Congratulations on choosing a trip. Even if some days are less than ideal, the overall trip will be wonderful. If you are in Kenya, I hope you get at least one day in Amboseli. You can get some iconic images of wildlife in the foreground and Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background.

The bean bags are nice, but hardly necessary. A rolled up sweatshirt of jacket will serve the same purpose. Also if you are in a safari vehicle and you are on the side of the vehicle where the action is not occurring, you might struggle to set something up, since your partner on the other side is perched in their window. However, if you have the web belt, I recommended earlier, You can easily create a loop attached to the struts of the open roof covering. You can rest the lens in this loop (works much like a monopod) and shoot over the head of the person next to you quite easily.

I am calling the "foot" of a long lens, the curved stand that typically attaches to a tripod. The hook "L" shape makes it easy to hang on the belt. I am of the opinion that you will get plenty of use out of your 300-1200, especially if you are looking at birds, but even if you are not a birder, you will not regret the longer focal lengths. Yes, there may be times when wildlife is close and you wish for something shorter (that's what the other body and lens is for) but even if you only had the one, you will wish for more focal length more often than you wish for less. As others have said, if you were thinking of seeing gorilla's, they can only be reliably found in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. I would also agree, that Congo is not safe enough to travel in. I have not been to Rwanda, but I have been to Uganda. If you decide to go there, understand that the gorilla trekking is strenuous mountain hiking over difficult terrain at altitude. You need to be in reasonable physical condition. If your physical condition is marginal, I would recommend hiring a porter. They will carry your gear and give you a hand over difficult sections, and you support the local economy directly.

Weather patterns have been shifting, the beginning of the "dry season" may still see daily rain. You are correct, that most people prefer the dry season because water becomes a predictable attraction for wildlife, on the other hand, your sparse water holes may be populated by dozens of tourist vehicles that will interfere with getting the shot you want. So it may be better to travel off peak. There are still plenty of wildlife to see at all times of the year, but fewer tourists. Of course if you are trying to catch one of the big migrations, you have to go when they are happening.

Africa is dusty. If you can help it, try not to change a lens in the field. Even at camp or at your lodge, clean the camera and lens the best you can before changing it. If you have a back up body, definitely bring one. One of my bodies seized up on my last trip to Africa. I was very happy to have a back up to switch to, and later that night I was able to get my primary back on line. If you have two or more bodies, you may not need to change lens at all, one keeps your best zoom and the other keeps a more universal style lens or macro depending on your style.

If you are able to customize your tour, try to include a night excursion (with a strong strobe). You will find the shots challenging but rewarding. If you are travelling with a companion who also has a camera, decide if one of you will focus on video while the other takes stills during high drama encounters.

I would suggest leaving a tripod at home, unless you are trying to get the southern constellations. A collapsable trekking pole that can double as a monopod can be more useful. I also bring a webbing belt with me. Wrapped around my chest, I can hang the foot of the large lens through it, when trekking on foot. Keeps the camera secure in rough terrain but easily accessible on quick notice.

Have fun. It is a magical place.

Actually I think I caught various stages of yawning.

Ooh Ooh Ooh. Me too.

Recliners are fine for relaxing or sometimes sleeping semi upright because of surgery or airway issues, but I am not a fan of lift chairs. As a physical therapist, I see too many people get lift chairs because it is becoming harder to come to stand from sitting. If you are completely unable to stand on your own without a boost, then lift chairs may be a viable choice of preserving independence. However, if you are starting to have difficulty with coming to stand, the struggle becomes important. The use it or lose it philosophy is real here. The effort required to stand is critical to maintaining the ability to stand. Once you relinquish the struggle, then you will get weaker that much more quickly. If you get to the point where you are unable to stand on your own, consider seeing a therapist first, if you are still debilitated enough then you can consider a lift chair assuming you are still able to ambulate and are interested in continuing to do so. Recliners fine, Lift chairs be very wary.

Took a trip to Uganda this summer. Hope you enjoy a small selection of the multitude of birds there.

For a few years I photographed gymnastic meets. I will assume the challenges are similar. My guess is that you will not be allowed to use a flash, but if you do make sure it is powerful enough to reach your subject since you will never be as close as you would like. Bring a decent telephoto or zoom. Something in the 200-400mm range should suffice, depending on the size of the venue. Use a tripod or monopod. Decent light will be your limiting factor so be prepared to pump up your ISO as high as you can tolerate depending on the megapixel capability of your camera. Don't just sit in the bleachers stuck in one spot. You wont be allowed on the mats, but there is a decent chance you will have access to ground level. Don't be afraid to walk around hunting for a good angle or taking shots from the floor perspective. If you choose to wander (like I liked to do) be aware of other photographers and don't interfere with their shots. Good luck. Post something that turned out well for you.

I do appreciate the comments. I think one of the many joys of photography is sharing those images with others. Especially wildlife, where one is only in the right place at the right time only once, and if you didn't capture that image, it would be lost forever.

I do like the first hand I posted, but I have a few where the hand features prominently. The dense foliage made it hard to get clean images but still worthwhile.

[quote=Barre]Nice pictures. Sure was nice of them to pose for you. [8^)[/quote]

Believe me. I have many images of dense foliage trying to photo bomb my efforts.

I had the chance to spend a few weeks in Uganda last summer. I went primarily to see mountain gorillas but plenty of other fun primates to see also. Between my wife and I, we took over 12,000 images. Hard to pick just a few.

gorilla mom with baby


Vervet monkey


gorilla hand


vervet family


golden monkey


chimpanzee highlighted


chimpanzee youngster


Chimpanzee mom and baby


silverback


Chimpanzee

One for the season

Not the most recent images in my camera, but some of the most recent that I have downloaded to my computer :(