Safari Testimonials

Testimonials on Shem

"I wanted to thank you again for such a great trip. I had an awesome time and it has just sparked my enthusiasm to get back out there (not that I know when that will be possible). Your discussion topics were spot on for me and I left feeling like I had a good sense on where my photography was at and what I need to work on to take it to the next level. Will definitely be planning to get on one of your trips again and hope to catch up for a beer when you are in Oz later in the year. I am so impressed by what you are doing in the industry over there and all the new projects - keep up the good work. Hoping our paths cross again in the not too distant future."

Josh Watts, Mashatu 2011

"Thank you for an amazing couple of days in the bush. We were fortunate to enjoy great sightings and we benefited from Shem’s vast experience and knowledge about both wildlife and photography. Shem is a genuinely nice guy and a very good teacher. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their photography"

Florian Ruff, Mashatu 2011

"Awesome! Fabulous! What more can we say? Greg & Shem, your photographic skills, incredible enthusiasm, deep knowledge & love of the African wilderness enabled our keen Aussie group to experience ‘the best of the best’ in the Samburu, Lake Nakuru & Masai Mara areas. A big thank you to you both and to our friendly & knowledgeable drivers and your great team who made it all happen. It was a totally enriching experience in so many ways and one which we will cherish for many years. We plan to return soon."

Rosemary & Phil, Kenya 2010

"What a magnificent experience! Thanks Shem for arranging a life changing trip for us! Thanks also for teaching me as a novice so much about photography in the short time we were able to spend together! We hope to be able to do this again in a few years!"

Harty and Anne Borcherds, Masai Mara 2010

"Thank you most sincerely for our remarkable experience in Kenya. What a blast! This was the best three weeks of my 3300 weeks on this planet!! Gayle ,the Non-Photographer allegedly on this safari was also ecstatic about our experiences and with the help of Shem Compion and other world-class photographers, has produced her own great images. We have been spoilt by excellent planning, superb accommodation, knowledgeable driver/guides who could predict animal movement and understood photographer requirements, good food and absolutely wonderful company. It was most rewarding to have the company of fellow photography enthusiasts,s haring tips and comments while the action unravelled before our eyes. Fellow travellers rapidly became friends and shared equipment and knowledge generously. We owe you...."

Peter and Gail, Kenya 2010

"We had a truly wonderful time on the workshop. We have been to Mashatu several times and the time spent with Shem enhanced an already wonderful experience. His photographic knowledge and ability to confer that knowledge made for a fantastic learning opportunity. However his familiarity with the area and love and passion for nature made it a truly unique trip and one we hope to repeat."

Mike and Vicky Morford, Mashatu 2010

"An excellent destination to conduct a field workshop. At the current price I won't hesitate to join again. The experience and sightings will always be part of my memory. Thanks Shem for yet another few beautiful days out in nature!"

Johann Mader, Mashatu 2009

"I have been taking photographs for many years, yet I learnt a lot from Shem during the photo workshop, and found that my work rapidly improved from day to day. The way that Shem organized the vehicles, drivers, trackers and lectures was excellent. The lighting was superb, being in the middle of winter with long hours of low light. The venue and availability and visibility of game were all excellent. The fact that we all had the same interests and objectives made this a very pleasant and rewarding experience. For anybody wanting to learn, improve or just enjoy photography, this photo workshop is a must."

Wendel Krook, Mashatu 2008

"I have travelled twice with C4 Images and Safaris Safaris and both have been extremely enjoyable trips. Shem is an excellent host, a knowledgeable guide, who has a great knack of spotting the wildlife and getting you into a position for a great photo. The Kalahari trip was a particular highlight for me with some great wildlife viewing. I would have no hesitation in recommending C4 Images and Safaris to friends looking for a photographic safari of a lifetime."

Dave Rogers, 2005; 2006

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Okavango Delta Blues

I write this on an early Monday morning, just before the week starts in earnest at the office. And why the blues? Well, I’ve just returned back from four-night safari in the Okavango Delta. Once again “the Delta” stirred the soul and made me realise what a special wilderness it is; from a game viewing, photography and pristine ecosystem point of view.

March is a difficult month in the Okavango. The rainy season is almost over- this year recording over near record amounts of rain- the result being that the grass is exceptionally high, making viewing, and photographing quite difficult. The animals move away from the permanent flood plains into the open country and the weather can be temperamental, with grey days of rain a common occurrence.

