Gorilla Photography Tours in Rwanda

Planning to travel in Rwanda for the best photographic safaris? it is none other then Eco Tours Rwanda offers the best and experienced tour guides that can help you explore all angels of photography. Of all the many fascinating wildlife photographic subjects out there, few species will get your heart racing like that of the Mountain Gorillas of the Virunga. No words can describe the feeling when sitting within a few feet of a 500 pound Silver back Mountain Gorilla. Their intimidating size and yet a stare that carries an indescribable gentleness has dubbed them the name “Gentle Giants”.

Gorillas in Rwanda are not the easiest subject to photograph but most certainly one of the most rewarding when you get it right. Try your best to avoid subjects that are positioned in bright sunlight as the sun on their fur blows out completely and it is almost impossible to correctly expose this dark animals and its bright green surrounds in the same frame. Should you have no option but to shoot in bright sunlight, try for close-up images instead, avoiding as much of the green blown out vegetation.

Weather conditions play a vital role when photographing Gorillas on your tours in Rwanda, soft overcast conditions are the best. Do not be deterred by rainy conditions as these do expose a very different side of Gorilla behavior. Make sure you are well prepared though with a default camera setting that allows you an adequate shutter speed in these darkened conditions as well as protection for your gear.

The Mountain Gorillas share so many of our human like features and behaviors and are these, which I try and capture when photographing Gorillas in Rwanda. They are incredibly easy to relate to and you are able to tie some form of human emotion to most of their expressions and behaviors.

Their large sunken eye sockets do make this quite challenging at times, especially in harsher lighting conditions. I found that by positioning yourself at a lower angle and shooting up at them allows you a better angle from which to shoot into those deep eye sockets. Gorillas often look up and this is the time when they expose their eyes most and these are the brief moments to look out for.

Take note of your aperture value when shooting at a close distance though, as the distance between the nose and eyes will increase considerably when they look up. The best opportunity to photograph their hands and feet happen when they lie on their backs and will often move their limbs around trying to get comfortable. Book now and enjoy all these shoot angel of the Rwandan Gorillas.

By | 2017-01-30T18:49:30+00:00 January 30th, 2017|Rwanda tours|0 Comments

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