Author name: larryblau

Hi Everyone We visited a Masai village this morning and then did a quick game drive. Sean told us that this village is authentic and only a few tourists visit. The mud huts were surrounded by a BOMA, which is a fence constructed of spiky twigs and long branches. The BOMA keeps any predators, such as lions, from entering the village. A herd of sheep and goats were fenced inside. Once entering, you are immediately attacked by swarms of flies. There are so many of them that they almost cover your exposed areas and your camera. Sean told us that the Masai used to move every six months and burn the village down upon departure. This process would cleanse the area of dung, flies, ticks etc. They do not move anymore and now the dung, flies and ticks have become a problem. We were guided around the village by one of the Masai men, but the flies and shadows made photography difficult. After our tour, some of the women offered to sell us some of their jewelry and other hand made items. This is a way to help them and I purchased bead bracelets for my granddaughters. Seeing this village and getting a glimpse of this lifestyle reminds me how fortunate many of us are. I must admit that whenever I see and experience people such as the Masai, I always think how lucky I am. Our free noon drive was not a drive. We went to visit the Masai Olympics. What a spectacle. There must have been two hundred young men and women present. They were all wearing their normal Masai wardrobe. The first event was spear throwing. The men formed a long line and each man was given three opportunities to throw their spear. I sat low to the ground, set my shutter speed at 2000 and clicked away. The next event was a race. I noticed that most of the men and women were not wearing shoes. The men ran first and lined up. I sat at the finish line and took pictures of them running towards me. They did this race twice and then it was the women’s turn. The next event was tug of war. The men went first and the women followed. After the events, we hiked up to a large mound, but I was driven up. The Masai then lined up in a straight line and started to sing while making a huge circle and then walking up the mound. Once they reached the top, they sang and advanced towards us and then moved back. The men formed a semicircle and started to jump high up in the air while singing. I have tried to explain this amazing experience as best as possible, but you had to be here to really get the idea. An experience that will last a lifetime. Tomorrow we leave Amboseli and fly to Nairobi. Karen, Andy and myself meet up with four new members of the group and the previous four return home. Spend tomorrow night in Nairobi and then it’s off to Lewa. More on that later. Love Larry

Hi Everyone What an amazing morning. We drove back to see the large flock of flamingoes and arrived just as the light began to change their colors. The reflections off of the water was something to see as multiple flamingoes were reflected. It is so difficult to take pictures in the morning light, but it gets easier as the sun rises. You constantly have to adjust your settings to try and not create lots of noise or graininess in your photos.  We then drove down the road and spotted a herd of elephants. The smallest baby I had ever seen was being protected by the larger ones. What a sight. I Love to use the larger ones as sort of framing around the babies. Elephants are great subjects and their skin has such great patterns and creases.  We pulled over for breakfast and just as I was having coffee, one of our guides spotted a cheetah and it appeared to be stalking something. We immediately stopped and boarded our vehicles. We were able to spot the Cheetah and get up close to watch her stalk. We then needed to back off and see if she would try to hunt down anything. When you are waiting for a kill, you have to be quiet and try not to let the creature notice you. Then the waiting game began. After an hour, the Cheetah had not done anything to make us suspect the kill was at hand and we decided to go back to Camp.  When I arrived at my tent a group of baboons were waiting to greet me.  Fortunately They had not broken in and when they saw me, took off. A quick nap was next on my schedule and then downloading and some writing. I could get used to this routine very quickly.  Our afternoon drive was quite interesting. We spotted a who group of African White Pelicans. They are huge and got some great shots of them. We then spotted the Cheetah we had faithfully waited for a kill in the morning. She was walking along the plains and minding her own business. Two impalas seemed to lag behind her and followed her until she left their territory. Not much else to reports, but we are having a special day tomorrow. Stay tuned Love Larry

