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Back from Safari with M Reichmann and A Biggs

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erik Grossman
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Andy,

My comments were not intended to inflame any one, specially not you, if you read my lines again. I was there and stayed at the same hotels chain and had the same facility. I KNOW WHAT SHOULD COST. As I said, I see why YOU should be there and paid for, but why Reichman?
Andy Biggs said:
Anyway, Baruth, I understand your cost comments, but I think they
are laced with a tad too much of cynicism. Let me set some things
straight. There is a difference between setting up your own trip,
and going on a workshop trip. Vastly different goals and costs
associated. If you look at other people who are running African
safari photo workshops, you will notice that my trips are actually
near the bottom of that price range. And this trip was actually
$5500, not $6500. I also paid for all alcoholic drinks as well. As
far as 'taking advantage' of my 15 travelers, that comment is way
out of line. I hesitated posting in this thread, but this comment
leaves me speechless.

Buzz off and shut up.
baruth said:
Erik Grossman said:
Stephen Jones said:
Erik Grossman said:
Had a fantastic time in Tanzania with Michael and Andy and made a
bunch of new friends. Took a long a 1D and 10D, together with
17-40L, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 300L/4 IS, 1.4X and 2X extenders.

My gallery from the trip is at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
So many great photos, but my Favourite ,I like the break of day
over ther crater

Hate to be rude . How may days? Cost?
Click to expand...
--
More photos at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
baruth
Click to expand...
--
Andy Biggs
http://www.safariphototours.com
http://www.andybiggs.com
Africa Photo Workshops ~ Photo Safaris ~ Fine Art Prints
Click to expand...
--
baruth
 
baruth said:
They were wonderful pictures. You yourself did it. Not to be rude,
but I wonder why you have to tag along both Bigg and Reichman and
pay for them? I post here so that other know they don't need to
pay that :
I and my wife had 17 days in Kenya and Tanzania. We had one vehicle
and a driver all for two of us. Yes only two of us in one safari
vehicle! We stayed in Serena(one of the best) all the time. The
cost? not even half much!
Click to expand...
Baruth

Unfortunately Africa is not cheap any more - ask me, I live there :-) - especially if you stay in lodges and hotels. Add to that specialist guidance which counts for a lot. You can go it alone, like you and your wife did, and might be lucky with the wildlife and scenery, but most people will waste a lot of time because they simply don't know where the best photo spots are, or get saddled with a bus full of tourists that needs to cover as much ground in as short a time as possible. I was in northern Botswana recently, and tell you what - if I did not know my way around, you end up in the same touristy spots as everyone else - the last thing a photographer wants to do.
(No DSLR, but results of my recent attempt are here:
http://www.zulpa.co.za/thys/Theme/Chobe/FrameSet.htm )
 
I especially like the one of the three cheetahs in your "best of" gallery. I am jealous not only of your equipment and abilities but your opportunity to go on what looked like an amazing safari. Thanks for sharing.

Joe
Erik Grossman said:
Had a fantastic time in Tanzania with Michael and Andy and made a
bunch of new friends. Took a long a 1D and 10D, together with
17-40L, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 300L/4 IS, 1.4X and 2X extenders.

My gallery from the trip is at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/joeschmoe
 
Erik Grossman said:
Had a fantastic time in Tanzania with Michael and Andy and made a
bunch of new friends. Took a long a 1D and 10D, together with
17-40L, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 300L/4 IS, 1.4X and 2X extenders.

My gallery from the trip is at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
Erik,

Great images. A question on lenses for you. If you had it to do again, would you take a longer lens than the 300/4 - say a 400mm, 500mm or 600mm, or at least recommend taking a longer one to others?

Also, how did you shoot from the land rovers - window mount, bean bag, etc?

Which camera body got the most workout?

thanks in advance,

Jim
 
"In Tanzania you can't leave the road and you can't exit the vehicles."
Unless you are a poacher!
Erik Grossman said:
I really don't think the tours domesticated them (certainly wasn't
the case with any other animal). In Tanzania you can't leave the
road and you can't exit the vehicles.

I just think it happens to be the "nature of the beast"!
DavidP said:
If you were to be walking "in the wild" where VERY few humans had
ever been, I wonder if they'd react the same?

They're just about my favorite animal.



