Here is our trip report from our 2025 Tanzania safari which we just wrapped up! We have been leading this trip for over a decade and feel we really have it dialed in with great locations, terrific guides, custom vehicles, etc.
This year, we worked hard with many full days in the field but in the end, it paid huge dividends with many great opportunities which you will see from the images below. In fact, the hardest part in putting this trip report together was getting it down to just 20 images.
We just opened up our entire 2026 schedule for registration and would love to share an adventure with you. We will list them at the bottom of this report.
Good Luck and Good Light!
Steve and Nicole
“I Can Totally See You Behind that Camera” – Leopard – We spent an amazing hour with this young male leopard. We watched him ride out a thunderstorm with 60 MPH winds twenty feet up in a tree and then come down and hunt a steinbock (unsuccessfully). After the failed hunt, he came over and had a “studio session” with us on this log for quite a while.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/50th @ f9, ISO 1600, Image cropped 5% for final composition.
“Warming up in the Morning Sun” – Bat-eared Fox – This primarily nocturnal fox is not often seen during the daylight. Something unique about this canid is that its diet consists mostly of insects. Interestingly it does not drink standing water, getting all its moisture from the insects.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/800th @ f10, ISO 800 Image cropped 5% for final composition
“Keep your Enemies Closer” – Caracal and Grants Gazelle – The Caracal, a striking cat, is one that we see least on safari. Although on this trip, we spent time with two of these special felines! Here, a Grants Gazelle keeps an eye on this cat. While it provides no threat to this adult gazelle, perhaps the gazelle has a newborn fawn hidden in the grass.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/1250th @ f8, ISO 400, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“Two of a Kind” – Red and Yellow Barbet – African birds are often overlooked by people. But, because they really are pretty spectacular, they are subjects that we try to spend some time photographing when we are on safari in Africa. It is not often that you can get two of them in the same frame however!
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/100th @ f25, ISO 500, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“Coalition Brothers” – Male Lions – Often times when male lions are not attached to a pride, they form partnerships so they can more effectively hunt bigger game. These fellas are part of a group of four beautiful males. These two are performing a flehmen response which is basically getting a truly deep smell of something interesting in the grass – usually the urine of a passing female.
Z9, 180-400mm, 1/1600th @ f7.1 ISO 400, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“Lovebird Lovenest” – Fischer’s Lovebird – Lucky for us, this was a very patient bird because we had to get positioned just right to get things lined up for this shot. We must be perfectly parallel to the tree so that the entire face of the tree as well as the bird are in critically sharp focus.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/100th @ f10, ISO 1000, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“King of the Kopjes” – Male Lion – Kopjes are islands of giant rock in the sea of grass that make up the Serengeti Plains. These “rock islands” provide great vantage points for the predators that use these areas as hunting grounds. One of the main reasons we visit this location is for images just like this… apex predators perched on the rocks!
Z9, 200-400mm, 1/250th @ f10, ISO 400, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“Baboon King” – Olive Baboon – One of our very favorite ways to make a more impactful image is to get as low as possible. When shooting up at an animal it makes them seem more powerful and looming. It also helps you get a better view at those eyes often buried under a baboon’s deep brow.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/400th @ f10, ISO 1000, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“On the Move” – Caracal – This was the second caracal that we saw on this trip and he was acting in more typical caracal fashion: trying to get out of the area! We were able to snap off a few frames. We just love the body position and direct confrontational eye contact of this image.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/800th @ f8, ISO 400, Image cropped 35% for final composition.
“Life and Death on the Plains” -Cheetah and Grant’s Gazelle Fawn – In our opinion, we visit one of the best places in the world to photograph cheetahs. In fact, on one amazing day, we saw three successful Cheetah hunts in less than a half hour… Before lunch!
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/4000 @ f6.3, ISO 800, Image cropped 20% for final composition.
“One Life Ends Another Begins” – Cheetah with Grant’s Gazelle Fawn – While scenes like this can be a hard thing to see, the fact is, this fawn’s death means life for this young cheetah out on its own. Mother cheetahs are smart and send their babies off on their own when there are plenty of newborns around for them to learn how to hunt. This fawn made the critical mistake of breaking cover from its hiding place when the predator moved past.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/200th @ f7.1, ISO 400, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“Those Eyes” – Long-crested Eagle – This has to be one of the prettiest raptors in Africa with its piercing yellow eyes and dramatic crest. It is a real showstopper. We were lucky to get it in good light with a bit of a breeze to blow that impressive crest up for us we were lucky indeed!
