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Cats!  Cats!  Cats!

We’ve been talking about this for years. 

You’ve been asking for years. 

We now have the logistics and the ground team together for a safari dedicated to finding and photographing cats! 

Think lions, leopards, cheetahs and maybe even a serval.

 

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Most photography safaris are structured around going to some very cool places, exploring in a safari vehicle, stopping for interesting things… and then moving on to the next opportunity.  Normally, you don’t get to “hang out” with the cats waiting for something interesting to happen.

This safari will be different. 

We’ve worked with our favorite guides and our trusted contacts to find out their secret best spots.  We chose Tanzania – with its huge expanses of protected lands and its population of cats that are there naturally, not stocked for tourism.  We’ve designed an itinerary that will put us in the best zones at the best time of the year.  We consider February ideal – the grasses are greening in the Central and Southern Serengeti – and the prey animals are usually fattening up. And the Great Migration is arriving from the north. That leads to healthy cats – and often to youngsters. 

We’ve locked down a set of smaller, outstanding quality lodges and camps in the right places.  They also have the right features we photographers need – electricity for charging and downloading in your room or tent.

Once we’re out in vehicles (we’ll sometimes leave before the sun comes up) our focus will be on cats.  Our aim is to locate cats and then take the time we need to create great images.  Waiting is part of the game with serious nature photography. 

It’s never wise to head out into nature with a list… but we’ll try to find and photograph cats of all ages.  Cats hunting.  Mothers and youngsters.  Classic big males.  Cats in trees.  Some humorous poses, or as Diane likes to say, being “cute kitty”.  Those “looking into your eyes” shots.  And dramatic light for good art.  As always, we’ll work to position vehicles to take advantage of angles, light, and backgrounds.  And we’ll be there to give input to composition and exposure.

 

Where you find cats, you often find other predators – like hyenas and jackals.  But also eagles and the crew that cleans up after a kill.  If we see good opportunities, we will stop, but won’t get sidetracked long from our cat quest.

Along the way, we’ll see many of the creatures that most safaris hit the breaks for.  When the light and action are perfect, we will make some short stops – unless we are making time to a known cat sighting.  Bottom line – we’re there for the cats, but nature photography is opportunistic and we won’t waste great opportunities.

Our itinerary starts and ends at JRO, the airport between Arusha and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.  

From our base camp, the Arusha Serena, we’ll journey to the Ngorongoro Crater where we expect to find lions and cheetahs. 

From there, we’ll make our way to the Ndutu area of the Southern Serengeti, then move north to the endless plains of the Central Serengeti, then west to the woodlands and rivers of the western Serengeti. 

Finally, we’ll move to Lake Manyara Serena to make a brief foray into Lake Manyara National Park before our farewell dinner at the lodge. 

Our last day will find us returning to the Arusha Serena to reunite with our left-behind travel gear and clothes, and then international departure.  Many more details in the itinerary.

The more we talk about this, the more excited we are!  We’ve been hunting through images to adorn this page – and what we’re seeing makes us even more excited. 

We hope you’ll choose to join us – we do expect this Cats!  Cats!  Cats!  Safari to fill quickly.  If you want space, grab it.  It’s just like nature photography itself – don’t pass on a great opportunity.

 

Bottom line:

Every night we'll have opportunities to download and recharge (that's an amazing accomplishment for a Tanzania photography safari).

We are set up for up to 5 participants plus one photographer guide plus a driver guide per vehicle. Everyone has both a window and an open top vantage point for photography.

Our lodging is always close to the action.

Our team will work closely with the guides to assure that we get to great places in great light and take the time to work quality compositions and action (instead of lots of short stops with little opportunity to work the scene).

We're not there to fill a checklist - we're there to create amazing images. This safari is designed to accomplish that.

  • This adventure begins and ends at Kilmanjaro International Airport near Arusha, Tanzania
  • Group size is 4 minimum, 12 maximum with no more than 5 clients plus one photography leader in each safari vehicle
  • Every photographer has a window and an open roof with an unobstructed view toward subjects on his/her side. We reposition vehicles to give everyone a great view
  • Most meals included, most drinks on your own
  • We have electricity for recharging and downloading at every lodge
  • Limited number of single occupancy spots on this safari

 

Nature Photography Adventures

Wild Adventures

Calendar

About Our Adventures

About Us

Contact Us
Nature Photography Adventures Calendar of Adventures

2024
Journey with us into the wilds of Ethiopia to visit a number of ethnic groups that have clung to the old ways. We'll learn how each group sees the world differently - and how it shapes their personal actions and looks. We'll make amazing artful images of the peoples, their worlds, and the natural world around them. This is a wild adventure - we'll be journeying to where few people go - and tourism infrastructue is available. Check out the itinerary here.
Full

Oct 6 - 20

Private Costa Rica

Birds, primates, sloths, butterflies, frogs, waterfalls, and rainforest! Ahhh.

