The Image Maker

• Meeting dates
  • Executive Round Table Meeting: Dec. 2, 2023
  • O3C Rep meetings: Feb. 10, 2024 and May 25, 2024 (& AGM)
  • All meetings will be on Zoom and are scheduled from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
  • If any other meetings are scheduled, they will be communicated via The Image Maker

I’ve been very fortunate to have traveled extensively for my job, vacations and, since retiring,

photography tours: I’ve hit all 7 continents. Although I had been to Africa, it wasn’t a

photography tour and didn’t involve a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara, both of which

have been high on my bucket list for many years.

That changed in October this year, when I joined Photo Tour Trekkers (PTT) on a 15-day trip to

Kenya and Uganda. From start to finish, our group of 13 photographers couldn’t have asked for a

better, more professionally arranged trip, thanks to James Cowie, owner of PTT, and his partner,

Tourcan Vacations.

The flight with Ethiopian Airlines, from Toronto to Entebbe to Nairobi, was very comfortable.

We spent 2 nights in Nairobi and 1 full day of photography at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s

Elephant Orphanage, the Rothchild Giraffe Centre and the Karen Blixen Estate. The day was

topped off with an evening BBQ at the home of the owner of Twiga Tours, PTT’s African travel

partner. Twiga Tours is a premier, award winning company offering east African safaris for over

40 years.

For the next 7 days, we traveled to several of Kenya’s largest territories all populated with a

stunning variety of animals and birds - Samburu National Reserve, Aberdares National Park,

Lake Nakuru National Park and, to top it all off, the Masai Mara National Reserve.

Our group travelled in 3 Twiga Tours well equipped Toyota safari vehicles. I can’t think of

anything that could have been added to the vehicles to make them any more conducive to

photography. Our 3 drivers - George, Martin and Farouk - have been with Twiga Tours for many

years; we couldn’t have asked for more knowledgable, friendly and safety-minded people to

guide us through Kenya.

The photography was nothing short of stunning! No doubt there were a few animals that we

didn’t see, but the only one I can think of is an aardvark, although we saw their abandoned

burrows that the warthogs take over. As for birds, I wanted to get shots of a lilac breasted roller. I

saw 1 during dinner at one of the lodges, but I didn’t have a camera with me.

A few people have asked me what the highlight of the trip was. My answer, “The trip!”. As for

animals and birds, there were so many highlights: the lion prides, cheetahs, leopards, cape

buffalo, wildebeest, the many species of antelopes - gazelle, impala, topi, oryx, bushbucks,

waterbucks, gerenuk,, etc. - the ‘parades’ of elephants, the ‘towers’ of giraffes, white rhinos,

hippos, flamingo, storks, fish eagles, hawks, pelicans and many, many more.

One of the major highlights for me was the 1-hour, early morning hot air balloon ride. It was, in

a word, spectacular! We took off during a beautiful sunrise and bright blue skies followed. As we

approached the Mara River, we photographed many animals, even rhinos in the river, as we

drifted over. This was my second hot air balloon ride and I was very excited about doing it there.

If you’ve never been in one, it is very quiet and you really don’t even get the sense that you’re moving. After landing, the experience was topped off with a traditional full champagne breakfast

set up in the fresh air. Besides the champagne, we were offered omelettes to order, a large variety

of fruit, bread, cheeses, etc. What a way to top off the morning!

We departed Kenya from a strip close to our lodge on an early morning flight to Uganda in a

small bush plane, which saved us a full day of driving. During our 2 days in Uganda, we visited

the Kibale National Park, home to colonies of chimpanzees, and the Bwindi Impenetrable

National Forest, where we tracked and photographed gorillas. A lot of trekking was involved,

some through very dense growth and steep inclines, but we saw both groups of animals. What a

thrill it was to be close enough to them to photograph using a medium zoom lens, although we

used long ones also to get the up close ‘passport’ shots. Watching a silverback gorilla interact

with his female and baby was incredible.

