Fred Tedsen
New member
Does anyone here have any recommendations for photography oriented trips to the Galapagos Islands? Thanks.
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Galapagos Photo Tours
- Thread starter Fred Tedsen
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Hi Fred,
Well, I'll have some answers for you shortly. I leave on Monday for a 2-week trip to the Galapagos. I'm using Galapagos Travel. They are very photography oriented (one of the main reasons I chose them). A maximum of 16 passengers, on a 120 foot Yacht.
I'm sure there are other good ones out there, but this is the one I ended up choosing. I'll know soon if it was a good choice!
Well, I'll have some answers for you shortly. I leave on Monday for a 2-week trip to the Galapagos. I'm using Galapagos Travel. They are very photography oriented (one of the main reasons I chose them). A maximum of 16 passengers, on a 120 foot Yacht.
I'm sure there are other good ones out there, but this is the one I ended up choosing. I'll know soon if it was a good choice!
John Hurshman
New member
Andy Biggs, who runs photo safaris in Africa, has a Galapagos tour scheduled in April 1997. I don't know if it is full. Info is on Andy's web site (www.andybiggs.com). I've been on one of Andy's African trips, and liked it so much that I've signed-up for the Galapagos tour.
John Hurshman
New member
OOPS... that would be April 2007, not 1997.
Fred Tedsen
New member
Hi Don,
I'm looking forward to your experience with Galapagos Travel. I was hoping someone had taken a trip with them.
I'm looking forward to your experience with Galapagos Travel. I was hoping someone had taken a trip with them.
I returned Sunday from my trip, and had an awesome time.
Galapagos Travel handled the logistics of the trip superbly - whether going to and coming from the airport, preparing us for various excursions, etc., they were always there, had us well informed and prepared for each step of the process. The people were superb and attentive.
The boat we were on was also excellent. It was a 120-foot yacht, called Tip Top IV, newly built and only a few months in service. Sleeping quarters were adequate - a bit on the small side, but about what I was expecting for this size boat. There was a lot of space above for laying around, sunning, etc. with lounge chairs, covered areas, etc. The food was good - basic, healthy. Not fancy, gourmet, beef a bit tough when we had it. Lots of fresh fruit, juices, etc.
The trip itself, in terms of locations visited, was simply wonderful. The wildlife was just like on TV - abundant, approachable, just waiting to have their pictures taken. Our group was small (15 participants on our particular trip), and everybody got along quite well. Many in the group (other than my wife and myself, and one other participant) were more casual photographers, with point and shoots, but this didn't stop us from shooting to our hearts content. I probably took several thousand frames over the course of the 10-night/11-day Galapagos portion of the trip, downloading/deleting on my Laptop each afternoon and/or evening, to keep up.
There were nightly education 'lectures' - geology, currents, wildlife, history, etc. To be honest, I expected more of the conversation/orientation to be photography oriented, which it wasn't, but again this didn't prevent me from taking full advantage of the photographic opportunities. I think that if Barry Boyce, the owner of the company, was one of the group leaders, who is a photographer, this aspect of the trip would have been somewhat different, but this really wasn't a problem, just a little different than expected.
I'm still sorting through images, trying to pare down to more manageable numbers, and will be adding to my website over the next couple of weeks. Will post some here as well when I get them selected and prepared.
Hope this helps! Feel free to follow-up with specific questions, etc.
Galapagos Travel handled the logistics of the trip superbly - whether going to and coming from the airport, preparing us for various excursions, etc., they were always there, had us well informed and prepared for each step of the process. The people were superb and attentive.
The boat we were on was also excellent. It was a 120-foot yacht, called Tip Top IV, newly built and only a few months in service. Sleeping quarters were adequate - a bit on the small side, but about what I was expecting for this size boat. There was a lot of space above for laying around, sunning, etc. with lounge chairs, covered areas, etc. The food was good - basic, healthy. Not fancy, gourmet, beef a bit tough when we had it. Lots of fresh fruit, juices, etc.
The trip itself, in terms of locations visited, was simply wonderful. The wildlife was just like on TV - abundant, approachable, just waiting to have their pictures taken. Our group was small (15 participants on our particular trip), and everybody got along quite well. Many in the group (other than my wife and myself, and one other participant) were more casual photographers, with point and shoots, but this didn't stop us from shooting to our hearts content. I probably took several thousand frames over the course of the 10-night/11-day Galapagos portion of the trip, downloading/deleting on my Laptop each afternoon and/or evening, to keep up.
There were nightly education 'lectures' - geology, currents, wildlife, history, etc. To be honest, I expected more of the conversation/orientation to be photography oriented, which it wasn't, but again this didn't prevent me from taking full advantage of the photographic opportunities. I think that if Barry Boyce, the owner of the company, was one of the group leaders, who is a photographer, this aspect of the trip would have been somewhat different, but this really wasn't a problem, just a little different than expected.
