| |
Specialist African Safaris - More than just a game drive
Co-ordinates S29 28 40.5 E30 14 12.6
Howick is situated in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands some 20 Km to the north of Pietermaritzburg. The region is well known for its incredible scenery and wonderful climate. Its here that we hold our Beginner / Intermediate Photographic and Photoshop workshops.
|
The stunningly beautiful KwaZulu-Natal Midlands |
These 3-day workshops are held at a small conference centre just outside Howick and usually take place over a weekend, with registration and an introductory talk (which includes a slide show) on the Thursday evening and then a full day on Friday and Saturday and a half-day on Sunday.
The following aspects will be covered in the workshop:
- Understanding your camera.
- Image composition and adding impact to your picture.
- The secret of using light.
- The art of seeing and creating a photograph.
- Camera controls.
- Principles of Photography.
- Using the histogram to judge exposure.
- The use of Blinkies to prevent blown out highlights. (Blinkies? Come to the workshop and find out).
- Image editing in Photoshop.
- Use of Photoshop layers to enhance images.
Programme:
Thursday
16:00. Arrive At Yellowwood Café for course registration and set up. Yellowwood Café is situated on the Farm Fairfell just outside Howick on the way to the stunningly beautiful Karkloof. The photogenic homestead, where we'll be meeting, is a historic monument and was built in 1872. After registration we'll have an introductory talk and show and a very quick look at Photoshop in preparation for the action on Friday morning. Pre-dinner drinks will be served in the cosy bar, followed by dinner
Friday
05:30. Meet at the entrance to Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve (Co-ordinates S29 28 27.8 E30 14 16.8) just past Yellowwood Café on the Karkloof Road. The greater part of this nature reserve lies in the spectacular Umgeni River gorge below the Howick Falls. The upper part is the fringe of a rolling plateau which has an average altitude in excess of 1 000m. Precipitous cliffs mark the edge of the plateau, dropping to the thorn tree studded valley below. The wildlife (zebra, impala, wildebeest, blesbok and others) can be particularly relaxed so we should get some very good images of them as the sun rises at about 06:30. We will continue to work the area, shooting images of the flowers, trees and scenery until the light "goes" about 2 hours after sunrise.
We return to Yellowwood and download our images onto our computers. Participants then select 3 images to include in the evaluation session and at about 09:30 we head into the dining room for a scrumptious brunch.
The day continues with discussions, Photoshop tutorials and image analysis (this aspect is critical - we work with your images, looking at composition, impact and technical details).
Sunset is at about 18:30 and so at about 16:00 we'll head out into the field to again to do more practicals. Locations depend to a large extent on weather conditions so we'll make the call on the day but it will probably be to the recently established Karkloof Crane and Conservation Centre. The centre is set amongst some wetlands on a private farm at the foot of the very beautiful Karkloof mountains. There are 2 large bird hides (we had some input with regard to the design of the interiors so they work well for photographers), open water and stunning scenery. Here we will experiment with the use of wide angle and telephoto lenses before having a few chilled glasses of the Cape's finest and returning to Yellowwood for dinner.
Saturday
06h00. We'll meet on the Karkloof Road at the turn-off to Karkloof Falls. After winding through grasslands and pine plantations, the Karkloof River tumbles over the Woodhouse Falls before plunging 88m over a sheer cliff into the forested Karkloof Valley. This is where we learn to photograph water - reflections, action, movement and especially, how to get those soft, fluffy waterfall images. Coffee will be served under the pines and we return to Yellowwood to download images.
We work through the day much as we did the previous one with analysis, discussions and practicals. In the late afternoon at about 16:00 we'll be joined by some young models who will pose for us. The Yellowwood Café gardens are very beautiful and we'll spend some time in them, working with the models. We will use different lenses, looking at what effect lens choice has on the image. We will look at how to pose people and use changing vantage points to achieve different effects.
Pre-dinner drinks will be served outside where an informal discussion of the day's events will be held.
Sunday
08:00. Meet at Yellowwood to download images. After a light breakfast we begin with the analysis of the modeling images from Saturday afternoon - this time, because of time constraints, only 2 images are submitted by each participant. After the evaluation session we look at how to edit a portrait in Photoshop, using layers to enhance skin texture, eyes and mouth.
We wrap up the workshop with Sunday lunch, served under the trees outside the pub.
