Ben Wilhelmi

Wildlife, Amboseli, park

 

This hyena got a  lunch and a bath later.

 

Mount Kilimanjaro lies in Tanzania, not in Kenya, but one gets a perfect view from Amboseli park.

 

 

 

A grey-crowned crane.

 

 

These elephants got so close to the car in perfect marching orders and didn’t touch it.

 

Aerial photography, Tanzania

 

Detail of the mangrove, Pemba island.

 

 

Overtaking a competitor over the vast African landscapes.

 

On one frame, let’s admire the volcano Lengai, Mt Kilimanjaro on the horizon, Mt Kitumbeine and Mt Meru. Not everyday that we can enjoy a 100 mile visibility.

 

Dar es Salaam center.

 

Ngwazi airtsrip,

 

A highway crosses some swamp near Ngwazi.

 

Rufiji river and a swamp, Selous reserve.

 

Indian Ocean.

Wildlife, Amboseli, Kenya

 

A small national park in Kenya north of the Tanzanian border. But the mount Kilimanjaro towers over that little park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildlife, Amboseli NP, Kenya

 

The beautiful Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aerial photography in Tanzania

 

the good ol’ Kilimanjaro… in Tanzania. Case closed even if some Kenyan crooks or other short sighted nationalists claim it is in Kenya..

 

 

Mount Meru summit.

 

lake Victoria.

 

 

volcano Lengai.

 

a Masai homestead.

 

Tanzania, aerial photography

 

I’ve been flying 15 years in Tanzania, such a view of Kilimanjaro and Meru never ceases to amaze me. OK to be fair, this kind of clear visibility is exceptional.

 

Lake Natron, another wonder. Colors and shapes never stop changing, offering an incredible palette.

 

 

Tanzania, aerial pictures

 

The 3 mountains near Arusha: Kilimanjaro, Meru and Monduli.

 

 

 

 

Northern shoreline of lake Natron, a bit of extinct volcano Shombole.

Amboseli NP and Kilimanjaro, infrared film

 

 

 

 

 

shot with Rolleiflex on Kodak Aerochrome EIR film.

Amboseli nat'l park, photography

 

Amboseli is a lovely little park at the foot of Kilimanjaro (which is in Tanzania by the way, not in Kenya as claimed by some crooks). The wildlife out there is made of the usual suspects but on a good day the view of nearby Kili is breathtaking. These minibuses are numerous and some of these drivers are totally clueless: they leave the engine running while watching wildlife a few meters away!! You’d never see that in Tanzania.

6 am, time to leave camp and enjoy the early light in the mist.

 

That’s what I mean with a nearby Kilimanjaro. The atmospheric veil helped to catch the orange light on the peak and the clouds.

 

This is a close up view of the secondary peak

 

These guys, grey-headed kingfishers, were quite easy to spot and come close, like 5 meters away.

 

the area is made of swamps and it is quite easy to include animals in line with Kili. Providing the conditions are good of course.

 

 

Cattle egrets and elephants live in good company.

wildlife photography, Amboseli, Kenya

 

Kilimanjaro, early morning, dust and elephants. Reminder: the summit lies in Tanzania.

 

Grey-crowned crane (grue couronnée en français)

 

Interesting shadow.

 

 

 

Agama lizard (un aguame)…

The same but cropped.

 

A grey-headed kingfisher with ots fighting prey. (un martin-pêcheur)

 

White storks (cigognes blanches)

it always looks like a messy take off but there are never any crashes.

Kilimanjaro and wildlife, seen from Amboseli

 

Karine and I went for a few days in Nairobi and Amboseli National Park. A tiny park on the edge of Mt Kilimanjaro which allows a close view of the Tanzanian peak. Some Kenyans funnily claim the peak is in Kenya. Just grab a map and though the colonial Brits screwed up many borderlines when they carved up their colonies, the peak lies in Tanzania.

A tiny park, not the wildest of all parks, some bad guides/drivers but we enjoyed many wildlife actions on top of the landscapes. Kilimanjaro is a shy mountain but we managed some good sighting over the 3 days.

 

A sunrise, a spectacular viewing even with the slight atmospheric veil.

This is the secondary peak, sometimes showing snow after a storm, like the daily storms these days.

 

A bit later, the orange hue disappeared.

 

The park is quite flat, made of swamps mostly. So Karine and I were keen to include animals in that glorious landscape.

 

 

 

 

A superb last minute ray of light at sunset.

 

Another sunrise. One of those (many) days when I’m glad I have got that great Nikon lens, a super wide 12-24mm, here at 12mm.

 

Elephants in the dust.

aerial landscapes, Tanzania

 

Ngorongoro Crater. The city of Paris would fit in!

Mt Kilimanjaro close to sunset, just before the descent.

 

Volcano Shombole on lake Natron.  The artistic pattern on the foreground is made of salts.

 

Mt Kilimanjaro.

 

Coming back to land in Arusha.

 

Mt Gelai, another mountain around lake Natron.

 

Mud flow on lake Natron after heavy rains upstream.

 

A few neighboring mountains: Gelai, Kitumbeine, Lengai.

 

Interesting weather.

lake Natron, aerial photography

 

that was an exceptional day, a perfect visibility. Kilimanjaro on the left is more than 150 km away. Mt Gelai is close in the middle, and Mt Meru on the right, Mt Kitumbeine on the far right. I’ve got very few in that style. And of course, lake Natron in the foreground

 

a typical abstract and vertical view of the salts.

 

a psychedelic view of a Natron delta.

 

I’d say there is a spring underneath to explain that swirl of floating salts. I’ve spotted that phenomenon, on the same spot, only twice.

 

Oldoinyo Sambu cliff on the western shore.

 

volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border.

 

sometimes, it gets more sober.

 

various deltas.