Well, I finally did it. For those of you who followed along on Instagram (and if you didn’t you should be following me!), you know that this past October I went on the trip of a lifetime to Kenya and Botswana.
Countless people have asked me things like “when are you going to post the rest of your Africa pictures?”, “did they have puffins in Africa?, and “hey how about that twenty bucks you owe me?” and today, I begin to answer those questions. Well, at least the first one.
Before we proceed, though, let’s be clear about one thing: there are going to be lots of pictures that I’m incredibly proud of. I’ll also try to weave in an underlying narrative through those photos, so although they may not be exactly in chronological order, I’m going to try and group them together in the most entertaining way.
So let’s start at the most obvious place: talking about my grandmother.
Why my grandma played a role in me going to Africa
My grandmother was an incredible woman, the absolute matriarch of an incredible family, and boy am I lucky to be her grandson. She had a big laugh, big opinions, and a work ethic this world had never seen before her. I’ll skip the rest of her CV and get to the good bit: in the 1960s in Houston, Texas, my grandmother decided to start a business. A woman starting a business, especially in transportation, was pretty much unheard of in the South back then, and she faced incredible odds to make it a success. But she did what she always did: outworked everyone and made it a success whether it wanted to be or not (when she told you how things were going to go, you could have whatever opinion you wanted, but it was going to go the way she wanted).
She also loved to travel and loved bringing her family with her on some beautiful family trips when I was young. Put simply: she is why I travel. And, because she was also a female entrepreneur, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for female entrepreneurs in male-dominated fields and try to go out of my way to support them whenever I can because I feel like it would make my grandma proud.
And then there was Kate Newman
I have had plenty of chances to go to Africa for a safari in the past but something always held me up, it never felt quite right. What was different this time?
Kate Newman. A female entrepreneur in a male-dominated field, one of the best wildlife photographers in the world, and a dear friend (seriously Kate, have some flaws, geez). If you’ve never seen her work, you owe it to yourself to check out her Instagram feed at @katenewmanphoto.
I’ve known Kate for a couple of years now, basically since I moved to Australia, and I know how much she loves Kenya. Her Giraffe with the Zebras photo (that’s my name for it, I don’t know what she calls it) is one of my favourite photos of all time, so basically she made me love Kenya before I ever visited there!
When she said she was putting together a wildlife photography workshop in Kenya for October 2025, it finally felt right. Before I knew it, I was booked in for her workshop!
First things first: what photography gear did I bring?
Ok so this is where I was tempted to overthink things, but in the end I was very happy with what I brought. (Note that the combined value of everything I brought was well beyond $30,000 USD, you really do not need to bring this caliber of camera equipment or go out and buy some extravagant camera. If all you have is an iPhone, I promise you will get some very nice pictures with it!)
I brought two camera bodies: the Sony a1II and…another Sony a1II. Africa is dusty and having two camera bodies kept me from having to switch lenses and expose the camera sensor to all of the dust. This was the right move.
For lenses, I brought my Sony 400mm f2.8, the Sony 100-400mm f4.5-5.6, and the new Sony 50-150mm f2. At the end of the trip, mainly due to the a1II’s fast shooting capabilities (I was almost always shooting around 20 frames/second), I shot over 36,000 pictures! The large majority were with the 400mm f2.8 and the 50-150mm in second. In the future I would leave the 100-400 at home (in fact, I sold mine when I got back).
Now, I also own a 600mm lens and much much wider lenses. Why didn’t I use those? Honestly I didn’t feel like I needed to. I do not take many pictures of birds, so the 600mm lens would have been too close for a lot of the big cats we saw. Likewise, the only time I really needed a wide angle lens was when I went on my side quest to Botswana (and I lied above, I brought a 16-35mm f2.8 with me as well).
(ok I love Kingfishers so I took some pictures of this one, but still did not need the 600mm for it)
Some of our group had 150-600mm lenses on older cameras and were very happy. Still others had bridge cameras like the Sony RX10IV and they were happy. Another only had an iPhone and she was very happy. Then there was the guy who also brought an old-school disposable camera for some candid shots and he was an absolute legend, we all loved those pictures.
Point is, for a safari I highly suggest bringing what you are already comfortable with. If you are used to pro-level camera gear and know how to get the most out of it, by all means go crazy. But if you’ve never used a nice camera before, probably no need to go out and buy one before your trip, you’ll be fighting it much more than if you had just used your phone.
Where did we stay?
One of the things Kate did that was so amazing was work with a top-tier guide company to help put the trip together. Our lead guide, Hilary, and Kate worked together to take us to three different geographical areas in Kenya: Samburu, Lake Nakuru, and the Maasai Mara. This would give us a variety of photographic opportunities (and challenges) with unique wildlife endemic to each area. We stayed in nice lodges at each of the locations we visited but, as a warning, I will not really cover those lodges in much detail.
Are you going to list out your itinerary in case we want to replicate your trip?
No. What Kate and Hilary put together was a magical trip because every choice they made fit the group of people attending the photography workshop. It might not make as much sense for someone else. There are two types of safari trips: where you go and stay at a lodge and use that lodges guides for game drives and hiring private guides to be with you the entire time. We had the latter, which was right for our group, but it might be better for you to go to a lodge and use their guides. Each trip is different and this is what worked for us.
With the safari industry never being as popular as it is right now, it is important for you to have some ideas about what you want to see and the type of experience you want to have and then find a company that best suits what you are hoping to accomplish. Thanks for your understanding.
Ok, so you told us about photography gear, Kate, your grandmother, and why you aren’t sharing a daily itinerary. What should we expect in this trip report?
Get ready. We will see lions.
We will see zebras.
We will see elephants.
We will see animals that have a hilarious name that made me giggle when I was a teenager in geography class.
…and so much more! Not only will I be sharing some wonderful wildlife photography but, like I said above, I want you to know the stories behind the photos. Get ready for the Courageous Lions, the Villainous Leopard, and the Domineering Zebra. And maybe even a lion who just wanted another lion to love him.
I cannot wait to share more with you and hope you will join me for the ride!
What are you most excited to see in this series? Let me know below in the comments!