Equipment required is as follows:
- A Digital SLR Camera preferably with removable lenses (a fixed lens camera will work but will limit what we can do to a certain degree). An advanced point and shoot camera will be fine for beginners, but it should have a fairly long lens, as we will be doing some wildlife photography (e.g. Canon G9, G10 or S5, Nikon S60, P80 or P6000 or something similar).
- Zoom lenses - the selection is broad but at least 2 zoom lenses are recommended, one wide angle and one medium to long telephoto, which should preferably have some form of image stabilization.
- A flashgun.
- A sturdy tripod.
- A laptop computer with either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements loaded on to it. This is essential. Instruction will be in Photoshop Elements 6. It is recommended that you have some form of backup medium - DVD's or a portable hard drive. We will have copies of Photoshop for sale at the workshop and also free versions of various other programs available to load onto your computer.
- A memory card reader or computer cables to connect your camera to your laptop.
- The charger for your camera/s.
- Memory Card/s.
- The manual(s) for your camera(s).
- A hat to keep off that hot African sun.
Accommodation and Venue:
Workshop participants stay at the nearby Midmar Nature Reserve in 2 roomed chalets and each day make their way each morning to the nearby Yellowwood Café. Now Yellowwood Cafe is the most beautiful 19th Century stone farmhouse overlooking the famous Howick Falls and is the perfect venue for our workshop from both an aesthetic and hospitality point of view.
Workshop Dates:
Our next workshops are:
- 6th to 9th of August 2009 and
- 8th to 11th October 2009
The cost of the course:
R4 980-00 p.p. (price subject to change) and includes accommodation, food, teas and coffees, comprehensive course notes and a certificate of completion of the workshop. Drinks and extras are for your own account.
Please email us on roger@africaimagery.com or info@oldcanvasexpeditions.com.
We run a host of other photographic safaris, the details of which are given below:
|
|
|
| Zululand Photographic Safari |
|
Located in the heart of Zululand is Bonamanzi, a privately owned, 4000ha game reserve. Bordered by a World Heritage site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in the east and with Hluhluwe Game Reserve a short drive to the west, it's easy to see why we've selected Bonamanzi for our Zululand Photographic Safaris. It also happens to be widely recognised as one of the best birding destinations in Southern Africa. Read more..... |
| |
|
|
| Kruger Photographic Safari |
|
The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa. Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, this national park of nearly 2 million hectares is unrivalled in its biodiversity. Kruger is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. With its abundance of wildlife it is one of the finest places on Earth for photographic safaris. Read more.....
|
| |
|
|
| Midlands Photographic Safari |
|
Howick is situated in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands some 20 Km to the north of Pietermaritzburg. The region is well known for its incredible scenery and wonderful climate. Its here that we hold our Beginner/ Intermediate Photographic and Photoshop workshops. Read more..... |
| |
|
|
| Big Cats of Mala Mala Photographic Safari |
|
If you really want superb images of Africa 's big cats - lion, leopard and cheetah, then there can be no finer spot to get these than Mala Mala Private Game Reserve in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The game viewing experience here, especially of Africa 's big cats, is unsurpassed, and this is why Roger and Pat chose MalaMala as a base when they did their book, The Big Cats of MalaMala . While one can certainly not guarantee sightings of these big cats, at MalaMala one stands more chance of getting them than anywhere else that the de la Harpes know. Read more..... |
| |
|
|
| Baine's River Camp, Zambia, Photographic Safari |
|
In the middle of the unspoiled African bush, on the northern banks of the Zambezi River and directly opposite Mana Pools in Zimbabwe , you will discover Baines' River Camp. This is a true safari lodge, named after the famous artist and explorer John Thomas Baines, and offers a very different wildlife experience: While Baines River Camp does have the usual 4X4 game drives, much of the game viewing is done from boats on the Zambezi River and Roger and Pat have done some of their best wild life and scenic photography here. Read more..... |
| |
|
|
| Tuli - Land of Giants - Photographic Safari |
|
The Northern Tuli Game Reserve - home to places like Mashatu, Tuli Lodge and Nitani - is set in the eastern corner of Botswana where it meets with South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is here that Roger and Pat lived when they wrote and photographed their book Tuli Land of Giants. It's a stunning place; as old as time itself, with a history of human inhabitation going back over 50 000 years. There are 7 world record tree species (the highest or largest) and some of the most relaxed elephants that Roger and Pat have worked with. All in all, a wonderful place to be doing photography. Read more..... |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
