Kruger National Park Photo-Safari
South Africa
Join an adrenaline and action-packed Photo-Safari expedition in the Kruger National Park – South Africa.
Immerse yourself into incredibly diverse and luxurious wildlife.
Follow the tracks of the famous Big 5 (Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino) and get intrigued by the savannah wildlife which will be all around us.
During this photo expedition and you can actively participate to “a week in the life” of a wildlife photographer – in the form of a living workshop – to discover how wildlife shots are made: from planning to publishing (incl. post production).
The tour is guided by Gianmarco Cicuzza who is an active nature and wildlife photographer operating mainly across Europe and Africa and Martin Mayer who is a very experienced local South African travel guide with very deep knowledge of local habits and the natural environment.
Gianmarco will be handling all the photography activities and workshop while Martin will take care for super smooth logistics and will prepare the ground to the best natural experiences and photo-hunt.
Trip Dates: To be confirmed (interested? give us your email below and we will tell you when the date is confirmed)
Number of Participants: Max 5
THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
Kruger Park does not probably need a lot of words to be described. It is one of the most iconic (and the largest) parks in South Africa where it is still possible to observe African wildlife completely free to roam in its natural environment with basically no human interaction.
It covers an area of 19,485 square km on the South African border with Mozambique.
Despite its size, the density of animals in Kruger Park is equal to none. This makes the encounters with wildlife very frequent and also very diverse.
We have designed this trip to make sure we visit the southern part of Kruger National Park which is also were most of the water is flowing at the moment. This will significantly increase the chances of wildlife encounters.
It is basically a paradise for nature and wildlife lovers. If you like nature photography, you just cannot miss such an opportunity.
This adventure is designed not only to guide you to the most photogenic locations carefully planned for the best light, but to aid you in mentally visualizing a scene before capturing the decisive moment. Our aim is to raise your awareness and spark your creativity so that you not only go home with images to be proud of, but use your new found skills to improve and expand your photographic technique in general. Apart from the technical aspect of learning your camera settings and capabilities, you will learn how to turn an ordinary image into an extraordinary image by using your own creativity.
THE TRIP ON MAP
To have better idea of the trip please refer to map below showing which part of the Kruger we will be visiting:
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
The program at a glance:
- Stay at Umbhaba Eco Lodge & Ekhaya Bush Villa – 3 / 4 stars equivalent – very comfortable!
- Spend the day in game drives into the Kruger National Park with private safari vehicle specifically equipped for the best photographic experience. Vehicles are equipped with gimbal heads and bean bags.
- Daily Photographic workshops to guide participants into the making of wildlife photography (including post-production process)
THE LODGES
The lodges selected for this photo expedition are very new, nicely decorated in style and will offer the right comfortable reward after a full day spent in the bush chasing wildlife of the Kruger park.
The lodges are all 3 or 4 star equivalent and offer a very premium experience.
They are equipped with nice typical South African style restaurants as well as swimming pools and other amenities to relax and get ready for the next day.
More information about the lodges can be seen on their websites pasted below.
The best way to improve your photography is to practice, and we intend to give you many opportunities during this trip to do just that. We will provide different challenges for all levels, give personal feedback on your work and show you how you can do better.
During the expedition you will also take part to a photography workshop in which you will have the chance to learn “on-field” what are the keys to successful wildlife and natural landscape photography.
These are some of the areas that will be covered during the week as part of the workshop:
- Shot planning – including planning the location and the light
- Picture Composition, rule of thirds in nature photography and tips to make your shots more alive
- Camera set-up to capture every moment and achieve desired results
- Post production workflows with specific focus on the innovative technique of Luminosity Masking
The workshop will also offer the opportunity to learn more advanced techniques for wildlife photography to boost your creativity such as the use of flash light and lens filters to achieve even more “out of the box” results.
Please note the workshops can be run in Italian, English and French depending on needs of participants.
Sample structure of a workshop day
PLAN: Every evening, there will be a briefing to plan the shot for the next day. There will also be a brief on the photo techniques to be used according to the objectives that each participant wants to reach.
