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You Can Now Sign Up for My 2020 Safaris

by Dave Burns | Posted in News | Tags: , , , , ,
Crouching Leopard
Crouching Leopard

Keeping my Safari Prices Low for 2020!

See the Serengeti in 2020

I’ve finished organizing my safaris for 2020 and I have great news: I’m still able to keep my prices way below what others other for an equivalent experience. I’m still using the same high quality guides and lodging that I always have. An 11-day safari to Tanzania’s best wildlife spots is just $6,475 in July and October (sorry, my February safari is booked for a private group). That’s more than 30% off the typical price for safaris of this quality.

You don’t need to be a hardcore photographer to join us on this special safari experience; you just need to want to experience the excitement of watching wildlife up close.

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Thoughts on Using the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-H1 on Safari

by Dave Burns | Posted in Trip Reports, What's in the Bag | Tags: , , , , , ,

About 4 years ago, I wrote a lengthy blog post about my experience shooting on safari with the Fujifilm X-T1. In that post, I shared some of the challenges I had and the changes that I wanted Fujifilm to make to improve the experience and results. I had an interest in this: my complete Canon kit for safari shooting weighed about 30 pounds by the time I included all the lenses and bodies. The same kit with Fuji gear weighed about 10 pounds and packed smaller!

Since that post, I’ve continued bringing Fujifilm gear on safari and now it’s the only gear I bring. This last October, I brought the just-released X-T3 along with an X-H1. I even have an X-E2 that I had converted for infrared photography. My lenses were all Fujifilm as well: the 100-400mm, the 50-140mm, and the 18-55mm. For infrared, I also brought the 14mm and the 35/1.4 since those work well for infrared and are compact.

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Scenes from the Palouse

by Dave Burns | Posted in Trip Reports | Tags: , , , ,

Sunset on Newly Tilled Soil

In August, I took a workshop instead of giving one and went to the Palouse, a mostly agricultural region in Washington State (and little bit of Idaho) that has become popular among landscape photographers. I joined Kevin Raber from the Luminous Landscape for a week of photography there. We had a great time, a great group, and we spent loads of time shooting, talking about photography, exploring, probably eating too much food, and making new friends.

There’s a town named Palouse but the Palouse region contains many small towns, rolling hills of wheat and beans to the horizon, and all the trappings of farming areas such as harvesters working the fields, barns with rusty, abandoned trucks in them, etc. Sometimes we photographed sweeping landscapes and other times we got in close for abstracts of rusty, colorful cars.
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The Best Time of Year to go on Safari in Tanzania

by Dave Burns | Posted in News | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Since I schedule safaris at different times during the year, one of the questions I’m frequently asked is, which time of year is best to go?

Honestly, there’s no bad time to go but things will be different depending on when you choose: sometimes there are greener landscapes, sometimes cooler temperatures, etc. Here is more detail:

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Wildebeest Herd Crossing the Mara River in the Northern Serengeti

by Dave Burns | Posted in Story Behind the Photo | Tags: , , , , ,

One of the highlights of any safari to the Serengeti is seeing a herd of wildebeest crossing a river. A thousand or more animals line up on the far bank of the river and then all it takes is one or two bold ones to trigger the rush. Dust flies into the air and creates back-lit clouds, the wildebeest plunge into the water, and swim across to climb the other bank. Sometimes the risk doesn’t pay off – a crocodile takes one or a weak one stumbles and gets carried away by the current – but the sheer size of the herd dictates that you will see massive numbers of wildebeest emerge on the near bank, fur appearing black from being soaked in the water.

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Announcing My 2019 Safaris!

by Dave Burns | Posted in News | Tags: , , , , ,

Lion and Wildebeest in the Crater

Amazing Price on My 2019 Safaris!

See the Serengeti in 2019

If you’ve always been excited about a trip to Africa but the price has been out of reach, I have great news. I am able to keep my 2019 safari prices low again with the same high quality guides and lodging. An 11-day safari to Tanzania’s best wildlife spots is just $5,880 in February and $6,075 in July and October. That’s more than 30% off the typical price for safaris of this quality.

