Svein-Olav Steinmo
Finnfjord, Norway

 www.sosteinmo.com
  sveins@finnfjord.no
  SOSTEINMO

  It was Africa which had the strongest appeal to me when I started planning my first major photography journey in the end of 2010. After reading about other people’s experiences in places like Serengeti and Masai Mara, I began the search for a Norwegian trip advisor who could offer safaris into these areas.

I was then adviced by other photographers to travel together with someone who offered trips with special focus on photography. Naturfokus was recommended to me, and became my choice. Ole-Jørgen Liodden arranges a number of trips to exciting places, in Africa as well as to the Arctic. One of his trips immediately stood out : The mountains of Rwanda to photograph mountain gorillas, threatened by extinction. I had some good phone conversations with Ole-Jørgen, booked my trip, and in February 2012 my equipment and I, together with eight other photographers, were ready for an unforgettable experience.

Each of us arranged our own trip to Kigali, where we met up for the transport to the hotel in the evening. After a long journey we all appreciated a quiet night, before visiting a local market and the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre the next day. After lunch we made the trip into the mountains, a couple of hours drive on nice roads.

For the next three days we went mountain hiking on trails ranged easy, medium or hard. Not knowing what this entailed, I chose a medium ranged trip the first day, which turned out to be easier than I initially feared, even though the only type of exercise I normally do is some mountain hiking. Walking distance from the car to the gorillas varied, on the average we walked approximately two hours each way.

Meeting the gorillas was a very special experience. The guards made sure we did not disturb the animals, but we were allowed to move freely around, and had a number of close encounters. We were asked to stay at a distance of at least 5 meters, but on several occasions the gorillas came even closer, especially the babies were very playful and curious.

On one occasion the excitement was almost too much: I was bent down to take pictures of a silverback, when all of a sudden he decided to scare me a bit. The guard behind me asked me not to move, as the 150kg silverback came roaring and stopped just a meter away from me. After a few seconds he turned around and walked away. It took awhile before my puls reached normal level!

For the sake of photographing, this journey was perfectly arranged, with unlimited opportunities for picture taking. We had an hour together with the gorillas each day, and that was sufficient. For the most part I used a 70-200 combined with 1.4x converter, but I also used a 24-70. We had no kind of pre-arranged lessons in photography, but Ole-Jørgen and the rest of the group willingly gave advice and shared their technical as well as photography experience.

I am extremely pleased to have chosen a trip with special focus on photography, and I am allready dreaming of my next journey, which no doubt will also be together with Ole-Jørgen from Naturfokus.

Svein Olav Steinmo
 

 

Nyungwe is the largest remaining mountainous rainforest in central and eastern Africa. This 940 square kilometer national park is located in the northwest corner of Rwanda, and contains many interesting birds, animals and plants. Thirteen primate species are found in Nyungwe and you will have the opportunity to experience and photograph chimpanzees, Colobus monkeys, Dent’s mona monkeys, Grey-cheeked mangabeys, along with Blue monkeys and Mountain Monkey .

One of the highlights of this photographic journey is a one day expedition seeking out the rare Owl-faced monkey (Hamlyn’s Monkey). These primates are found only in the rain forests of Congo in addition to the southwestern part of Nyungwe on the border with Burundi. We will be one of the first (maybe the first!) tour operators to visit a family group of the Owl-faced monkey in the wild. As far as we know, there are no images taken of this primate outside captivity. So, this is a unique opportunity that few, if any photographers have done before. For those who would rather photograph more chimpanzees, this can be arranged.

In addition to primates, there are many fascinating and unique birds to photograph in Nyungwe, but the focus of the trip will be on primates. Shooting in a rain forest is relatively demanding, and primates and birds can be very active at times. Nevertheless, there will be many opportunities for unique African images on this safari. Join us in exploring one of Africa’s most intriguing rainforests.

See photos from the trip to Nyungwe test in February 2012 HER

Nyungwe Forest Lodge. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

Accommodation

The Nyungwe Forest Lodge opened in 2011 and is ranked as the finest lodge in Rwanda. The rooms and food are first-rate, and this lodge will be our base during our stay in Nyungwe. The first night (21/2) in Kigali will be at the Manor Hotel, one of the better hotels in Kigali.

