Amazing. Lovely pics. Do tell me how many buffaloes you shot - I had predicted 10-12...please let me know

Regards

Saeed Ansari

quote:

Originally posted by Bockhunter:

quote:

Getting attacked by a lion in the blind in total darkness, and shooting two lions were just an added bonus.I will add more photos, and videos to keep you all entertained.

That is a great story also, Saeed.
Maybe you can post more pictures here.

Times two, that is a story we must hear.

Hunting with Andrew Baldry recently, we had a couple warthog come against the leopard blind, that was a bit un-nerving. Not quite dark, but almost, and we heard him coming for about thirty seconds. Can't imagine a lion attack in the blind.

Is that photographer vest I see you wearing Saeed, is it made of Kevlar by chance?

We have had our share of both lions and leopards coming close to our blinds.

Four years ago there was a young male who kept an on eye on us from 20 yards while we put up the blind.

He did not seem to be bothered by us at all.

We set the blind close to a large bush.

Between the blind and the Bush was a game trail.

We arrived very early next morning and sat in the blind - it is one of those pop ups.

Soon we could hear him behind us, getting closer and closer.

Then he decide to lay on the game path ne t to us!

He stayed there for a while, then as dawn broke, he got up, walked right in front of the rifle muzzle, stood about 5 yards from us, looking straight at us!

Then he walked towards the bait, found a lioness, and proceeded to mate with her!

I need to slow down on working some, and finish writing the hunt report on my late September hunt with Fairgame. We had a leopard kill a puku about ten feet from Tom's tent about three am one morning. Tom was definitely worse for wear that day! Says he couldn't sleep afterwards, I don't understand, I never heard a thing.

By the way Saeed, very much enjoyed your hunt report!

quote:

Originally posted by Blacktailer:
Saeed,
Did you get a trophy photo of the combined take on this safari? That would have to be impressive. Thanks once again for "taking us along".

We did, but sadly only part of them, as we did not want to take the skins out of the salts because the weather was threatening to rain.

I will post pictures.

I sure do like those river pictures from the drone.

One day IF I get around to it plan to have a
poster size print made.

Thanks for sharing Saeed.

George

I was transferring the videos to my editing computer, and a friend asked if he can watch some.

A while later, he asked "what did you do with the buffalo cow you shot?"

"I did not shoot a buffalo cow. We only shoot bulls"

"No, you shot a cow. I saw it on the video"

So we went to look at this clip. Sure enough, it does show that the camera was looking at a cow, and a shot rang out. Roy said something like "shit".

A few moments later, a bull appeared, and I shot him.

What happened was we saw a herd lying down in the valley.

We ran downwind of them, and approached to shoot.

What we did not know was that Maktoum and his team were following this same herd all day.

We actually passed higher up on the ridge, as they were approaching it below.

We were trying to pick a mature bull, and one cow was keeping an eye on us, when Maktoum fired.

Both of us got a bull from that herd.

Keep them,photos and anecdotes, coming, Saeed.

We know how the rain was a torment to you but the difference in the vegetation and river level from start to finish is almost unbelievable. The best photos ever which is saying something.

I think a major factor to the improvement the photos is the quality of the new cameras.

Some of the cameras we had.

Nikon Z7
Nikon D850
Sony a7s2
Sony Rx100/7
Sony Rx10/4
Canon 7D
Sony Hx99

Photos posted are picked by me from all the photos taken by members of our safari.

Sometimes it is difficult to pick what to post, as there are so many great shots.

We have over 2 TB of photos!!

My intention is to give an idea of what actually goes on in a safari, a sort of story in photos.

I hope you like all the non hunting photos just as much as you do the hunting ones.

We love them all, Saeed - especially that latest eland. That may be the wildest ruff I have ever seen!

Looking to see if your video's are starting to pop up...

I am sure that there will be some great one's.

Now did Walter do any filming.

With the pack of cameras and the number of PH's you probably have a load to look over.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana338:
Looking to see if your video's are starting to pop up...

I am sure that there will be some great one's.

Now did Walter do any filming.

With the pack of cameras and the number of PH's you probably have a load to look over.

No, Walter did not do any filming, if he did you would not want to see it!

Problem with our hunts is that we go to hunt, and film what we do.

Lots of times situations happen that are not conducive to good filming.

Unlike commercial hunting videos, where a film is made according to pre-arranged plans.

There is no Mark Sullivan bullshit in our videos, you see what we actually did, with all the details.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I think a major factor to the improvement the photos is the quality of the new cameras.

Some of the cameras we had.

