Archive for the 'Photo safari' category

During a (forced) stop in one of the journeys between cities in Nepal when I recently traveled in this Himalayan country, I took a short moment to do some portraiture in the setting sun.

Copyright (c) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved	Copyright (c) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved
Copyright (c) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved	Copyright (c) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved
Copyright (c) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved	Copyright (c) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the picture

Back from a few days of photo trip to Nepal, I feel it is time to share with you some of this astonishing experience organized by Amawanda and guided by Alain Pons.

I am more or less a wildlife photographer attracted to the African wide-open spaces. But I had been attracted mostly by the presence of a seasoned pro photographer (Alain Pons) assisted by a very serious organization (I had been able to appreciate them in a previous trip to Kenya in 2008). I had also noticed that costs were relatively moderate (taking into account that this is a wildlife trip – which is often very expensive) including -we could check this later on location- a significant share reserved for local actions for development and nature protection in full coordination with the local structures and the local wildlife organizations.

The flight to Kathmandu was without surprise on Qatar, despite the long night stop in Doha airport where the only Duty Free shop cannot be considered as a commendable tourist spot (but they have a nice stock of alcohol or cigarettes for those who prefer to prepare themselves for later needs).

The Kathmandu-Bardia journey requires about 20 hours of bus or car. The stops provided in the program are a good way to break the inevitable monotony. A faster plane journey would be possible (it is included on the way back) but it would be a pity to avoid the view in the valleys and from the mountain roads out of Pokhara.

All along this journey, I will try to make a few recommendations about what a photographer might find more interesting to stop for.

(more…)

Doom 2009

So, the great FPS game will be back before the end of the year 2009. Either the launch campaign started early in Nepal or the bus drivers are using their vehicles as video game weapons (the latter would explain the extraordinarily high frequency of dramatic road accidents there).

Sometimes an image (from Nepal or elsewhere) hesitates on the better orientation to give to the photographer. Which one of these two Nepalese paddy fields would you choose?

Copyright (C) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved - Click on the thumbnail to enlarge it

Copyright (C) 2009 Yves Roumazeilles - All rights reserved - Click on the thumbnail to enlarge it

When visiting Nepal, I could take a plane trip for some sight seeing, from Kathmandu to the Mount Everest (the highest point of our world at 8848m or 29028ft).

Its Nepalese name is Sagarm�th� (Nepali: सगरमाथा), and it is very near to the Lhotse, another 8000-summit (precisely 8516m or 27940ft).

Everest and Lhotse

The image here was taken from the pilot seat when we were at the nearest point to the Everest during the flight (click on the small image to enlarge it).

The unlabeled peak on the right is probably the Makalu (8463m or 27766ft). But this needs to be confirmed by somebody more expert than I am.

Even the local guy does not seem too sure about it!

I’m not prone to vertigo, but I would not try it. I am happy being currently in Nepal and not in Pakistan. Wait! Here is a bridge in Nepal:

I am leaving France for a photo trip to Nepal. Why did my colleagues pay a part of that trip?

Met in the forest of Rambouillet (near Paris, but more precisely in the fern land at the end of the Espace Rambouillet of Office National des Forêts), two roe deers that were stuck in the sights of two camouflaged wildlife photographers.

Roe deers (Click to enlarge)

I’m just out of eBay where I bought a second-hand Minolta 1.4x lens converter to extend a little my tele-lenses when I put them on my Sony Alpha 700 and the old faithful Konica-Minolta Dynax Maxxum 7D.

I think it is going to support me when I go to Nepal (Bardia National Park) in next October. With Alain Pons and Amawanda.

I have been publishing some photos from my travel to Kenya last October, but it became apparent to me that I had forgotten to present the photos I took during a short encounter with a serval (Leptailurus serval, previously Felis serval, pronounced /ˈsÉœrvÉ™l/) which is a relatively large-size African wild cat. Amazingly beautiful, it is quite difficult to observe by day. Actually, it’s Alain Pons (our guide and famous wildlife photographer) who called “Stop!” after seeing a pair of ears just a couple of inches above the grass of the Masai Mara. Even, after braking hard, it took us some time to find it again.

Serval - Copyright (C) 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles	Serval - Copyright (C) 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles
Serval - Copyright (C) 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles	Serval - Copyright (C) 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles
Serval - Copyright (C) 2008 - Yves Roumazeilles
Click on the image to enlarge thumbnails

On the last picture, you can notice the black and white pattern of the back of the serval ears. They are considered as a beacon to help kittens follow their mother, giving them very visible indicators that stay invisible from the point of view of their preys.

You wanted to go to Kenya for a safari or a photo safari (this will quickly become very fashionable, thanks to the latest Disney movie, “The crimson wings” whose location is Kenyan Tanzanian lake Natron)? You wanted to get your visa in the Nairobi airport after landing (this is much easier than queuing at the Kenyan embassy in London)?

Beware! There is a change: You no longer can pay your visa fees at the airport immigration counter in Euros, Kenyan shillings, Swiss francs and British Pounds (having a wide choice could be interesting in order to choose the best price according to the exchange rate at the time of entry in Kenya). So, you must have a 50 US dollar bill (US$ only). Don’t be surprized and change some bills before leaving your country of origin or… go queue at the embassy.

Monitor lizard - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

Young males tend to fight together useful wide head moves. Here are a few giraffes suddenly met while in the middle of a personal fight. Wide slow motion, violent collisions, elegance of the very dynamic exchanges.

Girafes - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Girafes - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles	Girafes - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them

A very nice set of camouflaged animals.

A Grey Cicada hides on pine bark in France

Source: Daily Mail.

A few baboons walking down a Kenyan road.

Guinea Baboon - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Male Baboon - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles	Guinea Baboons - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them

Guinea Baboon (Papio papio, Babouin de Guinée, Papión de Guinea), Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.

Hippopotame - Copyright (C) 2008 Yves Roumazeilles

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius, Hippopotame, hipopótamo común). Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.