If you want to capture amazing photos of wild predators in action, head over to South Africa. The favorite filming destination for wildlife photographers, the southern regions of the Dark Continent are home to some of the world’s rarest animal species such as cheetahs, leopards and rhinos and if you are daring enough, you may get a chance to see them during a safari in one of the continent’s picturesque national parks. But before you close the door and set out on your wild African adventure, make sure you have all the essentials for the trip safely packed and ready for use. Here are top five tips on how to capture Africa’s wildlife during a safari and create pictures worthy of the title of a photography masterpiece.

Bring along tons of digital storage

As you will probably be busy filming fascinating creatures during the safari, ample storage space for your images is a must-have. Africa is known for sluggish internet service, so do not rely on cloud storage or fast network posting, and pack multiple microSD cards which you will be able to swap on the fly. Or better still, bring along an external storage device with a fail-safe backup system that will enable you to transfer the files without the need for a PC and minimize card replacement hassle. Another option is to have your laptop always at hand as it will allow you to transfer images faster, organize them on the spot, upload them to an online photography platform such as EyeEm and minimize the risk of data loss.

Go for long lens shots

When filming animals on a safari, you probably will not always be able to get close enough for a good shot. This is why bringing along a set of different lens is not only recommendable but also necessary for capturing quality pictures. If you intend to use prime lens only, go for 300mm lens and above – but if you want sheer photography eye candy, bring along a 100mm telephoto zoom lens just to be on the safe side.

Pack lots of power

An often neglected aspect on photography tours, additional power for your electronics can be a major problem in wild Africa. To avoid battery drain on the go, pack a power inverter or solar panel to charge your gear in areas with no stable electricity supply. Also, make sure you bring along tons of extra batteries – a hefty power brick stock will have all your bases covered in case other charging options go awry.

Make notes at the end of the day

In order to keep you pictures organized and remember every detail of the trip, take notes about the experience at the end of each day or during breaks of the safari. A notebook and a pen are a convenient way to capture the names of animals, locations and other details about the trip you consider important – and the good old-fashioned ink and paper also allow you to capture your own thoughts and emotions about the adventure.

Hire a pop-top vehicle

Though roll-tops are a great ride for people looking to film birds and sky, most photographers prefer pop-tops for filming animals and the surrounding scenery. Pop-tops do have a limited filming area, but they provide ample shade during the ride, and this can be a precious asset on a long safari day of a hot African summer. Check with your operator which types of vehicles they have on offer, compare the prices and pick the one that suits your budget and photography style best.

Africa’s national parks are the best destination for an exciting photography tour. If you want to capture fascinating wild creatures on film, consider embarking on a safari across the untamed landscapes of South Africa – it is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life.

Author bio:

Oliver Hyde is an experienced business consultant from the UK. His job allows him to travel, which also happens to be one of his greatest passions. Recently, he discovered the truth behind the saying “The only man I truly envy is the one who has not yet been to Africa… he has so much to look forward to.” Being a wanderer, he rarely stays at the same place for a long time, but Africa stole his heart. He had been travelling through the continent for more than a year. You can follow his travel adventures on Twitter.

London, UK – Beyond Luxury Media Ltd, the organiser of leading travel trade events PURE Life Experiences and LE Miami, announces the launch of a groundbreaking new travel trade show that will turbocharge business opportunities for Africa’s finest travel products.

The show will be called We Are Africa and will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, starting in May 2014. Announcing this new event Serge Dive, CEO of Beyond Luxury Media Ltd, said:

“Over many years our team has consistently broken the mould of traditional trade shows by creating superior events that redefine key industries in travel: luxury, experiential and contemporary. However, the Africa-based participants at these events represented just one section of our global exhibitors. It is therefore not surprising that once close working relationships were forged with Africa’s key travel trade players, we were continually asked to create an equally game-changing ‘All Africa’ travel show exclusively for product from this great continent. I have listened carefully to our partners across Africa and as a result am presenting We Are Africa, a totally new platform for buyers to do business with suppliers of African tourism.

This groundbreaking event will not be about luxury travel or experiential travel. It will be, quite simply, a platform to showcase remarkable brands and operators that constitute the very best of African tourism: brands that are worth talking about and above all have the potential to truly excite an internationally discerning clientele. Africa is uniquely rich in outstanding tourism product, which we will select by invitation only to attract buyers from all corners of the world.

Participating buyers and suppliers will be selected from the ‘best in breed’ across tourism markets so that We Are Africa encompasses all the ingredients needed to make a successful, modern travel trade show. Buyers from the world over will be hosted and offered a comprehensive menu of familiarisation trips across Africa. The event will include scheduled appointments, a conference, workshop sessions and an exciting new African awards ceremony to highlight the best in breed. Finally, no event organised by Beyond Luxury Media would be complete without our ‘special ingredient’ – fabulous parties for all buyers and exhibitors to network the night away!

We Are Africa will differentiate itself from other travel trade events in two respects. Firstly, our show will concentrate on bringing new markets and new business to Africa. Secondly, we will focus on assembling a unique community that is passionate about promoting the very best of Africa to the world, sharing sales and marketing ideas that will create as many networking and lead opportunities as possible.

In the spirit of all the shows that the Beyond Luxury Media team has built, We Are Africa will herald the creation of a genuine movement for those who want to stand out, be counted and celebrate and promote the unique beauty of Africa to the world. I believe that these values are epitomised by the name of our show: We Are Africa.”

The timing of the show in early May 2014 will give each buyer hosted by We Are Africa the opportunity to extend their stay and to go to Durban to meet other South African travel trade suppliers.

For more information contact:

Ryan Wallace, Exhibition Manager, We Are Africa
[email protected]

Beyond Luxury Media Ltd is a UK registered company, wholly owned by Serge Dive and Sarah Ball

Who are The Piano Guys?

Whilst The Piano Guys are American, this song, based on Coldplay’s Paradise and created in Africa to reflect a journey to a remote and rugged region of Red Stone mountain in Africa….with cello, African percussion and a grand piano in tow! Peponi is ‘paradise’ in Swahili and has a lovely and quite unique sound to that of Coldplay’s song. Please take a listen and enjoy!

Coldplay – Paradise (Peponi) African Style

Peponi

For More Information

• Wikipedia
• Official Band Site

Travel Photo of the Week: Table Mountain, South Africa

Cape Town is a beautifully unique city of South Africa, best-known for the striking natural environment and the harbour. Table Mountain has recently been voted one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature, which is no surprise as experiencing a day on Table Mountain is nothing short of breath-taking. Table Mountain consists of a 3 kilometre long plateau, and features an exclusive abundance of flora and fauna, some of which are not found anywhere else in the world.

To get to the top of the mountain you can either take a long hike up through the natural landscape or catch a lift in the Cable Cars; which is a fun and exciting experience in itself. On the way up, you get to see an amazing and vast view of the coastline and Cape Town from above. From up there, you can also see the famous Robben Island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment and where Nelson Mandela alongside many other political prisoners were imprisoned for decades. The picturesque views and the uniqueness of Table Mountain make it a must-see in Cape Town.This photograph is a view of Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand, which was also a nice destination to visit for a walk along the beach and a meal or coffee.

Photo courtesy of Gita Zimmermann

The purpose of our visit to this beautiful part of the world was to visit Mama Lumka, the Charity of choice of my mother’s business Tell IT Media which offers Branding, Design and Website Solutions. For more about Mama Lumka and the kids visit www.mamalumka.org.au or the blog of our visit to Mama Lumka.