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/800th @ f9, ISO 640, Image cropped 10% for final composition.
“Fleet of Foot” – Grant’s Gazelle – An adult Grant’s Gazelle can run 50 MPH. There is an African story that says that every morning, the Cheetah wakes up knowing that it must outrun the Gazelle to survive, and every morning, the Gazelle wakes up knowing that it must outrun the Cheetah to survive. The moral of the story is that in Africa when you wake up… you better be running!
Z9, 600mm TC, 1,2500th @ f8, ISO 640, Image cropped 10% for final composition.
“First Light” – African Lion – This handsome fellow was quietly watching the sun as it just broke over the Eastern horizon, making for some very magical light! But as you all will see from the exposure information below what we call a “Hail Mary Exposure”.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/30th @ f4, ISO 1600, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“A Walk Along the Beach” – African Lion – This is the same Lion as the image above. After he enjoyed the sunrise, he got up and walked about a half a mile along the shores of a lake. We were able to position the vehicle directly in front of his path and let him walk right toward the camera. Shooting from the window provided a nice low angle. We were able to reposition a number of times for different backgrounds, making a total of 548 images of a lion walking directly at us!
Z9, 600mmTC 1/160th @ f5.6, ISO 1600, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
“Four Flamingos Fluffing Feathers” – Lesser Flamingoes – DM – A group of flamingoes is called a flamboyance? Well of course it is! These four were part of a group of a few hundred on the lake this morning. Beautiful light with nearly dead calm winds provided for a great opportunity with these beautiful birds.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/800th @ f11, ISO 500, Image cropped 10% for final composition.
DM – Digitally Manipulated Image – I cloned out some very distracting air bubbles from the surface of the water.
“A Swish of the Tail” – Serval Cat – Another one of the tough cats to get in Africa is the Serval but we had three on this trip! We got to spend about a half hour with this one in absolutely beautiful light, as it hunted in a very open meadow.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/1600th @ f7.1, ISO 1600, Image cropped 5% for final composition.
“Strange Hunting Buddies” – European Roller and Black-shouldered Kite – On the vast rolling plains of the African savannah, a good perch from which to hunt can be a hard thing to find. Sometimes you have to share! In this case, this probably works because these two don’t actually compete. The roller eats insects, and the Kite dines mostly on rodents and reptiles.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/400th @ f11, ISO 500, Image cropped 5% for final composition.
“Good Morning World” – Leopard Cub – On our last day, we were given a very special treat! This young (3–4-month-old) Leopard cub spent the night about 30 feet up in a tree. He is on his way down the tree and paused for a few moments to check us out. This cub and its sibling were being raised in a cavity at the base of the tree.
Z9, 600mm TC, 1/160th @ f8, ISO 800, Image cropped 0% for final composition.
| “At the Front Door” – Leopard Cub – Here is the same cub at the entrance to the cavity in the tree where he and his sibling were being raised. Such a smart mother to tuck them away in such a safe location. Z9, 600mm TC, 1/160th @ f10, ISO 1250, Image cropped 0% for final composition. |
| What an incredible way to finish off such an awesome adventure. We hope you will join us some day. If you would like to join us in 2026, here is the link: Tanzania 2026. |
| Our 2026 Schedule is Open for Registration! |
| Yellowstone in Winter, Trip 1: January 3 – 11, 2026 Yellowstone in Winter, Trip 2: January 11 – 19, 2026 India – Ultimate Tiger Safari: January 30 – February 12, 2026 Tanzania – Wildlife Adventure: February 15 – 26, 2026 Raptors in Flight – Winter Session: February 21 – 22, 2026 Costa Rica – A Nature Paradise: March 24 – April 4, 2026 Pumas of Patagonia: May 4 – 13, 2026 Raptors in Flight – Spring Session: May 16 – 17, 2026 Alaska – Brown Bears and More: June 24 – 29, 2026 Kenya – Great Wildlife Spectacles: July 25 – August 5, 2026 Brazil – Jaguars and Other Wildlife: August 26 – September 5, 2026 Madagascar – The Land of Lemurs: October 5 – 18, 2026 Kenya – Cats of the Mara: October 23 – November 2, 2026 Raptors in Flight – Fall Session: October 24 – 25, 2026 |