"HIDE" photography in South Africa

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Ivan Rothman said:
Another group to look at is Pangolin Safaris. I haven't yet been with them but intend to join them soon. They own their own camp(s) and boats (for the Chobe River) and they have a great reputation. Check out their website. pangolinphoto.com
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Thanks, we already checked the Pangolin Safaris, but it is not for us. I'm the only photographer in the family; my wife is a regular tourist.
She will take some photos, but I can not ask her to spend their holidays on a photography expedition.
Our travel will be a mix of safari photos and tourist sightseeing.
We booked with another agency that will provide a mix of private camp safari for us only, with all the staff to do that and we will spend a few days in a lodge.
Unfortunately, our trips will be limited to 7 days because we will leave at home, my young son. My wife is terrified of that.
My son doesn't want to travel with us anymore because for him it is boring.....

Regarding the photographic equipment, I plan to bring with us:
Z9, Z6II, 24-120Z, 100-400Z, 500PF, 1.4x and probably an extra 70-300-FP to give to my wife if she wants to take some photos.
The bigger, heavy, and more expensive glass will remain at home.

Do you think that it is the correct choice?
If it were a photographic tour only, I would think differently.
 
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Marco74 said:
Thanks, we already checked the Pangolin Safaris, but it is not for us. I'm the only photographer in the family; my wife is a regular tourist.
She will take some photos, but I can not ask her to spend their holidays on a photography expedition.
Our travel will be a mix of safari photos and tourist sightseeing.
We booked with another agency that will provide a mix of private camp safari for us only, with all the staff to do that and we will spend a few days in a lodge.
Unfortunately, our trips will be limited to 7 days because we will leave at home, my young son. My wife is terrified of that.
My son doesn't want to travel with us anymore because for him it is boring.....

Regarding the photographic equipment, I plan to bring with us:
Z9, Z6II, 24-120Z, 100-400Z, 500PF, 1.4x and probably an extra 70-300-FP to give to my wife if she wants to take some photos.
The bigger, heavy, and more expensive glass will remain at home.

Do you think that it is the correct choice?
If it were a photographic tour only, I would think differently.
Click to expand...
The only problem with a tour limited to 7 days is the length of time it takes to travel to Johannesburg, which is the starting point of trips to any of the southern African countries. At least for me coming from New York. Would be easier if I lived in Europe. There used to be a direct flight from New York City to Johannesburg on South African Air which took 15 hours. South African Air now out of business for international travel. So I have to first go to one of the European capitals - a 6-8 hour trip - then have a layover of anywhere from 4 to 12 hours, and then on to Johannesburg which is another 10-12 hours. This summer I flew Virgin Atlantic and the total time to get from NY to Johannesburg was close to 30 hours. But at least I was able to fly upper class, so we had use of the Virgin Atlantic lounge in London for almost 12 hours, but it was comfortable, with great food and we could take showers.
Your equipment sounds fine. With the 24-120 and the 100-400 you have most everything covered and with the 500 PF + TC you can easily do birds and distant mammals. You don't need a tripod but might want to have a bean bag for added support in the safari vehicle. You can fill a beanbag on location if you can find beans or rice. But perhaps an easier solution is to fill a beanbag at home with Buckwheat hulls - very lightweight, but will add some bulk to your luggage.
 
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Starting from Italy, we will fly with Egyptair, a Night flight. We will arrive in Johannesburg early in the morning and then in the middle of the afternoon in Botswana.
But we will not fly in business class. Too expensive for our budget.
The bean bag is a good suggestion. I have one very comfortable handmade by my old friend and another, made for car door use, that I bought several times ago. The second one must be filled when arriving at the destination. It is pretty big.
After several tries, I found that the best compromise for total weight and lens comfort is filling it with puffed rice. Cheap, light and with the right dimension.
When we went to South Africa, the zoom lens was a must-have, but also, a long lens can be helpful for shy animals and birds. I think that the 500 PF is a good compromise, and it works very well also with the 1.4x attached.
 
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Ivan Rothman said:
On a recent trip to South Africa and Botswana, we concentrated on camps that offered HIDE photography (what we call blinds) and it was an incredible perspective compared to the more usual safaris from vehicles. We were in structures buried in the ground at the edge of a watering hole. Our cameras were inches above the level of the water so we could shoot the animals at eye level, or in the case of the larger animals we are shooting up at them with wide angle lenses. And one location had night hides with color corrected lighting shining on the animals. We were often only a few feet from the animals.

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Beautiful shots!
 
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Awesome shots! Congratulations. . Zimanga is special , particularly the two night hides. I’ve been there last year but not lucky to see elephants during the night. Many buffalos , rhinos and zebras . A member of the group on a different hide took nice photos of a lioness with cubs.
It’s important to visit these hides during the dry season .
The tour was organized by with www.tuskphoto.com , a South African company,

.
 
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Cortez48 said:
Awesome shots! Congratulations. . Zimanga is special , particularly the two night hides. I’ve been there last year but not lucky to see elephants during the night. Many buffalos , rhinos and zebras . A member of the group on a different hide took nice photos of a lioness with cubs.
It’s important to visit these hides during the dry season .
The tour was organized by with www.tuskphoto.com , a South African company,

.
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Thanks. We have even lucky in Zimanga and other hide locations to get lioness with cubs. Was hoping for a male lion but didn't happen.
 
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Ivan Rothman said:
On a recent trip to South Africa and Botswana, we concentrated on camps that offered HIDE photography (what we call blinds) and it was an incredible perspective compared to the more usual safaris from vehicles. We were in structures buried in the ground at the edge of a watering hole. Our cameras were inches above the level of the water so we could shoot the animals at eye level, or in the case of the larger animals we are shooting up at them with wide angle lenses. And one location had night hides with color corrected lighting shining on the animals. We were often only a few feet from the animals.

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WOW! Talk about up close and personal, that must have been an absolutely incredible experience. Great images!
 
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Mashatu Lala Limpopo Sleepout Hide …
  • Danielle Carstens (formerly with Pangolin but now with C4 Photo Safaris) shows us around this extraordinary hide.
  • Mashatu is in SE Botswana — near South Africa & Limpopo River
  • Pangolin & Chobe River are in NE Botswana — near Victoria Falls & Zambezi River
  • Lala means 'sleep' in southern African languages.
 
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