All of our accommodations throughout the trip were first class...the rooms, the meals, the overall

service left us wanting for nothing. In fact, the whole trip left me wanting for nothing...except to

go back again. If/when I do, it will be with Photo Tour Trekkers.

Although this was not one of O3C’s photo tours, we have partnered with PTT to offer O3C

members 3 exciting trips next year, a combination of O3C exclusive trips and shared with other

PTT clients:

• Costa Rica - March 19-26 (shared)

• Kenya - September 9-20 (O3C)

• Tuscany - this trip was postponed this year and will be rescheduled (O3C)

• A local weekend trip - details will be posted soon (O3C)

We regularly meet with PTT to discuss future trips and promotions. Visit the O3C website (https://o3c.ca/photo-tours/) for trip details, including discounts for our members, and watch for our ‘O3C Focus’ blasts.

Happy travelling,

Leif Petersen

President

Ontario Council of Camera Clubs

by Randy Nickerson

I started my photographic journey when I was 17 with a polaroid camera and access to the streets around Danforth Ave. in Greek Town. I don’t think we called it that then and it certainly was not as trendy as it is now but we all gained our 8-ball chops at one of the several pool halls on the main drag. Add to all that a weekly visit to the Roxy for the Rocky Horror Picture show and you get the idea of the community that I grew up in.

Not that I knew it then, but these were the building blocks to my first love, street photography. Fast forward 25 years and we started to have access to digital cameras which was a big deal since you could afford to snap away and choose the photos you want to print.

I spent years in downtown Toronto working and playing which by osmosis created my love for this genre. During lunch hours I would take my trusty Nikon for a walk, pick a topic like people smoking or people talking or even in the rain, people with umbrellas which is where I learned a big lesson by going out with a purpose. I used to just wander around (which is fun as well) but just hope something would appear.

Like anything, I started to get interested in other forms and subjects. Architecture and more recently Event/Sport photography has consumed my time and I left street photography behind. Fast forward 10 years to now. I had an opportunity to go to Montreal and just take photos all weekend. The plan was to go to Old Montreal and get the architecture of the churches and maybe get lucky with some buskers. What I found, much to my surprise, was the endless amount of people shots. A parade here, a mini soccer game there and weddings!

I went back to shooting with a purpose. People smiling was one topic, people playing another. Finally contrast. Things contrary to what is going on. Oh and the churches! One on every block. Just sitting in a square and people watching was bringing back the excitement of the potential of that one great photo right around the corner. That’s what makes this type of shooting so great. You just don’t know what your going to come home with.

This was an especially fruitful endeavor as I was able to get in front of some newly married couples for a quick capture and interact with so many others just going about their day. That is the real reward as you learn that most people are really, really, great and you can come away feeling like the world is not such a scary place.

Did I get that one great photo? I really think I did. What do you think?

Here are some of my favorite shots of the weekend. If you love this type of photography, I recommend Montreal, Toronto Chinatown or Kensington and even Ottawa in the summer.

We have posted the Rules & Regulations for the 2024 Open Challenge Competition. Follow the link below to view. The competition will be open to all members of an O3C Club. There are 11 categories including an annual Theme Topic.

Members can enter a maximum of 12 entries in any combination quantity per categories they wish. Cost is $2 per entry for up to 12 entries. Categories are: Nature Birds, Nature Animals, Nature Botany, Nature Landscapes/Geology, Expansive Views, People, People in Action, Architecture, Pictorial, Creative Vision, and the Theme Topic of “Food & Drink”.

There are individual Category awards of First, Second, Third and Honourable Mentions. There are also individual Specialist Award for each of the Category. There is one Diversity Photographer of the Year award. There are 11 Club Awards for each of the Categories as well as one Overall Club Award for highest point accumulation.

Entry submissions to be made by the Club – information packages will be sent out to all Club Reps by our Data Manager.

Check out our listing for your discounted tours at O3C.ca. We will be adding the new 2024 Tuscany Tour information and sign up details as soon as they are available. We look forward to offering an exciting 13 months of interesting tours both local and international that are unique to the O3C.

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