Our own frames first. The rest, described exactly.
We would rather show you nothing than somebody else's stock
photograph of a different country. So this page is in two halves: the photographs we have
taken ourselves, and — below them — the brief for the ones we have not.
From the field
Ours, on the northern circuit.
No stock, no borrowed frames, nothing staged for the camera.
Two cheetah, and the rest of the queue Two cheetah sitting upright in dry grass on an open plain, backs to the camera, watching three safari vehicles parked far off on the horizon.
Sightings are shared. What we can control is where we put our own vehicle, and how long we are willing to sit still.
Lions on a zebra kill Lionesses feeding on a zebra carcass in short grass beside a track, two more lions walking in from the plain behind, a safari vehicle stopped at a distance on the road.
Found on the track, not driven off it. Vehicles stay on the road and the pride is left the space to keep eating.
The pride owns the road A pride of lions lying stretched out across a dirt track in late-afternoon light, cubs among the adults, a safari vehicle waiting alongside with guests looking down from the open roof.
The whole afternoon can turn into this: engine off, nobody in a hurry, everybody waiting for the pride to decide.
Cheetah on a termite mound A cheetah lying on top of a termite mound in open golden grassland, front paws over the edge, looking directly into the camera.
Termite mounds are the only high ground out here, so a cheetah looking for game — and the guide looking for a cheetah — both start with the mounds.
Still to shoot
The rest of the brief, described exactly.
PlaceholderEvery panel below is a CSS colour study, not a photograph. The caption
under each is a real shot brief. Replace each panel with the image it describes, keeping
the descriptive text as the alt attribute. People are photographed and
published only with their consent.
Guide and guests at first light Maasai guide standing at the open pop-up roof of a Land Cruiser, scanning the plains with binoculars at sunrise, two guests seated below him in silhouette.
Shot note: Hero candidate. Shoot 05:50–06:30, sun behind the vehicle, expose for the sky.Lion pride on a kopje Lion pride resting on the shaded side of a granite kopje in the Seronera Valley, one lioness alert and looking directly out of frame.
Shot note: Long lens from a legal distance. No vehicle in frame.Calving season, southern plains Newborn wildebeest calf standing unsteadily beside its mother on green short-grass plains, herd stretching out of focus behind.
Shot note: February only, Ndutu / Salei plains. Shoot low from the vehicle floor.Night sky over camp The Milky Way over a lit tented camp on the edge of the plains, a single lantern glowing inside one tent.
Shot note: 20–25 second exposure, new moon, camp lights dimmed and agreed in advance.Mara River crossing Wildebeest crossing the Mara River in the northern Serengeti, spray in the air, the far bank crowded with animals waiting.
Shot note: July–October, Kogatende. Position early; expect to wait hours.The vehicle, honestly A 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser with pop-up roof raised, parked on an open track with dust settling behind it, no people in frame.
Shot note: Product shot for the fleet section. Clean vehicle, golden hour, low camera position.Guide interpreting tracks Maasai guide crouched beside a fresh set of predator tracks in dust, pointing them out to two guests standing at a safe distance beside the vehicle.
Shot note: Consent required. The single most important image on the site — it carries the whole positioning.Ngorongoro Crater floor View across the Ngorongoro Crater floor from the descent road, soda lake pale in the middle distance and the crater wall rising behind.
Shot note: Shoot from the Seneto descent, 07:00, before the haze builds.Sundowner on the plains Two guests and their guide standing beside a Land Cruiser at sunset with drinks, backlit, an empty horizon behind them.
Shot note: Backlit silhouette. Avoid the cliché of everybody grinning at the lens.Beadwork cooperative Hands of a Maasai artisan threading beadwork onto a wire frame, work-in-progress laid out on cloth around them.
Shot note: Hands and work only unless the maker consents to a face. Pay for the time.Leopard at dusk Leopard lying along a horizontal sausage-tree branch in low evening light, tail hanging, eyes toward the camera.
Shot note: Seronera riverine forest. Long lens, high ISO, no spotlight.Elephants among baobabs A breeding herd of elephant moving between baobabs in Tarangire at dawn, dust and low light behind them.
Shot note: June–October, Tarangire river circuit. Shoot into the light for the dust.
Want to see the real thing instead?
Come and take the photographs yourself. Tell us your month and we will tell you what will be in front of the lens.
