WILD KENYA SAFARIS - Kenya Safaris, Diani Beach Safaris, Mombasa Safaris and more

The 14th Century Kongo Mosque on Diani beach On the northern most tip of diani beach, stands a wonderful spiritual monument known today as Kongo Mosque (formerly Diani Persian Mosque).  It is reputed to be one of the oldest and most unique mosques ever built in East Africa which is still being frequented by worshipers on a daily basis. Built using coral stones in the 14th Century, the Kongo Mosque's location and atmosphere is nothing short of heavenly. The mosque is located on a dreamy white powdered beach,  surrounded by coconut palms, ancient baobab trees and is literally just  a few feet away from the turquoise waters of Indian Ocean.  Imagine yourself standing in prayer between these naturally cooled stone walls, feeling the light ocean breeze as you listen to rumbling sound of the waves landing on the beach... the feeling is absolutely supernal. So on your next visit to diani beach, just remember that your trip will not be complete witho...

Super Moon rising over the Indian Ocean in Mombasa Mombasa residents on 14th November were treated to a wonderful sighting of the supermoon rising over the coastline. It was a special treat for both astronomers and photographers across the globe to witness this event as the last time the moon was this close to earth was in 1948. The next one like this will be on November 25th, 2034 while the closest supermoon of the century will be on December 6, 2052. For those of us who tried to photograph it, you definitely understand how difficult it is to capture a perfect photo while trying to correctly expose for the moon and all the surrounding details in 1 shot. Regards Shazaad Kasmani

A pair of Beisa Oryx photographed in infrared Its quite evident by now that the unique effect of infrared can help create some stunning and very interesting landscape photos. So while keeping this uniqueness in mind, put down that telephoto lens used to shoot those closeup animal portraits and try going for something alittle wider to capture more of the natural environment.  The above photo of the two beisa oryx walking out of a wooded area was captured at 45mm using the Nikon 18-55mm kit lens, which i find sufficiently wide enough to use in most cases. Going wider here helped me incorporate more of the beautiful background elements such as the trees, grass, skies, branches and alittle water which are all the hallmarks of a pleasant infrared photograph.  Best regards, Shazaad Kasmani

A Giant Aldabra Tortoise in black and white Infrared In the last post, i introduced my new found interest in playing with invisible light and the potential of differed creative possibilities when it comes to IR colour photography. So today i thought i would touch alittle on the black and white side of infrared photography, which i find, is equally as expressive.  Unlike the typical Black and White photos that we are accustomed to looking at, when an image is converted or captured using IR you immediately notice that the B&W depths and contrasts feel more pronounced. Trees and clouds stand out as white, whereas the depth of the sky transforms into a darker black, giving the image a very unique effect. I also discovered that if you are attentive to small details, Black and White IR can also reveal a number of once completely invisible elements, imagine having the possibility of seeing invisibility! Here's how... if you look closely at the face of the tortoise above, y...

A unique shot of a Massai Giraffe. The frosted leaves and deep blue skies are effects of IR Over the last couple of weeks I've been having alot of fun experimenting with Infrared Photography, which is what i also like to call the world of 'invisible light'. Invisible because IR light is beyond the visible spectrum of human beings and so capturing photographs in this dimension involves alot of imagination, creativity and aforethought. The world we look at and recognize everyday is suddenly and completely transformed in IR as ordinary colours, textures, trees, water, metals, buildings and the like all reflect IR light very differently.  A Baobab tree on the highway near Tsavo West Although IR is not generally popular  for wildlife portraits because of the lifelessness effect in the photographs, for example the giraffe in the first picture, i personally find that it looks extraordinary and works really great on landscapes which have alot ...

Lion resting in Masai Mara Game Reserve As the old saying goes... still waters run deep.  The month has been particularly busy for us with our valued repeat guests enjoying their safaris. Hence, there has been a few gaps of silence on our timeline in regards to updating the Wild Kenya Safaris blog. With a parallel project running, our safari team has nevertheless been out in the game parks doing what we love best. All our safaris from January to date have been simply spectacular! This year has also been particularly exciting as the Wild Kenya Safaris team has been working closely with wildlife filmmakers to bring you some of the latest nature documentaries to hit your TV screens. Its been great fun sharing our experiences and expertise with them as we are out in the field in search of some very special wildlife moments with the crews. We are proud to be part of the process that will soon be bringing you, some of those awe inspiring nature films we all love to...

Angolan Black And White Colobus Monkey in Diani Beach Kenya A wildlife lover deciding to spend a few days at the Diani Beach coastline will be in for a special photography treat. Its one of the few places in Kenya where one can sight the Angolan Colobus Monkey at close range. They are easily identifiable by their black face, black fur and long locks of white hair that surrounds the face and also hangs off the shoulders. Being arboreal, they generally prefer to stay among the tree branches and canopy's feeding on leaves, fruits and flowers rather than foraging on the ground. Hanging around till the next post, Shazaad Kasmani