Summary

Zululand, where the mighty King Shaka Zulu had his royal hunting grounds... And for good reason, as it is one of Africa's finest wildlife areas! With dozens of game reserves, and several ecosystems spanning from savanna, various types of forests, swamplands all the way to coastal plains, animal life is diverse and bountiful! And this of course offers fantastic photographic opportunities!
WHEN
Any time of the year, upon request
PRICE
R18,960 P/P (approximately USD 1,310 / EUR 1,135 as of October 2019 Exchange rates)
FOCUS
WILDLIFE
GROUP SIZE
MINIMUM 2, MAXIMUM 4
INSTRUCTOR TO GUEST RATIO
1:4
DURATION
4 DAYS
ACCOMMODATION TYPE
Luxury 4 star country inn
NUMBER OF DESTINATIONS
1

In Detail

Zululand Wildlife Photography
Nature's Light offers Wildlife Photography Courses throughout the year upon request. As a result we have a pricing structure for 1 tot 4 pax max, so it is indeed possible to book a private workshop. This course can be run at any date of your request, depending on availability of course. Feel free to enquire with us to see if we can help you on a date of your choice, and yes, we are happy to consider last minute bookings. We also have fixed dates that this tour runs, for those international guests that need to be certain the tour will be conducted, and that want to book flights around those dates. 

Nature's Light Wildlife Photography Workshop does not involve randomly driving around on a game reserve looking for animals. Instead, this workshop focusses largely around photography from a hide, and when we do game drives we do tend to focus on one particular animal, most often the iconic African Wild Dog. In between drives/hide sessions, we rest and work on processing images under expert supervision. In the evening seminars covering editing wildlife images are conducted, whilst having a beer off course!
key highlights
            Photograph:
  • Any of the Big-5 or other animals and birds from a customised photography vehicle, which may go off road to offer you the perfect position to photograph that particular animal.
  • Any of the Big-5 or other animals and birds from a customised underground photography hide for those amazing shots at eye level!
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           Enjoy:
  • Probably the world’s best instructor to participant ratio, maximizing your learning while on tour. For this tour we take a maximum of 4 
  • Having access to South Africa's first and only 'photographic reserve'. This private game reserve caters solely and exclusively for photographers. As a result you won't see any other tourist, and the game drives are all about finding the animals of our choice, and then photographing them under the most ideal conditions. In this sense it works differently than regular game drives at other game reserves and national parks, which are 'informative' and try to cover many animal species per drive. In 'our reserve' we can decide to focus on one animal only, let's say 'African Wild Dog' and spend the entire morning following them and photographing them. This certainly stacks the odds in our favour to get good and unique shots of these iconic animals. 
  • The animal photography hides at this reserve are amongst the world's best, and not like any other 'viewing hide' you have seen before. These are built underground and you are at eye level of the water where the animals come to drink, bath or forage. Fully airconditioned, and equipped with Manfrotto tripods and Benro gimbal heads for your use, they allow for the ultimate in wildlife photography from a hide. 
  • Having highly experienced tutors watching over your shoulders and helping you on the spot as you craft your images of the amazing wildlife Zululand has to offer. 
  • Spending time with like minded people in one of South Africa’s most spectacular places.
  • Go home with a series of unique images of wildlife at eye-level, that you could have taken pretty much nowhere else!

           Learn about:

  • Creative Composition in Wildlife Photography: Sadly, composition is often forgotten in Wildlife Photography. Good composition in a wildlife image can turn an ordinary shot into an extra-ordinary image.
  • Bird photography: We will spend a considerable amount of time in the hides where birds are the most prevalent objects, hence we will discuss and attempt bird photography at length. Get ready for that shot of a kingfisher in flight!
  • Basics to advanced techniques in digital wildlife photography. All levels of ability can be catered for. 
  • Workflow & digital asset management. 
  • Post-production using Lightroom, Photo Shop and Nik Software, specifically aimed at enhancing wildlife images
itinerary

NOTE

This itinerary should be seen as 'flexible' and will be modified based upon animal movements, weather forecasts and new hides opening, in order to maximise our photographic opportunities.
Day 1
All participants are expected to meet at noon at the 4 star Ghost Mountain Inn in Mkhuze. We'll have an introductory lunch together, and the instructor will sit with each participant to find out his/her particular objectives from this workshop. In the afternoon, we will go out on our first game drive on the reserve, focussing on an animal of the participants choice, often African Wild Dog
day 2
Around 6:00 am. we will as a group move into the underground Lagoon Hide, to photograph mostly herons, storks, kingfishers, other waterbirds and potentially crocodiles. There will be plenty of time to try out different techniques, such as panning shots, birds in flight, close up as well as wider angle shots, to get a large series of unique images, all shot from a very low angle. After about 3-4 hours we will return to the Ghost Mountain Inn for a big brunch around 10:00, after which you will have some time to rest of refresh. At 12:00 we will meet again for a 'guided' photo editing session, where everyone gets to work on their own images but with an instructor going round giving advice and answering questions. 
At 14:00 we'll set off again where we split up the group. Two will go into one of the hides with one of the reserves photographic guides, the others will enjoy a game drive looking for wild dogs like yesterday's afternoon. 
At 18:00 we'll be back at our accommodation, and after dinner we'll grab a beer and have a comment & critique feedback session. One of the best ways to learn about what works and what doesn't work in wildlife photography, is by hearing other photographer's constructive criticism in an easy going setting.
day 3
This day will be fairly similar to day two, with the only difference being that the morning we'll have the split group where two go into a bird hide, and the others go on game drive, and in the afternoon we all sit in the Lagoon Hide. This is great, as it offers entirely different light conditions over the lagoon compared to the morning session the day before. ​
day 4
At 6:00 am again, we'll be out and about, this time all on a game drive vehicle in search of Zimanga's wild dogs. We'll be back at the accommodation around 9:30, have a quick shower,  pack our bags (for checkout) and have our goodbye brunch. At noon we'll have to say goodbye to each other and everyone moves to their next destination, or home.
dates
T.B.C

Extensions: Please note that the Wandering the Wild Coast Workshop runs back to back with this Zululand Wildlife Photography Workshop.
price
R 18,960 - per person (approximately USD 1,310 / EUR 1,135 as of October 2018 Exchange rates). Minimum of two participants required.

Single Supplement: R1,400 - subject to availability 

Guided Tour Includes:
  • All Lodging (based upon sharing)
  • All meals and drinks for the duration of the workshop
  • Local tips for guides and for restaurants
  • Photography guidance by a professional photographer and photographic guide from the game reserve
  • All tuition including teaching material and hand-outs
  • All road transport during the workshop in comfortable vehicles
  • All entrance fees and photography permits

Guided Tour Excludes:
  • Airfares to and from nearest airport, and transport to Ghost Mountain Inn, Mkhuze
  • Single room supplement (R1,400)
  • Non-meal time snacks if purchased on route
  • Possible extra excursions/activities and/or additional days
  • Travel insurances (mandatory!)
  • Photographic gear rental (if required)

The Nature's Light Terms and Conditions apply to your booking with us. For more information see: 
Nature's Light Terms and Condition