You don’t need to be a hardcore photographer to join us on this special safari experience; you just need to want to experience the excitement of watching wildlife up close.

On my February safari, we’ll spend 2 nights in Tarangire, 2 nights at the Ngorongoro Crater, 3 nights in the southern Serengeti, and finish with 2 nights in the central Serengeti. Highlights in February will be new zebra foals and wildebeest calves. Click here for details.

On my July and October safaris, we’ll spend 2 nights in Tarangire, 2 nights at the Ngorongoro Crater, 3 nights in the central Serengeti, and wrap up with 2 nights in the Serengeti’s north. Highlights in July are cooler temperatures and a chance to see the wildebeest herds cross the Mara River. In October, the dry season means the wildlife in Tarangire must come down to drink at the Tarangire River, the only water source in the park which makes it easier for us – and predators – to see them. Click here for details on the July safari and click here for details on the October safari.

If you are at all interested in joining us for an incredible experience, contact me asap at info@daveburnsphoto.com.

Safari njema,
Dave Burns

Wildebeest Charging Through Dust and Water

Tarangire: Wrapping up with Elephants, Zebras, and a Toast

by Dave Burns | Posted in Trip Reports | Tags: , , , , , , ,

After our final morning at our Serengeti camp, we hit the road and reached our lodge in Tarangire National Park by nightfall. I always enjoy Tarangire because it has the highest concentration of elephants and baobabs on the northern circuit and those are some of my favorite subjects. It’s chock full of plenty of other wildlife too; I’ve had my best leopard sightings here, lions in trees, large families of giraffe, antelope, and birds. And this time, there were more zebra than I’m used to seeing – we saw plenty of large herds.

Zebra Family
Zebra Family

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Amazing Price for My Serengeti Safari in July 2017

by Dave Burns | Posted in News | Tags: , , , , ,

Lion and Wildebeest in the Crater

Amazing Price on Top-Notch Safari!

See the Serengeti in July 2017

If you’ve always been excited about a trip to Africa but the price has been out of reach, I have an amazing steal for you! An 11-day safari to Tanzania’s best wildlife spots with one of the top guides in the country for just $6,500. That’s more than 30% off the typical price for a trip of this quality.

You don’t even need to be a hardcore photographer to join us on this special safari experience; you just need to love watching wildlife.
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Central Serengeti: Cats, Kopjes, Sunrises, and Infrared

by Dave Burns | Posted in Trip Reports | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

It was time to leave the northern Serengeti and move on to another camp; this one just south of the central Serengeti. We spent the day winding our way south, making an all-day game drive of it. We saw many of the more common animals – wildebeest, zebra, and giraffe – but as we got closer to camp, we spied a serval in the grass. People talk about the “big cats” – lions, leopards, and cheetahs – but a serval is one of the “small cats” and seeing them is a very rare and special sighting. This is only the second serval I’ve seen myself. The grass was a bit tall but the serval was kind enough to pose for a few shots before it disappeared into the grass. Not the most cooperative subject.

Serval Cat in the Tall Grass
Serval Cat in the Tall Grass

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Northern Serengeti: Wildebeest and Mara River Crossings

by Dave Burns | Posted in Trip Reports | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wildebeest Crossing 1
Wildebeest Crossing 1

It’s a treat to wake up at a true mobile, tented camp in the middle of the Serengeti. We spent three nights here and I think it’s the most authentic way to experience a traditional safari.

On our first day, we took breakfast with us so we could drive to the river early. I was very encouraged by the massive herds of wildebeest that we drove by. It’s impossible to predict exactly when the herds will be in place to make the crossing so it’s a small gamble when you book your airfare. In other years, I might have missed by a couple of weeks.

We drove north to the Kogatende airstrip then east along the southern side of the Mara River, looking for herds massing near the riverbank. Watching the herds cross is a waiting game because they are unpredictable and get spooked easily. You wait some distance back from the river so the herds don’t get scared away and then, once they look like they are starting to cross, you move forward as fast as you can without spooking them (which means pretty slowly). And as much as you want to be alone while doing this, many other people in the area have the same idea so there’s a bit of jockeying for position as well.
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