Nikon Z7
Nikon D850
Sony a7s2
Sony Rx100/7
Sony Rx10/4
Canon 7D
Sony Hx99

Photos posted are picked by me from all the photos taken by members of our safari.

Sometimes it is difficult to pick what to post, as there are so many great shots.

We have over 2 TB of photos!!

My intention is to give an idea of what actually goes on in a safari, a sort of story in photos.

I hope you like all the non hunting photos just as much as you do the hunting ones.

Saeed,

What lenses are you using on the Nikon bodies? Are you happy with how they handle and with the results?

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I think a major factor to the improvement the photos is the quality of the new cameras.

Some of the cameras we had.

Nikon Z7
Nikon D850
Sony a7s2
Sony Rx100/7
Sony Rx10/4
Canon 7D
Sony Hx99

Photos posted are picked by me from all the photos taken by members of our safari.

Sometimes it is difficult to pick what to post, as there are so many great shots.

We have over 2 TB of photos!!

My intention is to give an idea of what actually goes on in a safari, a sort of story in photos.

I hope you like all the non hunting photos just as much as you do the hunting ones.

Saeed,

What lenses are you using on the Nikon bodies? Are you happy with how they handle and with the results?

All lenses are zoom lens, no fixed ones, as we find these more useful for our purpose.

We normally pick ones with the fastest apertures, and users seem to like them.

Rene was using a Z7, Maktoum had both a Z7 and a D850.

The Z7 was being used in a contraption he got with timers and triggers. He set it outside camp about a kilometer away, and got a few photos of some of the night animals.

He moved it to the camp across the river, and it refused to work.

He used the D850 for photos - most of the birds photos were taken by him, some by Rene with the Z7.

Personally I have given up on SLRs for safari, as I find a bridge camera - in this case a Sony RX10/4 suits my purpose better, with a 600mm zoom and a 1 inch sensor.

My pocket camera was a Sony RX100/7, again, it worked very well.

Everyone else had a Sony HX99 as pocket cameras, as it has a 28X zoom.

Night photos were taken by a Sony a7s/2.

This is an extremely good camera for low light, and we were amazed at how well it worked.

It produced incredible photos were others were totally useless.

We took photos of the fire with several cameras at night.

Total failures, except the a7s/2.

Todd used a Sony a9, again, producing very good results.

For clarity, I think both the D850 and Z7 were tops.

I have added a couple of videos in the first post of this thread.

I have plenty more, and will post as time permits.

What a grand adventure !
2 TB of photography !
Worth 2000 TB of words at least, and that would not do justice.

Marabou storks following Lord WaWa wading in the river ?

Enjoyed your videos with some very good luck 3 buff out of one herd then the best for me was the croc, then 2 hyenas and then the hippo come strolling past.

The three buffaloes' video was excellent. I wonder how you could pick up the correct buffalo when the herd was on the run.

That crocodile's head literally came apart from the hinges!

The fourth video link is not working for me.

quote:

Originally posted by RobinOLocksley:
The three buffaloes' video was excellent. I wonder how you could pick up the correct buffalo when the herd was on the run.

That crocodile's head literally came apart from the hinges!

The fourth video link is not working for me.

Thank you for letting me know.

It should work now

quote:

Originally posted by RobinOLocksley:

Wonder what those black pods with orange tips are.

They are a type of mahogany tree. I don't know how to post photos, but google, "pod mahogany" and you should be able to get photos of them. It looks like the scientific name is Afzelia quanzensis. (I had to look that one up)

As a kid we would use them in slingshots(catapults). They wouldn't shoot straight at all. Occasionally you could get one to curve 10-20 feet within 20 meters. Enlightening physics, way beyond what a young mind could comprehend.

Fulvio is correct, they do make great decorations, while still in the half pod.

First four videos are great.
Saeed got a trophy croc, bull hippo, and 2 hyenas all in about 2 minutes real time ?
Wow !
Latest photos:
Walter got Weatherby eyebrow AND Weatherby nose all in about 2 minutes real time ?
Wow !

Saeed, thank you for taking us on safari with you again.

The photographs tell the story by themselves.

The drone footage of the rivers is true artwork. Nature is amazing.

It is uplifting that you are seeing elephants again. It is also good to see the number of vultures you are photographing. It seems their numbers may be up also.

Croc, hippo and two hyena in a minute. That experience is priceless.

That brief video clip of a one shot croc kill, followed by TWO spotted Hyena kills followed by a one shot kill of a Hippo is some awesome shooting, Saeed.

quote:

Originally posted by Bud Meadows:
That brief video clip of a one shot croc kill, followed by TWO spotted Hyena kills followed by a one shot kill of a Hippo is some awesome shooting, Saeed.