Security

Security is a top priority during this entire trip and it will be provided by the guides and guards. Unlike elsewhere in Africa, there are few dangerous animals, snakes and insects to be concerned about in Nyungwe.

Vaccinations

It is recommended that malaria tablets (Malarone, for example) are taken before, during, and after your trip. It is also recommended that you contact your doctor or travel clinic so you have the necessary vaccinations before travelling. A Yellow fever vaccination is required to enter Rwanda, but in practice it is not enforced.

Some questions and answers

For additional questions: post@naturfokus.no

Grey-cheeked Mangabey. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

 
We welcome you to exciting and unforgettable days in Africa!!

Per Trovik
Asker, Norge

  trovik@getmail.no

 In feb. 2012 I flew with Naturfokus to Rwanda to photograph the Mountain Gorillas. We visited the Genocide Museum in Kigali, and a local market with a lively crowd of people,
and kids competing to get photographed. The photo opportunities were plenty and very amusing until I made the mistake of paying a few dollars, then everything ended in begging. The car ride to the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge went on recently constructed roads, and with ample seat space in the landcruiser, I could lean back and enjoy the ride/scenery.

The Lodge bordered to the Volcano National Park, north-west in Virunga. The main building was huge, light and surrounded by very comfortable cottages. Early next morning I was ready for the first gorilla trek. I ended up in a group with Ole Jørgen Liodden and Kjell Germeten. We visited the Bwenge-group high up in the mountains. The hike was exhausting. But well up in the mountains I got paid for my efforts. We arrived in virgin forest, a cathedral of large trunks and foliages. And here we found the gorillas. We were told in advance to keep our distance to the animals. But that was not easy. Suddenly a Silverback arrived, and he past right in front of me. We were surrounded by animals in all ages. Some of the female gorillas had babies. In the dense vegetation it became a struggle to get in position and gain a good photo shooting angle. The gorillas didn’t seem to bother, they appeared relaxed and almost ignored us. Our hour went quickly, and we had to leave the gorillas. After the mountain hike was over, I was pretty exhausted, but satisfied! The encounter with Mountain Gorillas came to be quite an experience!
 

 

There are still not many spring flower around where I live, but the Blue Anemone is blooming. I really like to photograph these flowers and play with the light, reflections and background. In this shot I’ve not used macro flashes, but small LED-lamps.

PHOTO INFO Nikon D800, 105/2.8 Macro, 1/60 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 1250

PHOTOGRAPHER Ole Jørgen Liodden

LOCATION Ringerike, Norway

DATE April 22, 2012

What I’m looking after in my images is how the ISO noise is visible especially in the shadows, but also how accurate the colors are with high ISO-settings. I have only done a SMALL studio test today with my friend Einar Breen, and I will show you two of the images shot on ISO 250 and ISO 6400. I recommend the DxOMark test for a more advanced ISO-test, but my short review might be good enough for many of you. The images below are imported into Adobe Lightroom 4 and I have done absolutely NO adjustments at all. Absolutely nothing, just saving the images as jpg-files – one version with the whole image and another version as a 100% crop.

Nikon D800 with 85/1.4, 1/100 sec, f/8,0 and ISO 250.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

Nikon D800 with 85/1.4, 1/100 sec, f/8,0 and ISO 250 – 100% crop. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

Nikon D800 with 85/1.4, 1/80 sec, f/14 and ISO 6400.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

Nikon D800 with 85/1.4, 1/80 sec, f/14 and ISO 6400 – 100% crop.  Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

If you want to examine the high-res raw-files (70+ MB each) more in detail you can DOWNLOAD my NEF-files.

_OJ80692.NEF ISO 250
_OJ80726.NEF ISO 6400

Feel free to play with the files in NX2, Adobe Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop or what you want, but remember both images are copyrighted by Ole Jørgen Liodden/Naturfokus.com
 

 Jeremy Giddens
Oslo, Norway

  www.jeremygiddens.com
  jeremy_giddens@yahoo.com

 I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Rwanda, but I knew one thing for certain; if Ole Jørgen was going there, the photo opportunities would be great. From a photographic standpoint, our time spent with the gorillas proved to be very productive. Every day, we were literally surrounded by several gorillas at distances ranging from a few centimeters to 10+ meters. I can’t immagine that it would matter what lens was being used, the photo opportunities were endless. In addition to photographing the gorillas, the hotel area was surrounded by birds and flowers, as well as cultural opportunities all along the way.