I'm still sorting through images, trying to pare down to more manageable numbers, and will be adding to my website over the next couple of weeks. Will post some here as well when I get them selected and prepared.
Hope this helps! Feel free to follow-up with specific questions, etc.
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Don,
Glad to hear about your trip. This is a most important expedition for people to take and a wonderful opportunity to get great shots without needing huge and heavy lenses. The limited sleeping arrangements seem are worth putting up with for this incredible opportunity. I wonder how long there will be free access? Do the tour companies control the visitors so that they don't screw up the ecosystems. In Antartica they disinfect rubber boots before people go ashore! Also are the animals just genetically unfearful or is it our good behavior that keeps them that way. IOW, how is the pristine beauty preserved from us?
Please post and post again shots of the birds and animals. We're keen to get everything!
Maybe a few shots for artistic critque and some for retouching or optimizing.
Glad you are back.
To welcome you, notice Andy Biggs is now online too!
Asher
Glad to hear about your trip. This is a most important expedition for people to take and a wonderful opportunity to get great shots without needing huge and heavy lenses. The limited sleeping arrangements seem are worth putting up with for this incredible opportunity. I wonder how long there will be free access? Do the tour companies control the visitors so that they don't screw up the ecosystems. In Antartica they disinfect rubber boots before people go ashore! Also are the animals just genetically unfearful or is it our good behavior that keeps them that way. IOW, how is the pristine beauty preserved from us?
Please post and post again shots of the birds and animals. We're keen to get everything!
Maybe a few shots for artistic critque and some for retouching or optimizing.
Glad you are back.
To welcome you, notice Andy Biggs is now online too!
Asher
Asher Kelman said:
Well, I wouldn't call it "free" now - there is a $100/person Galapagos Park entrance fee.
Access to the islands is pretty tightly regulated. In most areas, there is a marked path/area, and the guides are very strict about people adhering to these. The usual explanation for the animals' lack of fear is that it's because of the Islands' isolation, lack of exposure to men, and relative freedom from predators. I'm not sure I buy that completely (e.g. the Land Iguanas are not very approachable).
But overall, they seem to be working quite hard to preserve the Islands' pristine beauty, and have many programs in place to reverse the presence/effects of at least some of the flora/fauna introduced over the years. For example, on one island, a fairly large goat population has been completely eradicated.
Will post some images within the next week or possibly two.
(Glad to see Andy Biggs posting here as well!)
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Hey Don, tomorrow will be 2008, we're still waiting !-)
Mea culpa!! Guess I never did get around to this!
As I indicated above, it was a spectacular trip. Here is a small selection of images. The rest can be seen, with notes on location, i.d., lens, shooting specs, etc. here
Forum rules prevent more than 4 in a single message, so I'll post another set following this one.
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Beautiful Don !
Thanks for the gift!
BTW, what lens did you use for the later pic?
Thanks for the gift!
BTW, what lens did you use for the later pic?
Thanks Nicolas.
The final picture was taken with the Canon 17-35L/f2.8 at 19 mm (ISO 400, f/8, 1/500 second). I played around with the Canon 15mm/f2.8 Fisheye as well, although I haven't really learned to use it effectively.
It was incredible that other than the land iguanas, most of the wildlife completely ignored you, and you could really close to them. Fun to experience, and great for photography.
The final picture was taken with the Canon 17-35L/f2.8 at 19 mm (ISO 400, f/8, 1/500 second). I played around with the Canon 15mm/f2.8 Fisheye as well, although I haven't really learned to use it effectively.
It was incredible that other than the land iguanas, most of the wildlife completely ignored you, and you could really close to them. Fun to experience, and great for photography.
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
I asked because i found that there's quite a 'high' barreling effect, amazing that it comes from that lens…
I agree. In fact, when I originally went to my website to check the specs for that shot, I was expecting to see the Canon 15mm Fisheye listed. (In fact that's what made me mention the fisheye in my first response). I was surprised to see the 17-35 zoom listed.
I should have checked further, and your comment here made me double-check the original file - it was in fact the 15mm Fisheye!! How embarassing!! It was actually the previous shot that day that was taken with the 17-35 at 19mm. Further, it was ISO 250, f/8, 1/500 sec.
Sorry for the confusion. I'll go ahead and make the correction on my site.
Thanks for picking up on this!
nicolas claris
OPF Co-founder/Administrator
No prob Don
the nice thing is these 2 animals, so quiet and relaxed! with such a lens, I guess you were pretty close!
Have a nice Eve
the nice thing is these 2 animals, so quiet and relaxed! with such a lens, I guess you were pretty close!
Have a nice Eve