Hi Everyone The trip is starting to take a physical toll on me. Am starting to drag and need time to myself, but hopefully that will not happen until the trip is over. Same day, but different discoveries. Five AM wake up, coffee in the room and by six, on the road. This morning we went searching for lions and cheetahs. If you have never been in safari, don’t think like it’s a huge zoo or wildlife park. You have to go find the subjects and there are times when Africa is stubborn and will not yield any wonders until you prove to her you are worthy and patient. We drove for about forty five minutes with no luck until we spotted two Eagle Owls sitting on a perch and talking. They made chirping sounds and periodically starred at each other. Maybe they were talking about the humans watching them? We drove and spotted a mother lion with her two cubs n the tall grass. I enjoy taking pictures of the African wildlife surrounded by the tall grass. The grass always gives me the ability to capture wildlife in their natural way and the grass is a great way to frame the subject. It was then back on the road and we stopped at a huge bush full of “Weaver Birds.” Weaver Birds come in different colors and these were masked Weavers. They are a bright yellow with a sort of black mask over their eyes. Weavers are called this because they build or weave intricate nests hanging from trees that look like a big clump of sticks. Outside my tent there are quite a few of their nests hanging from a huge acacia. I was able to get some great pictures of one looking at me. It was then time for breakfast. After breakfast , our tracker picked up the markings of a cheetah and we were able to follow those footprints to him. Cheetahs are normally solitary creatures, except males will sometimes form small groups. They are the worlds fastest land mammals. We then spotted him. His body seemed like it was well sculptured. We followed him for quite some time and he seemed to be very shy. When we arrived back at Camp and I immediately took a long cold shower. The days get quite hot, but you do not sweat at all. Then it was time for a quick nap followed by lunch and then some post editing work with Andy. Made some time for a longer nap and then back onto our Land Rovers at five. We drove to a lake to try to capture the flamingoes in the changing late day light. Fortunately, some elephants were around and we were able to get some good pictures with the elephants and flamingoes together. Our driver then received a message from another driver saying that there was a lioness with her two cubs up the road. We immediately drove there and were able to get up very close. It seemed like the cubs loved our presence and they inched up closer to us. Mom was always in the background to make sure nothing happened to her darlings. It was then back to the flamingoes and eventually to Camp. Now the action picks up. Our driver saw a small calf walking in the road by itself and we pulled over. Our other vehicle arrived and it was decided to rescue the calf from being eaten by one of many predators, such as lions and hyenas. The drivers and trackers cornered the calf and lifted him up into one of the vehicles. We then drove to the Camp and presented the staff with a new guest. The calf was then transported to the local Masai Village and returned to its owner. I nice way to end another beautiful day. Love Larry

Hi Everyone Did not sleep much last night. Was so excited waiting for the morning game drive and kept tossing and turning. Will Africa reward me for an eight time and unveil her raw beauty to me? Hot strong local coffee was delivered at 5 AM and I met the group at 5:45 to board our vehicles and go back to the flamingoes to capture the sunrise. We arrived before sunrise and waited for the sun to peak its flaming color over the horizon. When the sun made its presence felt, the flamingoes looked pink and then as more light arrived, their color started to change to white. I noticed some other birds starring into the sun to probably warm themselves. Imagine witnessing earth wake up every day like this? Our drivers then started to drive looking for other inhabitants. We came across a small herd of elephants with two babies. Elephants have a matriarch society and the largest female leads the herd. The other females take care of the young, even if they are not the mothers. The males leave the herd after about twelve years to lead a solitary life or join a male only herd. Jonah, our driver, then took us to a small forest like area. As we entered I commented that this seems like a good place for lions. I was right. Two males walked right by our vehicle as the baboons tried to scare them off by screaming. Jonah then noticed a female and her two cubs coming back from a small lake. How he saw them was a mystery to me. I would have never spotted them. We then drove over some dry and hard surface until we spotted them. The mother was leading the cubs and they had to run hard to keep up with her. What a special moment. It was now time for breakfast. Our two drivers found a shady spot and we pulled over for some coffee and snacks. It was then back on the trail and we then almost drove into a large herd of elephants. Jonah managed to constantly present us with different angles. I couldn’t stop clicking. Africa rewarded me once gain and she has never let me down and we still have an afternoon drive before calling it a day. Our afternoon drive started off uneventful. We drove and drove, but it seemed like the wildlife had all taken a long siesta and were nowhere to be found. Just as I was ready to admit that Africa would not show me any of its beauty this afternoon, it happened. We drove up to a group of trees and there it was starring back. The one creature I have searched for and Africa has not relented is the “Eagle Owl.” They are only found in sub-Saharan Africa and are the largest of the African owls. One was starring back at me and in full sight. I grabbed my camera and had a wonderful time documenting my find. Africa had not let me down. Onto another day and a five AM wake up Love Larry

