It is often said that one ‘must’ have a decent camera with a reasonable long tele-focus lens, when going on safari. However, while it is certainly an advantage to have such a camera, today a lot of people have very good smart phones (iPhones or Android-based) and prefer to travel light.
Here are five reasons why a smart phone safari can work …
1
Smart phones are very good when taking a wide angle picture (no pinching!). Focus on the beautiful scenery with wildlife in it and you will create some great memories. Zooming in on pictures (pinching) should be avoided as most smart phones only provide digital zoom (equivalent to picture cropping). It is best to take the picture ‘un-zoomed’ and crop it later. Some very advanced smartphone (eg iPhone 7+, 8+ and X) have a second tele-focus lens, which do provide optical zoom capability.
Picture: Elephants at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
Picture: White Rhino just after sunset at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
Picture: Giraffe at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
2
Smart phones are great in difficult light situations such as sunsets, sunrises and interesting cloud formations over beautiful scenery. These are often easier to capture, than with a regular camera. Combined with a good ‘enhancement app’ like an excellent ‘Camera+ for iPhones’, amazing pictures can be created.
Pictures: Mganhla dam at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
3
Clip-on tele-focus lenses are available at very little cost and having such a lens will make it possible to get a good shot of far away targets (eg Lions, Birds). Binoculars can also serve as a tele-focus lens (make sure there is a small distance between the camera lens and the binoculars ocular, focusing first on the subject with your binos, before using your smartphone camera).
Picture: iPhone 7+ with 12x telefocus clip-on lens
Picture: iPhone 7+ using binoculars as a telefocus lens
Picture as taken …
Picture once cropped …
This picture was taken with an iPhone 7+ and a 12x telefocus clip-on lens.
4
Smart phones are excellent at taking macro-shots. Anything from plants to small creatures can be captured very well. Make sure to check with your guide, if it is safe, to get close to any creatures.
Pictures: Splendid Locust – iPhone 7+ help ‘upside-down’ to get on eye-level 🙂
Pictures: Giant Snail- iPhone 7+ help ‘upside-down’ to get on eye-level 🙂
5
Private game reserves, such as Thanda Safari, are great for smart phone photography as one usually gets much closer to wildlife than in a national park. A professional and experienced guide knows exactly how close he can get safely to animals, to ensure a good picture. Get as close to eye-level with your picture subject and you will create some great shots.
Pictures: African Rock Phyton at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
Pictures: Elephants at Thanda Safari Lodge – iPhone 7+
Pictures: Lion at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
Pictures: Lion at Thanda Safari – iPhone 7+
If you have any questions about a Smart Phone Safari or Photo Safaris feel free to contact me directly (info@sperka.com).
For Thanda Safari guests – staying 2 nights or longer – I offer a 30 minute free ‘smart phone photography lesson’ (subject to availability). Session should to be booked well in advance. http://www.thanda.com/en-gb/experience/photography-at-thanda
All pictures in this post were created with an iPhone 6+ or iPhone 7+ with most being cropped.
#thandasafari #christiansperkaphotography #SmartPhoneSafari #iPhoneSafari
I personally work with Canon DSLRs, Apple iPhones and a DJI Phantom drone. #canonglobal #apple #djiglobal
As I was preparing the Green Mamba 1 (my special luxury & photography game drive vehicle – 
It started in September 2017 with a seven day photo safari. A lady from Switzerland wanted to learn wildlife photography properly and we had customized lessons every day using the Green Mamba 1 (my luxury photography vehicle) for the bush sessions. Bheki and I enjoyed this immensely and I am proud to say that my student wants to come back to Thanda Safari this year for additional advanced lessons.
Then followed a nine day program at Pakamisa and Thanda for a couple from Nashville. This was their first safari and they had a fabulous time on both reserves experiencing the African bush and learning about my way of doing wildlife photography. What a pleasure it was to host two people with such passion for wildlife.
In November I was the guide and photographer for a very special group (6 guests) from the USA. I had organized a 12 day trip to Ngala, Sabi Sabi, Pakamisa, Phinda and Thanda. The whole group was amazed about the variation in accommodation and surroundings and this extraordinary way to experience the African Wild.
And over New Year I was hosting a couple from Switzerland experiencing Thanda, Pakamisa and St.Lucia/iSimangaliso at the Serene Estate Boutique Guest House. It was their first safari trip to some of the most stunning locations KwaZulu Natal has to offer. And I was having a good time taking all the pictures to document their stay.
36 days and 36 pictures! This is a picture record of one of the busiest times I ever had since I came to South Africa.
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 