as for a good head RRS, Markins and Acratech make great heads that will do good service on any tripod and hold heavy glass, but the best atribute is that you can set up the friction to allow you to adjust the angle without twiddling with the lock adjustment and when you do lock them of they do not slip
Almost forgot try this web site for loads of safari photography help, very informative
http://www.kruger-2-kalahari.com/safari-photo-tips.html
I visited Entosha last year the Monopod was all I used jammed up against the vehicle door it was solid , camera shake wasnt a problem, however my longest lense was a 70-200mm (105-300mm equivelent on my D300)which to my suprise was rarely used at the long end !We got that close to the animals, enjoy I cannot wait to get back.
Dust was a problem do not change lenses whilst out on Safari
Dodging and burning are terms from the days of film printing, in Photoshop there is a tool for both burning darkens , dodging lightens so I was just suggesting subtle slightly lightening the horse might make is stand out from the background a little more.
Whatever it makes me wish I was back in the wide open spaces of the USA
if you have PS you could select the horse and dodge it slightly, then invert the selection and slightly blur the background.
I would turn it into more of a panorama by cropping some of the sky. It might have helped if the horse want dead centre.
Is the horizon leaning to the right?
Nice view nice horse
Well it is just my view many people like them pushed to the limit, black clouds, everything else bright over saturated and halos every where, good luck to them it would be a boring World if we all liked the same thing, there is room for all tastes
I tend to agree with you personaly I am not keen on the over processed HDR, but used in a subtle way its brilliant
Utah, and Arizona, so many places , sooooooo much to see and photograph
Ive done Moab twice and havent seen the same things twice way too much for just two visits, and I havent got the two iconic photos yet!
Goblin Valley and Red Canyon near Bryce (nice and quiet once you walk 100 yards) if you have the time, I would love to get back to Utah its just full of amazing views and great hiking
My apologies I gave you the name of the wrong bag is should be the urban disguise 40 it doesnt even look like a camera bak
Think tank retrospective, takes my D300 with a 17-55f2.8 and the 70-200 F2.8 either attached they sell a back pack straps for it and its a brilliant shoulder bag I got feed up with bags breaking this will outlast me for sure, been all around the world several times loads of smaller pockets as well just brilliant
Hand held 2am in the morning for a several second exposure it looks sharp to me.
Get a tripod!!
I havea Pentax waterproof camera that I have used to 3 feet and had some good results from it , but you need exeptionaly clear water to use flash if it is close to the camera lens. I understand there are also plastic waterproof housings ( not the bespoke housings and £100's but I havent any first hand experience with them
you might concider second hand manual focus lenses to get extra reach they are incredibly cheap in comparison to new autofocus