We always offer our guests a trip to the local Maasai village. Usually Karen takes those that want to go for some culture and I sneak into the national park for more wildlife. This last trip, however, I decided to bring a single flash and umbrella setup to get some proper portraits. The young warriors were all too happy to have their photos taken. The women and elderly were a bit more skeptical, but a few of them allowed me a few quick shots. These were some of my favorites. In a future post I’ll share portraits of all our favorite guides and hospitality staff. And yes, when referring to the people, it’s spelled Maasai, but the national park is Masai Mara. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens, Godox 860iii flash and X3 controller.

I love walking around during down/siesta time while on safari, searching for any wildlife that happens to be wandering through camp. Without the pressure to move on to the next big sighting, I can take my time and work on getting interesting shots. While at Samburu, there were two bee eaters that kept flying out over the river, catching bees and then heading back to their perches. The perfect time to work on flight shots (not always easy with small birds and erratic flight patterns). I missed a lot, but also nailed quite a few, including this one where you can see the little bee eater in all its colorful glory. Now if I could just capture one as it catches a bee mid-flight. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 1600, f/6.3 at 1/2500th of a second.

I photographed this leopard a few weeks ago in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya at the very end of the day. The pale green and golden eyes aren’t just striking, they’re built for exceptional night vision. A reflective layer behind the retina, called the tapetum lucidum, bounces light back through the eye, allowing leopards to see up to seven times better than humans in low-light conditions. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 4000, f/6.3 at 1/125th of a second.

Much like the serval I posted yesterday, it’s also been awhile since I got a good look at a bushbaby — more specifically (and accurately) this is a northern greater galago. They are nocturnal primates with big eyes adapted for seeing in near darkness. Their powerful legs allow them to jump more than 15 feet between trees, while their oversized ears can swivel independently to pinpoint the sounds of insects and other prey in the night. This one was calling to another nearby just before I headed into my tent for the night in Nairobi National Park. I used illumination from a low-powered flashlight and a very high ISO to capture a few images before letting them get back to business. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 25600, f/6.3 at 1/250th of a second.

It’s been a while since I had a good look at a serval. Servals are medium to small-sized cats of the African savanna. Usually they are quite secretive and shy, and run when approached by a safari vehicle. This serval was the complete opposite. My biggest photographic challenge was getting a few shots with the eyes open, as he/she was content to take a nap only feet away from us. The unusual situation gave me the opportunity to lower my long lens to the ground for some eye-level portraits.Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 600mm) ISO 360, f/6.3 at 1/640th of a second.

Where there are giraffes there are oxpeckers. They usually enjoy what is known in nature as mutualistic symbiosis — the oxpecker gets a delicious meal of ticks, fleas and blood-sucking parasites while the giraffe gets natural pest control and warning alarms against predators. But on this particular evening, the giraffe seemed to have had enough of all that symbiosis and was doing his best to rid his neck and face of the nuisance. Video shot at 120fps in 4K on Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens.

I took many wide-angle close-ups of elephants over the past month, but this encounter was special. It was just my guide and me in the vehicle when a mother and her calf broke away from the herd and approached within a foot or two of us. They weren’t aggressive—just curious. For twenty minutes, they raised their trunks and sniffed the air in every direction, all but tapping me on the forehead. The calf is in front and appears larger because of the lens’s perspective distortion. You can tell the larger mother is in the background by the difference in the size of their tusks. I used my inverted-monopod technique, with the camera resting on the ground while I fired the shutter remotely. Eventually, the elephants came so close that the camera was beneath them, and I began to worry they might step on it. More to come, including video. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens (at 24mm) ISO 450, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second.

Karen and I are just back from leading two tours to Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. I’ve just started going through all the photos. One highlight of both trips was the return of lion cubs — we’ve seen plenty of lions the last few years, but not many young cubs. This year we saw quite a few of them, including this little guy peering into the yawning mouth of his mother. If you’d like to travel with us in 2027 on a private, bespoke itinerary, give us a call and we can start creating the perfect trip. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 180-600mm lens (at 470mm) ISO 3600, f/6 at 1/500th of a second.

Today will be my last post for awhile. Karen and I are off on Monday to lead back-to-back tours and will be gone for the better part of the next month. Until then, enjoy this spotted hyena cub. They are born with their eyes open and their teeth already erupted, an unusual trait among carnivores. From their very first days, they begin establishing social rank, a critical factor in a species where status can influence access to food, mates, and opportunities throughout life. Looking forward to seeing a few more in the coming weeks. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1100, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second.