Hi Everyone Had such a long and sound sleep. Woke up once, but then slept until about 8AMor roughly twelve hours. A great way to shift over to this time zone. Am currentlyeight hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. Breakfast was so wonderful by justsitting outside in 75 sunny degrees and enjoying the African coffee.At about 1PM, we were driven to a small airport to board our bush plane toAmboseli. There were four passengers on the one engine prop. That means if theengine goes, you also go. After bouncing around for forty five minutes, we landedat the Amboseli airstrip. As we were approaching the landing strip, we flew over ahuge flock of flamingos wading in a small lake and I spotted a wildebeest grazingnear the landing strip. Amboseli has very few trees and Mt Kilimanjaro, with itssnow capped peak, stands over the area. Mt Kilimanjaro sits between Tanzaniaand Kenya and is the tallest mountain in Africa capping out at around 19,500 feet.If I was twenty years younger, I would attempt to climb to the top, but those wildand crazy days are over. Our driver, Jonathan or Jona met us and helped me andinto the open air Land Rover. As we drove by the flamingoes, I asked Jona if Ishould take my camera out. He promised to take us back after we checked intoCamp. The Camp is named “Tortilis”. I have a large tent with a huge bed and private bath.One of the staff took my luggage to the tent and instructed me on how to unpackmy stuff and where to safely store them. Baboons roam around the Camp and theyfrequently break into the tents and cause lots of damage and will carry awaywhatever they want. We are meeting six other people at here and they had not arrived yet. Jona kepthis word and Karen and myself left for an afternoon game drive. By the way,Karens luggage has not shown up yet. I have not held a camera for over twomonths and I felt a portion of my mind turn on that needed to be awoken. Then ithappened. My mind and eyes clicked together and I started to see things thatappeared hidden. This was the Africa that I had come to see. The birds, zebras,elephants, impalas and wildebeest created a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors. Ifocused on what I saw and became absorbed by the raw beauty. We finally arrived back at the flamingoes. They appeared to be white, but as thelight changed they turned more and more pink. Then the sun started to set overthis spectacle and I clicked away. How I have missed the African sunsets.We are waking up tomorrow at 5. Have coffee and board the vehicles at 5:45. What wonders will I see tomorrow? LoveLarry

Hi everyone It’s Saturday in Nairobi. I had forgotten what it was like to take a fourteen hour nonstop flight. I did an upgrade to business class so that my leg could have more room. The surgeon advised me to wear compression socks and get up and walk every hour due to a greater chance of developing a blood clot. Needless to say, sleep was not in the cards. I am traveling with another member of our group. She lives in the DC area and flew into JFK to pick up the flight. Two days before my flight, I was tested for Covid and registered the results on the Kenyan Dept of Health and Global Traveler websites. I printed out scanning codes and was all set. When we arrived at the Covid checkpoint, they were only concerned if we were vaccinated. I showed them my vaccination card and we quickly passed through. Now it was onto immigration and then our luggage. My luggage showed up quickly and then we waited for the other persons luggage, but it never arrived. I felt so sorry for Karen. Imagine starting a nineteen day trip without any clothes? Kenya Airways told her the suitcase was lost and they did not know when it would arrive. We decided for the driver to take us shopping before checking in. This was a nice way to see some of Nairobi. Lots of traffic, people selling everything on the street and even baboons watching the show. Joseph, our driver, told us that baboons are great thief’s and will steal whatever they can. The sun is quite intense and the temperature is around 80 F with little humidity. I relented and took a two hour nap with the A/C on high and wrapped in a big blanket. Went down for some African coffee and got recharged. How I love the aroma and strength of this coffee. Will be bringing back some for myself and children. Dinner was awesome. I had the Nile Perch grilled and it was tasty and juicy. Time now to chill out and shift over to Africa time. Eight hours ahead of New York.The adventure starts tomorrow. Bring it on. Love Larry

