Stripes

Back to the safari today! As I’ve mentioned before, the zebras were the most fearless animal we saw; I think that any fear they have is overwhelmed by a reluctance to move out of the way. Either way, it made shooting animal portraits very easy!

Maasai Smiles

Before we started our safari, we visited a ‘working Maasai tribe’, which, despite its name, was clearly a tourist trap and very different from what Maasai life is actually like – it helps if you’re travelling with someone who spent a week working in a Maasai health centre! That being said, they said to take as many pictures as we like, assumably to promote the experience, but it gave me a chance to photograph local people without being inconsiderate or offensive. This little chap was definitely my favourite!

Impala

Another poser from Tarangire for you today, this time its an impala who posed perfectly for me as the sun was setting. The sunset was definitely my favourite part of the day for animal watching – not only are there more of them around, but the golden light makes everything so beautiful and easy to photograph!

Blue Monkey

As well as being a photo of a monkey that looks a little blue, this is also a photo of a Blue Monkey! Such wit. This is possibly my favourite shot from the trip – it was taken in Lake Manyara National Park during the midday sun, which is usually a time I expect to get no decent shots. Thankfully, the way the light passed through the trees actually created a harshly lit studio effect, which made for quite a moody and emotive shot. I’ve added the colour shot too as I like both, but I would love to know which is your favourite!

Pose

I didn’t think that animals would pose for me on safari, but it turns out I was really quite wrong. The monkeys, in particular, seemed very keen to look down the lens; this is a black-faced vervet monkey, possibly my favourite of the animals we saw on our trip. The monkeys are also the most fearless – it wasn’t uncommon for them to stand in the middle of the track and refuse to move as we drove towards them!