Guest Post: ‘Living the Dream’ by Paul McDougall

When Gerry asked me to write this, I was completely shocked I had actually looked on here a few weeks back in complete awe at the guest posts on here. I commented on David Lloyds post and after reading that thought, I’d love to get this chance. Then the message came, it actually came the morning I was leaving for Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara – could I write a guest post for Photo Africa? So here goes…

I am a 30year old photographer, originally from the UK but now living in Kenya. I have been traveling Africa for the past 12 years whilst also working full time for an International Portrait Photography Company.

So 3 months ago I quit my job and left England behind and made the big move.

My decision to move to Kenya wasn’t really a hard one because out of the 23 countries in Africa I have visited I have always felt more at home here than anywhere else. Kenya is an amazingly beautiful and diverse country with some of the most amazing and breathtaking sights in the world, it also has a great climate and some of the friendliest people you will ever meet.

Another reason for being here now is that 6 years ago I set up my own business which I own jointly with my Kenyan Guide from my very first safari. We have become firm friends and have seen the business go from an idea shared around a camp fire in Amboseli with a few beers to Wild Connection Safaris, our own tours and safari business.

We set up the business because I felt that there was a niche in the market for clients who wanted a quality safari experience at a reasonable price but didn’t want to sacrifice a small group environment with complete tailor made itineraries or the opportunity to learn about what they were seeing. This idea has “morphed” in to us offering photographic tours to suit all needs and budgets. We take top photographers with top equipment and get them in the best places to get great shots. But we also offer a budget option for photographers who are just starting out who want to learn more about their cameras and equipment and want to get great shots, we have daily challenges and competitions on these safaris and critique and review images in the evenings.

When I was just starting out there was nothing on the market like this at the price we charge, and if we can help a few people get some more confidence, understanding and enjoyment from their photography then I feel that we will have succeeded

I really got interested in Wildlife Photography when I was 18 and staying on a safari camp in Botswana, at that time I owned a fully manual Cosina C1 and 200mm lens, my shots weren’t particularly good but I was hooked.

I have since up-graded all of my equipment to Nikon digital SLR’s. My camera equipment consists of a Nikon D300, Nikon D200, Nikon 80-400mm zoom lens which I pretty much use all of the time, Nikon 70 – 300mm zoom lens, Sigma 50 – 500mm zoom lens and a Nikon 18 – 35mm lens.

Technically when I shoot I usually shoot on aperture priority, I try to keep the aperture (in good bright light) at f9 – f16, I nearly always shoot on an ISO of 500 or 640, this enables good detail in my images whilst still having fast shutter speeds to freeze movement.

I have been asked in the past to describe how I go about my photography, well apart from the settings above, I really don’t get bogged down too much with the technicalities. I spend hours reading books on animal behavior and learning to anticipate what will happen, I keep my camera settings simple and focus on recording what is happening around me and trying to show behavior and interaction. I try to be aware of backgrounds and landscapes – something that I didn’t used to pay enough attention to, I used to just zoom in on everything and never show the landscape, but I am now getting much better at this.

To summarize my top 5 tips:

1. Know your camera – the best equipment does not necessarily mean the best shots. Learn the settings, try different ISO’s, shutter speeds, apertures and white balances etc. Know what the limits of your camera are and push it. Believe me, I have been on safari with clients who had top  equipment, that was new for that safari and never been used, and due to this they missed several amazing shots. Learn to use your camera when the shots don’t matter as much.
2. Learn your subjects. Ok I don’t mean you have to have a degree in Animal Behavior, but it is useful to read a little bit on the animals and birds found in the areas you will be visiting. This will help you see a particular behavior trait before it happens so you are ready.
3. Always go on safari with open eyes, look at all the amazing things out there, its not just about elephants, lions and the other large animals, its about the landscape, the light and all the parts that make a truly great image. Also never be scared to ask your driver to stop. Just because you might be the only one who wants to photograph Impalas or Gazelles it doesn’t matter, I used to miss so many shots because I didn’t do this.
4. Review your images on the back of your camera, just every so often quickly check the histogram, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing something amazing and watching it for 10 minutes, and shooting frame after frame, only to discover that the exposure is all wrong, or the ISO too low and those fighting hippos in the river just look like blurry rocks.
5. Look at what other photographers are shooting, look at their ideas and examples and try to take it further by visualizing the images you would like to take. Then if you get the chance and the right sightings then snap away. I had always wanted to get a photograph of a lion cub peering out between its mums legs. It was only last week on safari that I had this chance.

Digital photography is truly remarkable for wildlife photography it enables you to capture unique behaviour at a fast rate without having to worry about running out of film. Some people say that it has made photography easier but i disagree, you still have to have an eye for composition and you still have to understand and be able to anticipate an animal’s behaviour. Lions mating in the perfect golden evening light with the perfect background may only happen the once in these conditions and you still have to be ready to capture the males spectacular dismount and both parties comical distasteful expressions.