EXECUTE: During the day, Gianmarco will support the participants in the implementation of the techniques discussed the evening before.
REVIEW: Once back at the lodge, after dinner, there will also be a review of the pictures taken during the day to analyse and improve the next day on field.
What is included?
- Fully loaded program of photography workshop
- 7 nights accommodation in the lodges described in the section LODGES
- All activities, game drives as detailed in the DETAILED ITINERARY section
- Private vehicle arrangement (only for participant to this trip) for game drives equipped with the highest comfort and standard for photo safari.
- All meals (Breakfast & dinner) – lunch might also be included in the form of lunch box to be verified depending on needs of participants
- Transfers to and from Nelspruit Airport
- The luminosity mask suite for photo editing
The Participant Fee excludes:
- Beverages and meals not specified in the section included, tips, and other personal incidental expenses
- International flights to and from Nelspruit
- Visas (if required)
- Travel Insurance
- Optional Activities
Gianmarco Cicuzza is italian but living in Germany. He is a wildlife and nature photographer operating mostly between Europe and Africa. He has had extensive experiences in the whole southern part of Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana). Many of his pictures are also featuring on Fujifilm Italia and North America. He studied photography in Italy at Officine Fotografiche and spent significant time as collaborator of the famous italian Sport Photographer Davide Messora with whom he co-lead the photo school photoinaction.com. After quitting the sport photography he is now actively involved in Wildlife and Nature photography working on a number of projects. Gianmarco blogs at www.randomodyssey.blog where he describes the major itineraries of his photo-travels and where a selection of his portfolio can be found.
Martin Meyer is from South Africa. He is a professional South Africa Travel guide. He loves venturing in the southern part of Africa and he deeply knows the African nature and the places he takes you. He has had quite an adventurous life living also in South America. Since couple of years he is Gianmarco single choices for all trips in Africa. Travelling with Martin is just peace of mind. You know everything is going to be in order and perfectly executed if you travel with Martin. Martin is perfectly at ease in the bush and it is also a great barbecue cook.
For this trip we need to fly into Nelspruit Airport.
Nelspruit Airport is at the edge of the Kruger South. Nelspruit Airport is very well connected to Johannesburg (Tambo) airport with multiple flights per day.
Flying to Nelspruit is absolutely recommended to avoid spending 7hrs+ driving from Tambo (i.e. Johannesburg airport) to Kruger. This gives the opportunity to save un-needed costs and time on boring transfers. Below you can find some flights combination to Nelspruit airport from some of the key airports in Europe.
Flights from Geneva and Basel would be available but they would inevitably stop by in Zurich and this additional flight leg takes cost up – so it is smarter to reach Zurich by train.
Alternatively you can also buy the flight to Tambo from your main city and then look up the flight from Tambo to Nelspruit separately.
Zurich to Nelspruit (economy class): LX 288 from Zurich to Tambo (Johannesburg) + 4Z845 from Tambo (Johannesburg) to Nelspruit // 4Z844 from Nelspruit to Tambo (Johannesburg) + LX 289 from Tambo (Johannesburg) to Zurich
Frankfurt to Nelspruit (economy class): SA261 from Frankfurt to Tambo (Johannesburg) + 4Z843 from Tambo (Johannesburg) to Nelspruit // 4Z844 from Nelspruit to Tambo (Johannesburg) + SA260 from Tambo (Johannesburg) to Frankfurt
(*) Please note: prices are sourced by skyscanner.de and are purely indicative. They can vary depending on the time of the booking. It is anyway advised, based on experience, to book flights as early as possible to achieve better rates.
(**) Please note: cost of flights are not included into the PARTICIPANT FEE and have to be carried out by each participant individually and by their own sources.
Get notified when the date is confirmed
Due to the coronavirus situation, we must postpone this event, which was originally scheduled for summer 2020. We will reschedule as soon as possible. If you would like to be notified as soon as the new date is selected, leave us your info below and we’ll let you know as soon as we do.
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FAQ’s
If for some reason you can’t make it on the trip, please email us ASAP by simply sending an email to hello@swissphotoclub.com.