Ole Jørgen hired fantastic guides and drivers, arranged for very comfortable accomodation with great food, and had planned out all of the other small details that make his trips truely worth every cent.

As for the country of Rwanda, I had no idea of what to expect. Everything I knew about the country, I knew from watching Hotel Rwanda. A bit sad because Rwanda turned out to be an amazing country. I was extremely impressed! Everyone was very friendly, the food was good, the roads were good, everyone drove safely, and not least of all, Rwanda is perhaps the cleanest place I have ever been!
 

 

Welcome to an exciting safari in Volcano National Park to photograph one of the most interesting animals on earth – the Mountain Gorilla. In Virunga mountains on the border between DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, only 800 mountain gorillas live in a beautiful mountain refuge. Thanks to the fight against poachers, Rwanda today has a growing population of Mountain Gorillas, and our safari has a high probability (98%) of seeing and photographing these great primates, in 8-10 different family groups. Rwanda is now also a tourist friendly and safe country to travel in. Regular safaris to Rwanda provide only one day of gorilla trekking, which is way too little time if you want to photograph them properly or have some time to become familiar with these animals. We have designed this trip for 2 days of gorilla trekking (+ USD $600 for a third day with the gorillas), and one day with the rare and endangered Golden Monkey.

The Golden Monkey will give you a different experience, and they share the same mountain areas with the gorillas. These primates are also very interesting to photograph, but might sometimes be challenging since they live and feed in the bamboo trees.

See images from our trip to Rwanda December 2010 and photo safari 17-21 February 2012

 

From the Naturfokus photo tour to Rwanda in 17-21 February 2012.
 
We are fortunated to stay in the Gorilla Mountain View lodge with many birds around. These birds are not very shy, and we will spend some time photographing them in the afternoon after the treks.

If you want to extend your days in Rwanda, we can offer you a very interesting photo tour to Nyungwe rain forest 21-25 February 2013.

Accommodation and food

Rwanda is not primarily known for its accommodations and food quality, but we have chosen the Manor Hotel in Kigali and the Gorilla Mountain View Lodge at Volcano National Park for good quality food and facilities. The lodge is located close to the park and will be our main base.

Security

Our safety has top priority during the entire trip and will be provided by our guides and guards. During the gorilla treks, there will always be an armed guard with us, not to protect us from the gorillas but from forest buffaloes that can sometimes be threatening. Fortunately there are no poachers on the Rwanda side of the Virunga mountains.

Vaccinations

It is recommended that you take malaria tablets (Malarone) before, during and after your stay. It is also recommended that you contact your doctor or a travel clinic so that you have the necessary vaccinations prior to the travel.
 

Photographer in Rwanda at 2700+ meter altitude. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

Some questions and answers

Do you have additional questions, please send this to email: post@naturfokus.no

Gorilla baby and mother in Rwanda. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus.

I was in the beginning of April photographing on the magic Island – Hornøya. After 3 days waiting for the Atlantic Puffins the birds came to their nesting areas in the cliffs, and I got some nice photo opportunities with puffins in flight an in the snow.

PHOTO INFO Nikon D3S, 600/4.0, 1/3200 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 2000

PHOTOGRAPHER Ole Jørgen Liodden

LOCATION Hornøya, Norway

DATE April, 2012

Shorebirds in snow is always nice to photographs. The Purple Sandpiper is one of the toughest shorebirds in Europe and stay the whole winter in northern parts of Norway. This bird was surrounded by snow and slush ice, but didn’t bother much.

PHOTO INFO Nikon D4, 600/4.0, 1/1250 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 1600

PHOTOGRAPHER Ole Jørgen Liodden

LOCATION Vardø, Norway

DATE March, 2012

I really like photographing hunting owls. In the end of March 2012 I had some really nice experience with 8+ hunting Hawk Owls in the northern parts of Norway. Thanks to the great new Nikon D4 AF-system, I could follow the fast flying owl, even in low light conditions.

PHOTO INFO Nikon D4, 300/2.8 macro, 1/2000 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 4000

PHOTOGRAPHER Ole Jørgen Liodden

LOCATION Tana, Norway

DATE March 28, 2012