Hi everyone It’s time to wake up after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic. How is everyone? I have experienced so much over the last two years. You may remember that the last trip we took was to the Serengeti and we arrived back home in late February 2020 and then the lockdown happened. I remember looking at my camera and saying to myself, what do I do now? No more exotic locations to experience for the foreseeable future. I knew I needed my photography for my mental health and decided that my camera was now more important than ever. The question was how to reinvent myself and expand my creativity. We have spent the last fifteen summers on the South Fork of Long Island and I decided that I would start there. That area is known as a great location for local and migratory birds. I had never concentrated on birds and always considered them to be part of the habitat during my travels. I started by going to locations that I had previously visited or thought that there might be some bird activity. I first brought only my beach chair and studied the behavior of the local birds such as seagulls, ospreys, terns, cormorants and egrets. They are subjects that most of us sort of take for granted. The challenge was to be able to get them to trust me and create unique and interesting pictures of their behavior. I spent the early summer of 2020 studying their behavior and thinking up ways I could attempt to get closer to them. I also read and searched the internet to learn about their behavior. This opened up a whole new world for me. I would get to a location and spread a blanket out and wait for the birds to approach me. By developing lots of patience, sometimes I was able to enter their world. Seagulls would come up to me to show me their catch and egrets started to mimic my motions. I made it a habit to go out almost every morning to take pictures and hone my skills. I also studied the different settings on my camera and learned how to use them in pursuit of my creativity. The summer and fall of 2020 and 2021 were spent pursuing and expanding my photography creativity. Eventually I became convinced that it is so much harder to create unique and interesting pictures of local subjects than the amazing subjects I was used to before the pandemic. In February of 2021 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and decided to have surgery and that surgery took place on April 22. How would I handle cancer and will it change my life? I decided to fight back and handle it as a minor bump in the road of life. This minor detour was not going to change me, but I would use it to make me a better person. I decided that you have no control over what life throws at you, but you are remembered for how you react to those situations. Photography helped me get through this tough time. My camera has always taken me into another world and my world slows down. I tend to forget, no matter how short of a time, all the other pressures of my life and only see the beauty that is all around us. Moving forward, I had right hand surgery on November 4 to fix some nerve damage that was getting worse and then at the end of November my right hip started to give me problems. Fifteen years ago, I had my left hip replaced and the surgeon only gave my right hip five more years. What a time for this to happen? I had signed up for African photo trip in 2019 that was supposed to take place in June 2020. Of course, that never happened and it was rescheduled for March of 2022. Half was in Kenya and the other half was in Uganda seeing the mountain gorillas. I decided, in October, that I needed this trip more than ever and booked my flights. I needed to experience the raw beauty of Africa and it seemed like she was luring me back after seven trips. My soul was yearning for her and she was calling for me. I decided to have the hip replaced on January 6 and the healing process was rough and is still going on. If cancer could not stop me, then a new hip would not. I am writing this sitting on my flight to Nairobi to start this adventure. I always believed that I would make this trip and never gave up hope even though my wife and family wanted me to cancel the trip. We arrive late Saturday morning, spend the night in Nairobi and then, on Sunday, fly via bush plane to Amboseli. Amboseli is known for its large herds of huge elephants. This trip is not about the wildlife, but about the lure of Africa and what she means to me. I have missed her so much and am looking for her to heal me from within. Like the other trips, I will write my blog every day, but not start posting until I arrive back home at a later date. Hope you enjoy Love Larry

Dear everyone, I recently wrote an article for my photography club about the psychology of photography. Please click here and enjoy! Enjoy! Love, Larry

Hi Everyone How appropriate the title is. We all are now living in a new world. The rules have changed. Some of us have never practiced social distancing and now social distancing has become a part of our every day lives. Most of us have lived in self and mandatory quarantine since mid March. Many of us thought nothing of going to the supermarket and now we think differently. As most of us know, the New York City area has been hit particularly hard. Every afternoon I would watch the local news and found it hard to believe what I was seeing. We were scheduled to go to Uganda and Kenya in mid June. That trip has been postponed to the same dates in 2021. Our September Vietnam trip was also postponed to 2021, but I can not go on that trip. The last few days overlap with my October 2021 to Madagascar and Kenya. Our October Namibia trip has not been cancelled nor postponed yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I have entered a new perspective with my photography. Starting last weekend, I decided to go out and shoot for a few hours each weekend. I needed to reconnect with my camera, Photography helps me balance my mind and exercise the creative part of my brain. I find it harder to seek and look for images in locations that I am familiar with. I keep on remembering that beauty is found everywhere. You just have to find it. I also need to explore new local locations. I just posted my first pandemic image to my instagram account. Please view it at larryblau1949. I plan on publishing new images onto the website over the next few months. Stay Safe Love Larry

I hope you enjoy my photos from my recent trip, See galleries below: Serengeti Tarangire Lake Manyara Ngorongoro Crater Love, Larry