Returning Home

Taken on my Kenya trip, 2022. 

Home. One word with so much power and emotion behind it. To some, home is all you know. Perhaps it's where you were born or where you spent your childhood. To others, home is a specific place. A place where your family is. Where your friends are. Where you feel, well, at home. To me, home is many things. It's not just one place. It's where I grew up, where I formed memories, and where my family is. It's also the places I've traveled to where locals have welcomed me with open arms, encouraging me to experience life in their eyes. From living in an Italian-only speaking neighborhood in Rome to dancing with school children in Tanzania to spending a few years in Washington, D.C. during college, I've found a home in many places and under many different circumstances. But what I call my "second home"? That's easy. That's Africa. Africa as a whole, even though the countries, cultures, and languages are so different. Because I can't just pick one country. Each time I fall in love with one, I also fall in love with another. It's been 97 days since I was last in Africa... even longer than that for my mom, who also considers Africa her happy place: 1,026 days for her. Years. She was last in Africa pre-Covid, in September 2019.



We are both deprived. It's true what everyone says about Africa. To quote part of a poem by Trishula Patel titled "The Real Africa"...

"The land where moyo muti unomera pauno; where roots take hold and don’t let go, solid as the baobab tree that has always been and will always be there, standing steady and solid against the menaces of time.

My Africa is where my heart resides even when I am long gone and far away, where my mind drifts to across the distance of a never-ending ocean. The real Africa can be smelt the minute you step off a plane onto African soil and feel the air calling you, beckoning you home.

The real Africa is the chaos and the calm that exist side by side as honking cars zoom past on streets that run parallel to cows grazing peacefully in a field."

When you go to Africa, you're hooked for life. You're so hooked that, even though you have no idea what you'll be doing in the future, you book a trip to Africa... four years in advance. Ok, well, Covid screwed us up. I booked a photographic tour on December 3, 2018 thinking my mom and I would get to go in 2020. Covid had other plans. We thought we'd go in 2021... Covid had other plans. It's now 2022, nearly 4 years after we booked, and nothing can stop us from going. It's time, and I'm very thankful that I'm able to still take this trip with my new job! 


For those of you who know me personally, or who have been following my blog for awhile, you already know that I'm cursed when it comes to leopards. My friends in Tanzania tell me that leopards avoid me because they think that once I see it, I will not come back to Africa. No matter how many trips I've taken to Africa (now 11 over the past 16 years), I've never gotten a proper leopard photograph. It took me 11 years (7 trips) just to even see a leopard, and it wasn't a great sighting photographically. My point is, I'm cursed. And if this trip doesn't break that bad luck, I don't know what will. On this trip, the focus is leopards, leopards, leopards. While that may be the focus, there are countless other species to see and experiences to be had including photographing from Mashatu's photo hide located below ground at the camp's waterhole. Over the next two weeks, we will be traveling on a photographic tour of just four people plus a photography guide to Mashatu and MalaMala before a private extension with just the two of us (with our photography guide for extra instruction!) to Mana Pools.

Mashatu and MalaMala are known for their leopards. Even my photography guide has told me, "I'd be really surprised if you didn't see at least one". But hey, until I photograph that classic leopard headshot I've been dreaming of since I first started getting serious about photography in 2013, I'll be holding my breath. Mana Pools will be an experience unlike any other I've had in Africa. Mana Pools is known for its bull elephants that stand on their hind legs to feed in the tree canopy. Mana Pools is also known for their walking safaris. 


