Category: Expeditions

Iconic Africa partners with African Conservation Expeditions 

Posted on by Lexi Hall

Iconic Africa is proud to partner with African Conservation Expeditions, a first of its kind initiative that combines real conservation work with high-end luxury safaris. 

This unique conservation company was established by well-known conservationist, Cole du Plessis, and Wallabies rugby legend, Dane Haylett-Petty. The motivation that drives this initiative is the raising of funds for the critical, ongoing conservation work needed to save some of Africa’s most endangered species.

The expeditions are hosted by conservation specialists who introduce guests to the areas where intervention is necessary to sustain Africa’s most wild and threatened species. 

The current focal points include the Kalahari region, North-West, Limpopo and the Greater Kruger National Park. The extent and diversity of these areas ensure that each expedition is both unique and thrilling.    

50% of the proceeds from these expeditions are directed to the Endangered Wildlife Trust – an NGO that has dedicated over 45 years to saving Africa’s wildlife and habitats.

African Conservation Expeditions focuses on threatened species that include: African Wild Dog, Lion, Black Rhino, White Rhino, Cheetah, Elephants and Pangolins. Most threats are human-induced and involve poaching, disease, persecution and roadkill.

Step into an action movie as you help monitor and observe; fit tracking collars onto key individuals; administer vaccines; collect genetic samples, and removing snares where necessary. 

Once the conservation objectives are achieved, guests have plenty of time to relax, reflect on their experiences, and enjoy the facilities of some of the most exclusive and most luxurious lodges South Africa has to offer. The luxury of the rooms, the exquisite food, the beautiful views and the inviting swimming pools create the ideal atmosphere for some well-deserved relaxation. 

Contact the Iconic team to find out more on how you can help make a difference to wildlife on your next luxury safari in Africa here. 

10 Quick Tips on Wildlife Photo Editing

Posted on by Lexi Hall

We had a chat to James Tyrrell, friend of Iconic Africa, ranger at Londolozi and budding wildlife photographer who took us through 10 quick tips on editing wildlife pictures.

Let’s not over complicate things… the objective here is simple! You want to recreate exactly what was in front of you at the time you pressed the shutter button so here are some helpful tips on how to do this:

  1. Lightroom is great for photo editing and is generally quicker and simpler than Photoshop
  2. When post-processing wildlife photographs the key is to keep as natural a look to the picture as possible.
  3. The best photos always tell a good story (this is ultimately what you want your photos to do!)
  4. Increasing vibrance and saturation a touch are generally a must when editing RAW images, but one has to be careful not to overdo it.
  5. With elephant or rhino, the detail in their skin is a wonderful thing to try and emphasize in a photo, so it’s often good to up the sharpness and clarity a little.
  6. Try to get your subject (animal) to pop a little more, which you can do by sharpening or lightening the subject slightly.
  7. When taking a full-body image of an animal try not to cut off the feet, tail, the horns or any other part of the body!
  8. In photos of big cats, whiskers are generally where you want to check if the image is sharp enough or not.
  9. With action photos, let the action speak for itself as any over-editing will detract from what’s happening.
  10. With evening pictures you want to keep colours as natural as possible while still emphasizing the warm glow of the sunset.

We hope these tips help even just a little! For a very basic introduction to Lightroom have a look at this easy-to-follow tutorial done by Londolozi.