I do love a good photo, and I love it even more when I take it myself.  But the primary goal of the trip for me wasn’t to get great photos, it was to see great wildlife.  Documenting those experiences with the best photos I could take was important too, but I’d much rather have an experience without a photo than a photo without the experience. 

For example, on the “Low Light” page I have a photo of two spotted hyena pups.  I took a lot of photos of these guys, even though I knew when I was taking them that none would be technically good: I was forty or fifty yards away, using a zoom lens at maximum aperture with teleconverter, in rapidly deepening twilight, shooting moving animals, with only a monopod for stabilization.  I’m glad I have those photos because they remind me of the experience, even though the photos themselves are not so hot.

Because the photo is secondary for me, I don’t have the unlimited patience and detail-orientation of a good pro photographer. I’m OK with that.

All of that said, though, of course if I do have the chance to get a great picture, I want to get it! 

NEXT: Gear