Preparing for this trip is the same as any other. I first go through my closet. This time, it's easy... I pull all the khaki, white, and green clothes. Safari chic? I pull out all my toiletries... Bug spray anyone? I'm just hoping I don't spray 100% deet in my eye at 5AM like I did during my last trip to Tanzania. This trip has an extra step to packing: packing for a purpose. Literally. The first camp we are going to has a program called Pack for a Purpose, allowing travelers to make an impact in the community. Mashatu partners with Children in the Wilderness through this program. Children in the Wilderness is a non-profit organization that facilitates sustainable conservation through leadership development and education of rural children in Africa and Mashatu closes camp for 12 days each year to run two camps for selected children in the nearby communities. The program increases children's awareness, bridges cultural divides, builds confidence, and reveals new career opportunities while allowing Mashatu staff the opportunity to be mentors and leaders, thus connecting them to their jobs and instilling in them pride for their culture and community. Throughout the course of the camp, children participate in wildlife activities, attend workshops on conservation, environmental management, and the geography and geology of the area, culture, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and the importance of wilderness areas to their communities and their country. Some of the topics covered include herbivore, bird and insect work sheets, creative activities including the making of dream catchers, anti-poaching activities, and photography courses where the children learn to "shoot" with cameras instead of guns. Mashatu also takes the kids on field trips to the Limpopo Valley Airport, Mashatu Main Camp, and the Pont Drift Customs and Immigrations Office to expose them to different careers associated with these places. In doing my usual pre-trip research, I discovered that we could pack items for the kids (that Mashatu gives to them during these camps), so that's exactly what we are doing. I ordered a bunch of their high priority items on Amazon and packed the goodies in my suitcase to gift to Mashatu upon arrival. Even the simplest items that we have easy access to here in the US are harder to get in Africa, even more so with Covid still affecting local communities. We will be bringing pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, pencil bags, and toothbrushes. This is just one of the many small ways in which I try to make a difference whenever I travel. If you have extra room in your suitcase when you travel, I urge you to look at any programs such as this. These goodies only cost $50, and will make so many children happy! 

Then, it's time to go through my camera routine, a lengthy process. I realize that even though my blog focuses on photography, I don't talk about the process nearly as often as I should... So here's a little sneak peak at my pre-trip routine.



I first get out my gear. All of it. Even if I didn't use it on whatever my last trip was. Different trips call for different gear. Because I'm a visual person, I put it all on the bed. It gets messy pretty quickly!

I typically first go through my memory cards. 128GB ones are my favorite. Some people reuse memory cards, but I never do. Once full, I put labels on them so I can always have a backup in case my computer or computer backup fails to retrieve photos. It's not the most cost effective but that's what Black Friday is for, right?! I always pack more than I need. I'll check to see how many photos are left on the memory cards inserted into my two camera bodies and decide if I need to insert new ones. If I do, I'll do so and if not, I'll typically pack 3-4 brand new 128GB memory cards.


Next, I'll go through my lenses. I have a 150-600mm f/5-6.3 with a 1.4x converter, 70-200 f/2.8, 100mm macro, 18-135 f/3.5-5.6, and 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 plus a range of polarizing filters. The 150-600 is my standard go to lens for wildlife. My 70-200 is typically lesser used because of the range, but on this trip I'll need that too. In the forested environment of Mana Pools especially, a lower aperture will come in handy. My 100mm macro will stay at home this time... there's no need for it when I travel unless I know I'll be around tidal pools or interesting flora and fauna. I always bring my 18-135. It was my first ever camera lens, and I've never been anywhere without it. It's great for when wildlife is close to the car, as often happens while on safari. My 10-18 is typically lesser used, but I'm hesitant to leave it at home this time because of the photo hide. I have the space, so why not?

After I narrow down my lenses, I'll clean all my camera gear and check all my settings. One critical item I always check is the date/time. It's so important to manually input the date/time to the exact second if you're using multiple bodies. Otherwise, when you go to import in Lightroom your photos will be out of order. I'll set the proper timezone and date on one body first, and then I'll go to my other body. The easiest way I've found to do this is to set the time to the minute. If my first body says 20:02:34 (the latter indicating the seconds), I'll input 20:03:00 on my second body, waiting to hit the "ok" confirmation right when :00 seconds shows on the first body. I've gotten really good at this step over the years, and often get it perfect on the first try! When I first started doing this, it took me at least 5 tries to get it perfect.



I'll go through all my accessories next. Since it will be cold in the mornings and evenings, my favorite accessory will be coming with me: photography gloves. These are insulated but the thumb and index fingers snap back so I can still operate my camera. I prefer these to the gloves that are supposed to be touchscreen friendly, but maybe that's just me. Of course, a large part of the preparation is charging batteries which I typically do a few days prior to leaving for my trip. After I do all the above, I'll back up my computer, install any updates, check that my programs are running properly and able to function without wifi, and pack my gear into my camera bag. Then I'm ready!! 

My bags are packed, my paperwork is ready (thanks, Covid-- more forms to fill out!), and I'm thinking all the good thoughts because I keep hearing that Amsterdam is a mess right now and we have less than 90 minutes to catch our connection. Three countries. Three m's. Two weeks. Bring it on, Africa. 

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