So it can be a touch and go affair, but the (photographic) optimist in me also sees the opportunities in such situations. Green backgrounds and foliage is much nicer than the brown and dull colours of the dry season. The animals are in good condition, with shiny coats which is nicer for photos and lastly, all the migrant birds are around in their colourful and vibrant numbers. If there are birds around, then I’m always a happy photographer!

Of course the weather played its part and all of the above were well documented along with cheetah, lions in the evening light beginning their hunt, mating lions, storks, hippos, lechwe, spotted hyenas at first light and of course the boat cruise in the reed lined channels- Something that just makes a Delta trip just that more special. Even the sunset looks more beautiful from a quiet boat rocking in amongst the water lilies!

And my favourite part of the delta? Well, it has to be the hippos at night. The cacophony they make from the lagoon in front of camp is amazing and lying in the safari tent at night, looking at the stars with their chorus in the background makes me just want to come back for a whole lot more. Good thing I will be back later in the year for more!

By the way, while earth hour was a major event on Saturday night around the year- the camps in the Okavango Delta are on “permanent earth hour”. Low impact “wood and canvas” camps, no electricity, reverse osmosis water, solar panels for each tents power and very low numbers of people make them very sustainable camps in the model of the worlds current needs. So while earth hour was a major event world wide, every night here is one to be proud of. Well done to these camps (run by Kwando Safaris) - a whole lot better than some of the monstrosities in South Africa…

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A Landscape of Insect - Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Two years ago, I met good friend Duncan MacFadyen for a birthday drink one Thursday evening. For a present, I gave him a fine art print of an image I had taken at Tswalu reserve, a stunning reserve in the Kalahari of which Duncan manages all the conservation research for. In the excitement of the moment, we decided there and then that we would work together to produce a book- him doing the text and I the photography. It was seemingly innocent talk, but waking up the following morning, we both had that nagging feeling that we had started something that would not go away. That evening was to be the spark for “A Landscape of Insects”.
Over the course of these last two years, Duncan and I have worked through numerous proposals; ideas and processes of how produce this mass of work. We are both new to this game and it all meant a lot of meetings and e-mails flying back and forth planning new ideas and solutions.

Both of us being “bush people”, the real part was when the fieldwork was to begin. To both of us, this meant the project had really begun and we were on our way to actually, physically producing something. During this process, we have been able to visit and work on some spectacular reserves across South Africa. These properties cover varying habitats, meaning we are seeing and photographing a great diversity of insect life. I was relatively new to the “insect world”, but with the help of Duncan and Ruth Müller from the Transvaal Museum, I have learnt to distinguish a Graphipterus from a Graphiurus and no longer squeal at handling a ground beetle! It’s been a great experience ad one that has taught me a lot of the natural history of insects, as well as photographing them.

Photographically, it has been a great challenge for me. Macro work is traditionally a technical realm of photography. My aim though, was to make it an artistic realm- One that a reader could relate to and see the insect within its environment; not just on a black background. Zendré kept repeating to me: “Context, I want to see context.” Naturally, I listened…

So a few rules were established.
We would always photograph in natural light. No set up studios. (Except for some real close ups done with specialised equipment)
Insects were photographed in situ, in the outdoor environment, where they naturally occur and the insects would be doing something. We didn’t want any insect stuck onto a plant- all our insects were to be alive in their own environment.
This proved tougher than expected. One thing we learnt very quickly, is that insects fly- and fly very fast! Needless to say though, we persevered and have managed to get some excellent results- of which all will be in the book when it launches in December.

I was still adamant to break new boundaries though- test the limits of equipment and try new angles. I consulted with various photographers in the industry and decided to try a fish eye lens in the insect world. A fish eye lens is an extreme wide-angle lens that has an angle of view of 180°. It requires extreme care when working with it to not get ones own feet in the shot!

Our latest field trip was to Tswalu and the reserve was in full summer bloom. Every blade of grass was green, the devils thorn flowers were out in bloom and very importantly, insects were everywhere.

It took me a short while to locate this blister beetle feeding in a patch of tribulus flowers. Getting down low on my stomach and 5cm from the beetle, the fish eye lens opened up a new world to me. In the foreground was a beautiful flower, whilst it still captured one of the icons of he Kalahari: A camel thorn tree with a sociable weavers nest. The image came together instantly and I got up covered in thorns and red Kalahari dust.

As I down loaded, I immediately knew the new lens had done what I wanted. This image, to me, captures the essence of what we are trying to achieve with our book. It shows an insect going about its daily business in a landscape that we all know, and many of us love to visit. But the beauty extends beyond the tree and the nest (and the lions), it too extends to the beautiful spotted blister beetle feeding happily away amongst some yellow flowers. That is exactly what we will be showcasing in our book.

