Reviews

The first part of the Namibia trip was to Etosha National Park, one of the largest wildlife parks in all of Africa. We spent six days here from morning to sundown taking pictures primarily of birds and animals. We saw huge herds of plains animals and quite a few predators as well on all days in Etosha. The different lodges we stayed at all had waterholes attached to the perimeter of the camp. Here animals came into drink day and night. Lights illuminate the waterhole at night and all kinds of animals visit to drink. Rhinos and elephants with their reflections in the water are really exciting to see.

The second part of the tour was to the beautiful desert dunes of West Central Namibia call Sossusvlei. Here we saw desert animals and the magical sand dunes that change color with the changing sun’s rays moving over the countryside. A special treat was our excursion to Dead Vlei. Here we saw trees over 900 years old standing in the pan of this beautiful place. The trees are naked and stark and provide excellent photo opportunities.

My first trip was to Costa Rica in 2016. We were escorted in a very nice air-conditioned bus throughout the trip. In addition, we were accompanied by a native Costa Rican guide (an invaluable resource and an excellent photographer himself), a Costa Rican bus driver and about eight other photographer guests on the trip. The number of photographers included on the trip was just right to allow important and valuable interaction between them and the two tour leaders and the guide. The tour leaders, Gary and Judy Lynn Malloch were very knowledgeable about the specific locations to obtain superb photos of the wildlife and the incredible scenery. All three of the tour leaders were always available to offer advice about equipment and technique. At one point, I could not get my tripod head to accept one of my lenses, so Gary and Judy were kind enough to allow me to uses one of their tripods. I later was able to fix my tripod. Gary and Judy were exemplary in placing us at the right places and at the right times to get the best photo results. They did not just drop us off and expect us to fend for ourselves. The leaders also photographed along with all of the guests providing advice about the correct lenses to use and the changing camera settings that were best to utilize.

My second trip was to Namibia, Africa in 2017. Again, the tour was professionally organized and run. The trip was incredible. There were only six people on the trip and again that allowed for excellent interaction and guidance. The lodging in each of the camps we stayed in was excellent along with the food. The weather in Namibia was excellent at the time we were on tour, very dry and not humid. The afternoons were in the mid 70’s and most comfortable. We drove ourselves on this tour in 4-wheel drive trucks and only had two photographers in the truck, one in the front and one in the back. Ample room was available to store our entire camera gear on the seat beside us. This was great as each photographer could shoot out of each side of the truck. The tour incorporated visiting Sossusvlei, including Dead Vlei, a private cheetah reserve, the Skeleton Coast where we saw the flamingos and a monster seal rookery and the trip highlight Etosha National Park. Again the tour leaders were extremely knowledgeable about where to be and when. They provided everyone excellent photographic opportunities every day of the trip. I personally came away with about 6,500 images, which one year later, I am still sorting through.