A
frica is dusty. Dusty and hot.
Safari vehicles don’t come with
air conditioning, and so in order
to have any relief at all from the heat,
windows must be open. In addition, the
entire roof of the vehicle is often removed
to allow for photography from above.
As you hurtle down dirt roads through
the national parks, your car is passed by
other vehicles either heading the other
way or overtaking you at a faster clip.
In their wake, clouds of dust billow into
the vehicle and settle down over you and
everything around you in a fine layer.
Over the last several years, I’ve traveled
numerous times to Africa and other trop-
ical climes with my wildlife photography
gear. My bags and electronics have been
subjected to some pretty extreme condi-
tions. My most recent trip to Tanzania, in
particular, held some technical challenges,
inspiring me to share what I’ve learned in
the hopes that others will benefit.
What it boils down to is how well you
pack and prepare for the eventualities of a
photo safari to Africa or any other far-flung
locale, where no hardware stores can be
found and where Amazon doesn’t deliver.Make It Fit
My kit when I travel anywhere for
photography always includes at least
a super-telephoto lens of 500mm or
600mm, a mid-telephoto, a wide-angle
lens and a couple of pro-level camera
bodies. I definitely need a roller bag for
all this weight, and thankfully, early on
in my career, I discovered and purchased
the Think Tank Airport Security roller
bag. To this day, I can’t imagine using
anything else, for it seems to have been
designed for my exact needs. It holds
my big lens, a camera body, two to three
additional lenses, two teleconverters,
chargers, card readers and cleaning sup-
plies. It has grab handles in all the places
I need them. There’s a retractable trolleyhandle, a rain cover with a storage pouch
and a compartment for your laptop.
Does it fit in the overhead on the pud-
dle jumpers? Not this model (which may
be their largest; they do offer smaller
versions). I check the bag planeside when
boarding small aircraft. When I first
started doing this years ago, this made
me very nervous. But then I just learned
to let go of that anxiety, especially as all
my gear is insured thanks to the cam-
era insurance policy available to me by
my membership in the North American
Nature Photography Association. By
now, I’ve checked that bag planeside
dozens of times without incident.
On regular-sized jets, my Think Tank
roller fits easily into overhead compart-
ments. I heft it up and then sit down with
my Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW back-
pack, sliding it under the seat in front of
me. That contains one camera body and
one wide-angle lens, each wrapped in soft
scarves that do double duty, cradling me
when I’m cold and sleepy on the trip. I also
put all my lithium batteries in the back-
pack, as well as any personal items I might
need on the plane, like snacks, a collapsible
water bottle, eye shades, noise-canceling
headphones and any valuables, such as
jewelry and eyeglasses, that I don’t want
going into a checked bag. Just last month,
I made the rare decision to place a valuable
item in my checked bag, a pair of high-end
Nikon binoculars, tightly wrapped in cloth-
ing deep in the bag. I had run out of room
in my carry-on bags, which were stretched
to the limit with gear. My beloved binos
were lifted from the bag during the time it
was mysteriously delayed at JFK airport in
New York, reaching Tanzania a few days
after I did and a few pounds lighter. Hard
lesson learned.
If you run out of room in your carry-on
bags, one option is to wear a camera or
fishing vest onto the plane, as these con-
tain a multitude of pockets that can fitanything from camera lenses to binos to
toiletries in the pockets.
In checked bags, it’s typically safe to
pack tripods and extra camera accessories
such as back-up chargers or card readers.
But in general, bring anything that you
simply couldn’t live without if you got
separated from your bag for the first few
days of your trip with you on the plane. And
don’t forget to grab a quick phone snap of
your bag before you say goodbye to it—if
it goes missing, you’ll have a handy visual
to help airline personnel track it down.Make It Clean
As I mentioned at the outset, Africa is
dusty. Tools for keeping your equipment
clean are absolutely critical. Dirt, dust,
water spots and general gunk can not only
wreck a good photo but also result in an
inoperable camera, ruining your safari.
You’ll need a variety of supplies. A
brush is always helpful to remove loose
dirt and sand. Go to the makeup counter
at a pharmacy or department store and buy
a high-end makeup brush. You can even
use it on your camera’s or lens’ contacts if
need be. A Giottos Rocket Blaster—those
silicone rubber bulbs with long, thin noz-
zles—or similar product is a handy item
as well. For dirt on glass that needs a little
moisture to come off, bring along tissue
leaves with optical cleaner or wipes like
Kimwipes. If you’re using a cleaner, squirt
a little onto the tissue (never directly onto
the lens), and then wipe streaks, water spots
and dirt off gently. To clean contacts on
the lens or camera, there’s CAIG DeoxIT
Contact Cleaner, though isopropyl alcohol
of at least 91 percent will also work.
In these environments, it’s always a
good idea to clean your camera’s sensor
from time to time. Many photographers
I know use the Eyelead SCK-1 Sensor
Cleaning Kit, which features a gel-stick
for removing particles on sensors. If you
purchase one, don’t fall for the knock-To Tanzania And Beyond
Preparing your gear for a wild ride
Text & Photography By Melissa Groowild by nature
34 Outdoor Photographer outdoorphotographer.com