Exposure information
Nikon D300 - 10.5mm fish eye lens
Exposure – f 18 Shutter Speed: 1/250sec
Exp. Comp. -0.3. EV
ISO - 200
Flash - SB900 -0.7 TTL BL FP
Exposure mode– Aperture priority, Metering Mode– Matrix
File type– NEF (RAW)
Focal length: 10.5mm

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Wild Dog Wonders

I have never seen so much water at Mashatu in my life! Normally an arid environment, with dry riverbeds and dusty, open plains- the reserve has changed into a wonder of green on the plains and flowing rivers in every riverbed. It was a complete transformation. Grass, water, algae, waders, waterbirds, frogs and fish were all seen in the various pools and streams that ran through Mashatu.

Normally you would expect this to spread the animals out, but not here, the sweet grass around the rivierine areas attracts the numerous animals and the elephant make a daily “migration” to favoured feeding areas- meaning we could predict certain movements and be in the right place for the right shot.
We got our fair share of elephants, and other animals, but it was the wild dogs that were the star of the show this time round…

The19-22 March, was the first photo workshop I ran this year through my company, C4 Images and Safaris. As usual, we were happy with the varying subjects that Mashatu offers. When we got the call that the wild dogs were in the area though- my first question was “mobile or stationary…?” the reply was stationary and meant that we had a chance of at least photographing them when they are mobile, they are mobile! And photographing them is an exercise in holding onto a flying vehicle rather than getting the shot!

We headed off towards them, finding the pack of 16 just 20 minutes before sunset. It was a beautiful evening with even sunlight coming from a clear sky. Perfect for photography. And what photography it was. The dogs went from being very lazy, to slowly waking up and then to fully alert and playful within the 20 minutes while we were there. Everything added up. Great subjects- actually doing something, excellent light getting better and better every minute and a group of photographers capturing these active and inquisitive animals walking all around our vehicle! The angles and positions the photographers got into were probably what was attracting the dogs to our vehicle in the first place!

The sun set below the horizon and the day was over for us, photographically speaking, but not from an action point of view. Read the C4 Images and Safaris Blog to see what happened after dark.

The next afternoon, we tracked the dogs again and found them relaxing after their morning kill. This gave me an excellent opportunity to work on more specific images that I found I wanted after reviewing the previous days images. This is another benefit of digital- you can see exactly where you went wrong, and right. Luckily, we had an opportunity to spend another whole afternoon in great light with the dogs. Mashatu delivered once again. The photos were great and the company even better!

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Photography and Technology

If you remember the November essay, it was of the fiery-necked nightjar with a full moon shining behind it. I love the image and it was one of my favourite of last year. Fortuitously, the editor of the magazine Africa-Birds and birding also noticed it. This is Africa’s premier birding magazine and the image ran as a very effective double page spread. The reason I say this, is that it further emphasises the advances in technology that make it possible to take such images. What it also allows is for readers to now see images that just were not possible a few years ago.

The image of the nightjar was taken using a Nikon D300- which has very good noise capabilities- at iso of 1000, a shutter speed of 1/100 sec and a wide-open aperture at f4. Due to me having to work so fast to get the image, I handheld the camera and lens- a total weight of around 4kgs. The vibration reduction was essential for me to get a stable image, especially at such low shutter speed and hand holding the whole rig.
What I’m getting at is that all these combinations of technology, allowed me to take an image that could just not be done with previous generations of cameras. Never mind film cameras…
The fact that an image taken at iso 1000 can produce a double page spread probably says it all.

The other sequence of images I recently had published was one that also pays tribute to technology. The sequence was of four yellow-billed kites fighting over a guttural toad. During the short fight of 2 minutes, I took almost 2 photos per second- that’s how fast the action was! The birds were flying, stooping, dropping, swirling and screeching in such a manner that a tripod was totally redundant- again handholding the lens was necessary and a reliance on auto focus were all very much needed by me. The fact that cameras just work so well means the image hit rate for birds in focus was over 70%. Remember this was extreme action- many of my images had no birds in at all!

Again, this was published as a sequence in Africa-Birds and Birding magazine and again, it is testament to the advances in technology that allows me to get the shot, and readers to see images in publications.
I’m not really a techno when it comes to cameras, but being aware of what can help me get better images in testing environments is really exciting. It opens up new avenues for us photographers and brings new and exciting images to agents and publications. Some photographer’s say that every image of certain species has been taken- I disagree, a whole new world is opening up out there- now is the time to be even more creative than ever before- what a wonderful challenge!

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Photo workshop video at Mashatu Game Reserve

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