All these were easy shots, as they were all in the open and clear of obstructions.

Trouble starts when one has to shoot through thick brush - as you can see on the buffalo shot.

One finds a small gap, and hopes that the bullet will find its intended target while one is wobbling uncontrollably off the shooting sticks, after having run for a while.

All part of hunting.

Or when your professional hunter has more confidence in you than yourself!

We followed a herd for quite sometimes, and found them lying down in the grass in an open area.

We managed to get close to about 200 yards.

The bull we were after was standing slightly quartering towards us.

Trouble was there was a tree with two branches about six inches thick at exactly the place one would wish to shoot.

They were a few inches apart. Alan put the sticks up.

I said I cannot shoot because of these branches, he said shoot between them!

I said not at this distance shooting off the sticks.

We moved to the right, and the buffalo's chest was clear, and I shot him.

Great stuff Saeed and another big Thank You!

We gave all the trackers, game scouts and drivers a digital camera each!

The results were amazing!

Most of the photos were selfies!

Some were quite creative, and many were copies of each other.

Like all taking the same photos!

I am selecting some of these photos and will post them here.

And as the cameras were all the same, we had to name them.

I used our lazer printer to print names on all the cameras, and named the cars in them too.

For fun, I named them girls names!

Our driver Lema became MIA.

Our tracker Nuni became SCARLET!

This caused an extraordinary amount of laughter

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
We gave all the trackers, game scouts and drivers a digital camera each!

The results were amazing!

Most of the photos were selfies!

Some were quite creative, and many were copies of each other.

Like all taking the same photos!

I am selecting some of these photos and will post them here.

And as the cameras were all the same, we had to name them.

I used our lazer printer to print names on all the cameras, and named the cars in them too.

For fun, I named them girls names!

Our driver Lema became MIA.

Our tracker Nuni became SCARLET!

This caused an extraordinary amount of laughter

I may have missed it, but what happened to the tracker shooting competition?

We did have our annual shooting contest, and was great fun, and enjoyed by all.

One of the game scouts won it, but, there were no losers, as everyone gets a prize.

The lion video did not have sound.

That buffalo soaked up a lot of copper!

Nice videos, Saeed!

5. Buffalo

The only explanation for that second shot at the running buffalo that does not involve magic or plain luck
is that Saeed has developed a "smart bullet" for his .375/404.
This would be a bullet that threads many needles in transit through the bushveld-mopane-jesse-timber-thicket at running targets.
A brush-evading, buffalo-seeking, wunderbullet.
A really smart bullet, so ironically named the "Walterhog."
It has often been said that irony is the highest form of humor,
that Walter is the lowest form of humor,
and that Saeed contributes greatly to the GDP of Tanzania.


Rip ...

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
5. Buffalo

The only explanation for that second shot at the running buffalo that does not involve magic or plain luck
is that Saeed has developed a "smart bullet" for his .375/404.
This would be a bullet that threads many needles in transit through the bushveld-mopane-jesse-timber-thicket at running targets.
A brush-evading, buffalo-seeking, wunderbullet.
A really smart bullet, so ironically named the "Walterhog."
It has often been said that irony is the highest form of humor,
that Walter is the lowest form of humor,
and that Saeed contributes greatly to the GDP of Tanzania.


Rip ...

If it was not for the magic of the Walterhog bullets I would not have been able to hit much!

No brag, just magic.
What's Walter's excuse ?

Rip ...

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
No brag, just magic.
What's Walter's excuse ?

Rip ...

He misses his Blaser!

quote:

Originally posted by RobinOLocksley:
The lion video did not have sound.

That buffalo soaked up a lot of copper!

Nice videos, Saeed!

We had a problem with the mike on our camera.

I have had questions about more videos.

I have plenty, but please bare with me.

I am trying to do the safari video, and having to go through 3 camera men’s work takes time.

I actually have two computers processing the footage, and I am hoping you will all be happy to see our adventure.

Funny enough, our team, me, Alan and Roy, have the worst video of the lot.

Poor Alan has to suffer two old men whose only wish is to hunt.

The video part takes a very distant second place.

When you have Alan running at what seems Olympic record breaking speed, with me trying to keep up, and Roy carrying a camera and trying his best to get everything into focus, you end up with a sort of Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges trying their best to produce a drama movie!

I’ve spent all morning looking at the wonderful pictures you have posted, thank you for taking the time and sharing them with us.

I may have to take a break before starting on the videos...

Maybe not!