The above statement about photography becoming easier can also be interpreted in another way. With the advancement of digital cameras and the fact that so many people now own one, it is very hard to make a breakthrough in the wildlife photography industry. I have a portfolio of over 3 thousand images of Maasai Mara from leopards to lilac-breasted rollers, but it is still very hard to get a photograph of a leopard published as many agencies and magazines already have those shots. So that is where the challenge lays with me. I continually have to spend more time looking for unique behavior and different shots.

Photographing Wildlife in Kenya is truly rewarding, my favorite 2 places are Samburu and of Maasai Mara.

Samburu is so different and diverse, it is Semi Desert in the arid north. It is home to many unique species not found so easily and in such numbers anywhere else in Kenya. These include Gerenuk, Grevy’s Zebra, Oryx and Reticulated Giraffe. I love Samburu simply for its bright and beautiful landscape, the birds there are also extremely beautiful and colorful. Samburu really makes you think about your photography it makes you appreciate everything all around you, sometimes you may not see all of the big “showcase” animals but you can be rewarded if you look with bee-eaters, sunbirds and dramatic landscapes. It is also one of the best places to photograph elephants dyed red with the volcanic red soil which makes for striking images against the blue sky.

I recently photographed Samburu after the floods and the landscape became green with new life, I had never in 6 years of visiting seen it so beautiful.

Maasai Mara doesn’t need any introduction as it is known all over the world. Most of my best lion photographs have been taken there, as have many of the best lion images in the world.

It is renowned for all of the big cats and for the wildebeest migration between August and October. During this time sightings of Leopard, Cheetah and Lion are virtually guaranteed. The Mara has amazing photographic opportunities all year round and in the low season when the grass is longer the patient and observant photographer can be rewarded with some great images without the usual high volume of vehicles. I like to go to the Mara at these times as you really appreciate the beauty of the landscape and the extraordinary variety of smaller animals and birds that also are on view. Maasai Mara offers an amazing opportunity to photograph everything you could possibly want to in 4 – 7 days in such a picturesque setting that is often not appreciated or photographed enough.

My tips on a successful safari in Kenya are really simple.

• Don’t try to visit too many places, if you tell most companies here that you have 7 days they will try to cram 4 parks or reserves in to this time frame, great if you want to see what is around but if you really want to appreciate what is on offer, get to know a place, and see it at its best you need to spend longer. I like to spend at least 4 days in the Mara when I am there, more if possible. The same for Samburu, you really need at least 3 days to appreciate it fully. Also for the other reserves and parks, Lake Nakuru to allow time to photograph the flamingoes in different light requires 3 days. Tsavo East and West (jointly the largest protected area in Kenya)requires 6 days and Amboseli 4 days to insure you have a good chance of capturing elephants with Mt Killimanjaro in the background.
• Also you get what you pay for – the cheaper the price the more likely you are to be crammed in a vehicle with 8 other clients who may not even want to take photographs.
• The lower the group number the more you expect to pay, but way this up with what you want to get from the trip.
• Also research the parks and reserves that you want to visit, ask advice for the best times. But as I said before, do not dismiss Maasai Mara just because its not migration time. Some of my best images have been taken between February and May. Also look beyond the well advertised parks at Kakamega Forest (brilliant for birds and monkeys), Marsabit an undiscovered Gem, Meru one of the reserves on the way up in Kenya and Lakes Baringo and Bogoria (a nice alternative to the more popular Naivasha)
• Lastly insure that you have a great guide who knows what you want, someone who knows a little about light and will help you get in the best places, but also someone who is prepared to be patient and will help you get the images you want through perseverance.

Through my photography i try to show wildlife as it is i never digitally remove anything from my photographs and i try to concentrate on showing character, interaction and behavior. I want my photographs to educate people and give people a reason to come and see it for themselves like the images and documentaries did for me. The future of photography is unclear as is the future of many different species of  wildlife but one thing is for certain, whilst the beautiful places of Kenya are still there for everyone to see and whilst digital cameras are getting better and cheaper there is a hope that photography can be used to highlight environmental issues and can be a source of inspiration for many people.

The future for my photography is also unclear. I plan to stay in Kenya and keep living that dream that started so many years back. I hope that I can continue to improve and I hope that my work will reach a wider audience. But above all I just hope that I can continue to take images and have fun doing what I love doing.

Paul McDougall

Paul’s Links:

• Website: Paul Mcdougall Photography
• Safaris: Wild Connection Tours
• Facebook Page: Paul Mcdougall Photography
• Email: Send Paul an Email