The following conditions apply to cancellations for the trip:
Up to 2 months before departure: 25% of the price is held as cancellation
Between 8 and 6 weeks before departure: 50% of the price is held as cancellation
Less than 6 weeks before departure: 100% of the price is held as cancellation
Tickets are not for resale.
Unless otherwise stated in the course description, the group conversations will be in English.
The workshop can also be held in Italian and French for some parts.
Our guides can also speak Italian, French and Spanish, so we will be able to help you in your own language in private, in case of any questions. Please check before registration if you do not feel comfortable in English.
We will pair you up with other participants buying double room as singels.
However, should we not have any other participant buying double room as single, we will be in touch with you and we will either offer you the opportunity to occupy the single room by paying the price premium OR we will refund you in case this solution or any other solution is not feasible.
No. The application is open to everybody who have the passion for photography and learning. This trip is for beginners as well as for pros because we believe that we all have different talents and we can all learn from each other. Even though, a basic knowledge of photography is highly recommended.
Once we receive your payment, we will get back to you with a short survey or a call to get to know your preferences for language and accommodation. As the trip gets closer, we will keep in touch with you again to confirm the trip, introduce the instructors, update you on the progress and communicate the full program.
Private rooms are limited in availability during this trip. If you really wish to have a private room we will do our best to look for it but it is not guaranteed.
You can either apply for a private room, share it with your partner or friend or directly let us pick a match from the same sex for you. In case we run out of private rooms, we also will select another photography-enthusiast of the same gender for you.
For shared rooms, we strongly recommend that you book with somebody you already know and are comfortable to share the room with.
If you book a shared room alone, that means you accept to share your room with any other participant regardless of gender or age.
With individual booking of a shared room, your booking can only be confirmed if there is another individual shared room reservation with us. Otherwise, depending on the time and availability, you have the option to upgrade to a private room reservation.
The availability of private rooms at the lodges is very limited.
The lodges do not have a large number of rooms and therefore they tend to maximize occupancy.
Before the trip: If you decide to upgrade to private room and are willing to pay the price premium, please let us know and we will try our best to upgrade you to a private room but this is not guaranteed we will succeed. The success depends on the timing of your decision and on the availability.
After the trip has started: We are sorry! This is not possible.
No. This trip will be organized by and for Swiss Photo Club only.
Children:
Your children must be at least 16 years old to join.
Pets:
We want to offer the best conditions to all the participants. That’s the reason why the pets are unfortunately not accepted.
Allergies and/or food intolerances:
We take seriously your allergies/ intolerances. You should let us know about everything when we’ll contact you.
Additional photo equipment:
We have a partnership with great photography manufacturers. If you need to buy photo gear for your trip, do not hesitate to contact us and we will send you a quote (hello@swissphotoclub.com).
There is no insurance included in the photography trip. Please make sure you have health, travel and accident insurance coverage.
We will ask you to give us a way to get in touch with a contact person of your choice before the trip.
You and your beloved ones can contact all of us during our trip and our team back in Geneva and Zurich.
In case of any special allergies or medical treatments, we highly recommend to contact your doctor before applying for the trip.
Swiss Photo Club does not provide any insurance.
You can either pay via:
- Credit Card (fastest/prefered option),
- Bank Transfer (bank details – purpose: name sept trip)
- Invoice (send us an email with full name and billing address)
- Cash at any post office
If you’d like to pay by bank transfer, you can make it either by e-banking or from any post office (takes one day to reach us):
E-Banking (1 day):
Account owner: Swiss Photo Club
Address: Rue Henri-Christiné 5, 1205 Geneva
IBAN: CH77 0483 5144 2006 1100 1
BIC / Swift: CRESCHZZ80A
Pay in Cash at Post Office (2 days)
To pay at any post office, you can use the red payment slip below:
- Photography equipment for landscape and night photography (body, lenses, tripod, filters, strap, batteries, sd cards, flash, etc.)
- Laptop with Lightroom or Photoshop for the editing session (optional)
- Warm clothes according to weather conditions
You will get a recommended packing list with your welcome information