"Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is."
- Anonymous
Going on an African safari has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember.
When I was little, I use to watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, way back when we only had a few TV channels, and dream I was there with Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler.
Last weekend I did the next best thing, I went on a Photo Safari at The Wilds right here in Ohio. (read about them here) My friend and I rented HUGE lenses to get closer to the animals. We had a lot of fun.
It was a sunny, slightly chilly, fall day perfect for taking pictures. The Wilds knew exactly what a bus load of photographers wanted. The lovely bus driver stopped when anyone wanted to take a picture, she even circled around to let other busses pass to give us more time and a second chance to take more pictures of the animals. People in the regular tour buses were taking pictures of our bus full of photographers with huge lenses!
We were able to take a peek into the giraffe house and feed a very brave giraffe (his door was open to the field and he could leave us whenever he wanted). While we were there we saw Fenny, a baby giraffe born August 5.
The Wilds is a beautiful place with so much space for the animals to roam. We really did feel like we were on safari. We saw camels, rhinoceros, ostriches, African painted dogs, Bactrian deer, cheetahs, giraffes, buffalo and more!
This was my first time renting a lens and I am sure that I will rent one again. It is a good way to try out a lens before you buy it or if you need a lens for a specific occasion. I rented the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD. It is a lot of lens to handle. My biggest problem was holding the lens still. Even with a monopod I didn't feel I could always hold the camera steady (tripods were not allowed to be used on the bus).
I took a lot of pictures. I can honestly say at first look I was very disappointed with my images, having only a handful that I really liked, mostly because they were not very sharp. But after my initial let down, I took a second look and found some I was happy with. It is going to take me some time to comb through all 797 images. I have a feeling you guys will be seeing Safari pictures randomly pop up in blog posts now and again for a while. :)
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have a beautiful day!
Michelle
Oh Michelle, I didn't know there is a "safari" location. This is just so exciting to see, and your photos turned out beautiful! What a fun day you and your friend had. The part I smiled big at, was how the other bus of people took pictures of your bus of photographers. I love the chetah photo! Great one to frame. I will look forward to more safari animal photos.
ReplyDeleteWell it looks like you found some winning shots! I love the ostrich. They have such a nerdy_cool look. I hope you are doing well!
ReplyDeleteThe iPhone photography workshop that I took in June with Rad Drew, Rad does a workshop at The Wilds and various other locations. Maybe that will need to be on my bucket list for the future.
ReplyDeleteOh my, what a great time you and your friend had, Michelle !
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos of those animals ... the baby giraffe is so cute !
Looking forward to see more of your 797 pictures ... :-)
Have a lovely week,
Sylvia
Great idea and interesting photos, Michelle! I only regret that I can't see any of the photos of your bus full of photographers with those huge lenses! :)
ReplyDeleteI understand your disappointment but that was "just" the first try, all you need is more practice to handle the tool. You could borrow the lens again and practise with it in a zoo...
An African safari, how wonderful. Those camels are sweet. My mom decided to go to Egypt in her 70's, and I have pictures of her riding the beautiful camels. That ostrich fellow is soooo cute. You took some splendid pictures, Michelle. Animals are so amazing to look at and observe.
ReplyDelete~Sheri