Did you get any opportunities to try to get pictures of them while
they were sprinting?
Erik Grossman said:
On a serious note, they are not tame, just not scared of humans
(they jumped onto the hood of one of the jeeps and peered throught
the glass!). They pant like dogs. Apparently, the Egyptians
domesticated them as pets.
Click to expand...
--
http://www.outboundmusic.com
Your link to independent music!
Click to expand...
--
More photos at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
JWP
 
If I had to do it again I would take the 300 2.8 IS (which I don't own... I tried Andy's), no question. The best photos were taken in the Serengeti, where I rarely shot longer than 300mm except for flamingos and the leopard shots. In the NgoroNgoro crater, Manyara Park and Arusha I was constantly held back and forced to use the 2x extender. On the 300/2.8 it doesn't suffer as badly with the 2x.

Ironically, I ended up using the 10D a lot on the trip (I bought it for the trip). I used the 1D for the action shots (like flamingos). In the end I felt the best tool for the job was the 1D... the 10D buffer would fill up too quickly and I found myself waiting (and waiting) for the buffer to empty (5 minutes at times). The ultimate solution is 2 1Ds or 2Ds on the trip. The 1Ds suffers from the same buffer problem as the 10D (according to Reichmann).

On my site you can tell which camera shot what by the image name. The 10D starts with CRW, the rest are 1D shots. If you click on the properties link on the upper right hand corner it will tell you what the focal lenth was, ie. 300mm or 420mm.
Jim Trunck said:
Erik,

Great images. A question on lenses for you. If you had it to do
again, would you take a longer lens than the 300/4 - say a 400mm,
500mm or 600mm, or at least recommend taking a longer one to others?

Also, how did you shoot from the land rovers - window mount, bean
bag, etc?

Which camera body got the most workout?

thanks in advance,

Jim
Click to expand...
--
More photos at http://photos.grossman.biz
 
and hope you didn't take any offense Erik as none was meant.

billtoo
billtoo said:
Sorry Erik, your composition is great and I'd love to have been
with you even without a camera (you actually enjoy yourself more
without one).

billtoo
Erik Grossman said:
Had a fantastic time in Tanzania with Michael and Andy and made a
bunch of new friends. Took a long a 1D and 10D, together with
17-40L, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 300L/4 IS, 1.4X and 2X extenders.

My gallery from the trip is at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
billtoo
http://www.pbase.com/billtoo
Click to expand...
--
billtoo
http://www.pbase.com/billtoo
 
Given that you were doing a lot of shooting with the 10D and 300mm, it would seem that those wanting a bit extra reach from a 1D might want to take the 400/4 DO instead of the 300/2.8

I'd probably end up with the 70-200/2.8 on one body, and either the 300/2.8 or 400/4 on the other.

Maybe I'd have to get a THIRD body, and take the 70-200/2.8, 300/2.8, and 500/4. ;)

Not sure if I'd take the 24-70/2.8 or 16-35/2.8 with me or not. Might actually use the S400 for those kinds of shots. I'm just not that much of a wide-angle kinda guy, I guess.

--
http://www.outboundmusic.com
Your link to independent music!
 
I've been in that area several times and lived in South Africa for a few years and you can do it much cheaper with tours BUT you can end up with vehicles which are not conducive to shooting and the number of people in the vehicle is crucial - even if you are just viewing and not shooting. You have to keep in mind that the vehicle will only have one side facing the selected game at any one time and if you've got four people all trying to shoot in that direction it's a problem. And asking some little old lady from

Debuke, Iowa what lens setting she is using will probably bring a slightly different response..

billtoo
Erik Grossman said:
This was a workshop organized by Reichmann and Biggs. Not only did
I find the help and advice from the two of them to be invaluable,
but they organized a group of people that were fun to be around and
made the whole experience a great deal of fun. We stayed
exclusively at Serena hotels (the best in East Africa) during our
stay as well. We could have saved money by using fewer vehicles
and guides but they kept the number of photographers down to 2 or 3
per vehicle (depending on whether it was a stretch Land Rover)
which made photographing much easier. All food & beverage was also
included.

No regrets here.

Erik
baruth said:
Erik Grossman said:
Stephen Jones said:
Erik Grossman said:
Had a fantastic time in Tanzania with Michael and Andy and made a
bunch of new friends. Took a long a 1D and 10D, together with
17-40L, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 300L/4 IS, 1.4X and 2X extenders.

My gallery from the trip is at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
So many great photos, but my Favourite ,I like the break of day
over ther crater

Hate to be rude . How may days? Cost?
Click to expand...
--
More photos at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
baruth
Click to expand...
--
More photos at http://photos.grossman.biz
Click to expand...
--
billtoo
http://www.pbase.com/billtoo
 
David

A 3rd body would be ideal. A 400DO would be a great lens in Tanzania. I personally would choose a 300/2.8 IS because it works so well with teleconverters with minimal loss of quality. Additionally, in the Serengeti, as I have said earlier, I rarely shot longer than 300mm. With 3 bodies I would have a 10D with a 16-36, a 1D with a 70-200 and a 1D with a 300mm or 400DO.

