hopped out to check the area. Sure enough, there was fresh dung right next to our tent.

Following this discovery I set about capturing the sun rise. I’ve got a lot of photos of this scene from the night before. I’m not happy with any of them. This morning, I took only one photo of this scene, and I’m thrilled by it. I find that I’m always happiest with photos I’ve had to wait to take. For this one, I identified where I thought that sun would be coming up, framed up the picture and waited. I waited for quite a while and the sky was pretty blue all the way across. I began to wonder if I’d misjudged the location of the sunrise and somehow missed it. Then the glow intensified and I knew it was about to peak over the horizon. 7 exposures later and I was packing up my gear.

Glorious star-burst sunrise peeking over the horizon on the Zambezi River in Zambia.

 

The Empty Chair

 Africa, Travel, Zambia  1 Response »
Mar 032012
 

After the sun sets, beginning your first evening on the banks of the lower Zambezi things get a little eerie.  You can see the bugs swirling in the light in front of you, and beyond you peer into the darkness that’s fallen over the still river. As you sit there, the silence is cut by the grunting of nearby hippos and your fellow guests tell you about the lions they saw just down the river.

We were staying in fancy en-suite tents for the night. Ours was right next to a haul-out area that was regularly used by hippos to get to land. The thought of encountering a hippo in the dark on our own was pretty terrifying. We walked everywhere with our flashlights and the one time I went to the tent and back on my own was pretty nerve-racking. It’s funny considering we were comfortable enough to steer our canoes directly at the giant beasts, confident that they’d move out of our way, just a few days later.

I’m not sure what inspired me to take this photo, but I think it’s pretty cool. It was pretty tricky to take as the deck wasn’t very stable too.  Every time people move the whole deck shook, ruining that frame.

Empty chair and table on the deck in the black of night lit by a lantern overlooking the Zambezi River in Zambia

Lower Zambezi Huts

 Africa, Travel, Zambia  No Responses »
Feb 292012
 

On our way to visit this village we saw the mud bricks used to build this structure baking in the sun. We went inside one for a demonstration on how grain is ground into flour. They’re actually a very clever design. The wall around the perimeter does not meet the thatched roof allowing for the breeze to roll through. This cools the inside while allowing any smoke produced in cooking to be quickly ventilated. The doorway was tiny and involved a bit of a contortion to get through.

Two round huts in a Lower Zambezi, Zambia village with thatched roofs with one with baked mud brick sides and the other stick sides.

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