This one isn't for you - but watch the calendar!
Full

Oct 29 - Nov 6

Taking Control in the Mirrorless Era

 

 Three days of classroom and field time with migrating waterfowl, bald eagles, and macro opportunities. You'll learn how to take control of your mirrorless camera - and take advantage of new developments in the digital darkroom - to yield images that closely match your intentions in the field! Embrace manual - it's easier that the auto modes - and easier than ever in the mirrorless era!.
Full

Dec 3 - 5

2025

 

 Three days of classroom and field time with migrating waterfowl, bald eagles, and macro opportunities. You'll learn how to take control of your mirrorless camera - and take advantage of new developments in the digital darkroom - to yield images that closely match your intentions in the field! Embrace manual - it's easier that the auto modes - and easier than ever in the mirrorless era.
2
Spaces Available

Jan 7 - 9
Timed to meet the great migration in the Serengeti, our safari takes you to some of the great parks and protected areas in northern Tanzania in search of lions, zebras, giraffes, cheetah, hyenas... Of all our itineraries, anywhere in the world, this one has the best reviews - and is a real life-changing experience! If you'll only be making one photography foray into sub-Saharan Africa in your life - this is the trip!
Space Available

Feb 2-14
So many birds! Such good photography opportunities. So little physical effort required. Forty percent of the planet's hummingbirds are found in Ecuador. Thirty-seven percent of the tanagers (which don't show up in the Old World at all). Conservation has teamed up with landowners to protect natural cloudforest habitats - and the result is birds sitting on branches predictably in a way you can photograph them. Did we mention Cock-of-the-rock? Or mountain tourcan? Small group so secure your space before it is gone!
Space Available

May 18-25
Borneo! Rainforests. Orangutans. Gibbons. Pygmy elephants. Proboscis monkeys. 420 species of birds, including amazing hornbills and kingfishers, brightly colored little birds. Carnivorous plants. Sun bears. The list goes on and on. We've built an itinerary that takes you into the canopy, on trails by foot, on rivers by boat, and out on night safari. This is not an adventure you want to miss!
Limited
Space Available

Jun 22 - July 2
Join us in Brazil's Pantanal for a wild adventure that features both jaguars and an amazing array of birds, reptiles, and mammals. The Pantanal is the only place in the world where one can reliably find and photograph jaguars - as they are nocturnal hunters everywhere else. The birds here are fantastic - this is one of our favorite places to photograph flying birds (we can help you build your skills). Add in close-up encounters with giant river otters and so much more. Join us for this wild adventure!
Space Available

Aug 11-23
The Great Migration encounters the Mara River in Tanzania's northern Serengeti. 2-3 million wildebeest and 400-500,00 zebras want to cross the Mara - often high with boiling rapids and hosting giant Nile crocodiles looking to feast! We've design the ultimate photography adventure to put you in a number of right places at the right times - to capture images of the trauma, the terror, the attacks, and the heartening stories of wildebeest succeeding at crossing the river to greener pastures. Are you coming?
Space Available

Aug 28 - Sep 6
Turkey sits at a geographical crossroads, which means that, over history, many cultures have passed through Turkey, each leaving a distinct imprint on the culture and the archaeological record. Let's explore some of the great archaeological wonders - while putting ourselves in great positions make exciting art with cameras. Mosques, Fairy Chimneys, Ephasus, Istanbul, Aphrodisia, Pergamum, Assos and so much more.
Full

Sep 21 - Oct 5

2026
To sit quietly in a bamboo thicket with a gorilla family, interacting with eye contact, observing, and making compelling images is truly a life changing experience. Venture out into the wilds of Rwanda with a small group to experience photographic encounters with wild gorillas, chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, golden monkeys, and much, much more. Fitness level is necessary to accomplish this adventure. Dates are tentative until we secure permits.
Space Available

Jan 8-20
Timed to meet the great migration in the Serengeti, our safari takes you to some of the great parks and protected areas in northern Tanzania in search of lions, zebras, giraffes, cheetah, hyenas... Of all our itineraries, anywhere in the world, this one has the best reviews - and is a real life-changing experience! If you'll only be making one photography foray into sub-Saharan Africa in your life - this is the trip!
Space Available

Feb 9-21
Join us in 2026 as we'll explore favorite haunts and add new landings and vistas. Giant tortoises, flightless frigates, 3 kinds of boobies, land and marine iguanas, sea lions and fur seals, flamingos, and the northernmost penguin in the world. The list goes on and on! Exciting landscapes. So much to learn about geology, biology, and evolution.Truly an inspiring experience - ties the Serengeti in client feedback as the "most life-changing" experience of their lives.
Space Available

Apr 17-27
Join a small group of photographers as we fly in float planes and tundra planes out into the wilderness of the Katmai Peninsula - in search of great bear photography opportunities. We'll go where the bears are actively catching salmon, including Brooks Falls, and other locations drawing off the Bristol Bay watershed which has the largest salmon runs in the world. Plan to be close to bears - to have great vistas from planes - and to marvel at the vast expanse of wilderness. Group size limited - secure your space.
Space Available

Jul 27 - Aug 2
Turkey sits at a geographical crossroads, which means that, over history, many cultures have passed through Turkey, each leaving a distinct imprint on the culture and the archaeological record. Let's explore some of the great archaeological wonders - while putting ourselves in great positions make exciting art with cameras. Mosques, Fairy Chimneys, Ephasus, Istanbul, Aphrodisia, Pergamum, Assos and so much more.
Space Available

Sep 20 - Oct 4