My 2 cents.

Erik
DavidP said:
Given that you were doing a lot of shooting with the 10D and 300mm,
it would seem that those wanting a bit extra reach from a 1D might
want to take the 400/4 DO instead of the 300/2.8

I'd probably end up with the 70-200/2.8 on one body, and either the
300/2.8 or 400/4 on the other.

Maybe I'd have to get a THIRD body, and take the 70-200/2.8,
300/2.8, and 500/4. ;)

Not sure if I'd take the 24-70/2.8 or 16-35/2.8 with me or not.
Might actually use the S400 for those kinds of shots. I'm just
not that much of a wide-angle kinda guy, I guess.

--
http://www.outboundmusic.com
Your link to independent music!
Click to expand...
--
More photos at http://photos.grossman.biz
 
I had the 70-200 with me as well.......

plus a 28-70 and a 14mm . . . .

What I was lacking was a third body (second for me) as when the action got close, on occassion, I was scrambling to make lens changes....

lol
Erik Grossman said:
Lecter said:
I took a 400/2.8 and 600/4 . . .

which were too short...

had to use the 2x . . . .
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
-------------------------------------
Off Topic ? ? ? Tell someone who cares.
Get a life!
 
I didn't do it myself. We just booked the trip directly without middle man. We had a local guide/driver like most people do, just like the trip with Andy Biggs. I don't know if you are allowed to drive without local guide. they are very strict. If these guides do some thing wrong, they would banned from the parks. So they go the books.

We stayed in the same luxury hotels( Serena) with all the same restaurant food. Any one can do it buy booking directly with Serena hotels, They include lodging+food+game drive. The only thing we didn't have was a photographer/guide from the US. But we had a car all for ourselves. Of course I knew to take pix. We paid $6500.00 for two of us, 17 days and it gets better: we had to pay only 10% down, the balance paid when we arrived in Nairoby. If you book in US, most tour operator insist you pay in full 3 months ahead. Our trip was in 2002.
Thys said:
baruth said:
They were wonderful pictures. You yourself did it. Not to be rude,
but I wonder why you have to tag along both Bigg and Reichman and
pay for them? I post here so that other know they don't need to
pay that :
I and my wife had 17 days in Kenya and Tanzania. We had one vehicle
and a driver all for two of us. Yes only two of us in one safari
vehicle! We stayed in Serena(one of the best) all the time. The
cost? not even half much!
Click to expand...
Baruth
Unfortunately Africa is not cheap any more - ask me, I live there
:-) - especially if you stay in lodges and hotels. Add to that
specialist guidance which counts for a lot. You can go it alone,
like you and your wife did, and might be lucky with the wildlife
and scenery, but most people will waste a lot of time because they
simply don't know where the best photo spots are, or get saddled
with a bus full of tourists that needs to cover as much ground in
as short a time as possible. I was in northern Botswana recently,
and tell you what - if I did not know my way around, you end up in
the same touristy spots as everyone else - the last thing a
photographer wants to do.
(No DSLR, but results of my recent attempt are here:
http://www.zulpa.co.za/thys/Theme/Chobe/FrameSet.htm )
Click to expand...
--
baruth
 
Erik,

Thanks for the note on the Parks.

It should be noted that Private Parks will give you more Animals (as the rangers know exactly where to look), Comfortable surroundings, meals, lodgings and transport.

If you go it alone to somewhere like say Kruger, you'll see all the animals, but probably not as close. Plus depending on the time of the year sightings can vary.

We're doing another trip this year and we will cap it off at a Private Reserve (for some R&R and great Photos)

Great thread Erik!!

Rob

--
-------------------------------------
Off Topic ? ? ? Tell someone who cares.
Get a life!
 
I have no idea how much prices have down up (or down) in the last 2 years, but that could be a big factor that isn't being accounted for.

But, it's true that when you bring along somebody like Andy or Reichmann, you're paying for that. Typically, they're going for free (perhaps even making some money?), and that's being paid for by the people on the tour.

Whether it's worth the extra expense or not is another thing entirely.

Personally, I'd love to set something like that up (like you did it, just the local guide) with a few close friends, and perhaps take our "significant others" to help hold down all our stuff. Hehe.

Of course, step one would be to get a passport. ;)
baruth said:
Our trip was in 2002.
Click to expand...
--
http://www.outboundmusic.com
Your link to independent music!
 
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