What Kind of Food do you eat on an African Safari?

I run photo ours in partnership with "Journey to Africa". They had a great blog entry this past weekend on what food we eat on our safaris... have a read of they blog here.

http://journeytoafrica.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/food-on-safari/

What is the weather like in Tanzania in August

In August of 2013 Rick Sammon and Kevin Pepper will be leading a photographic Safari to Tanzania to focus on the Wildebeest Migration as it approaches the Mara River.

At the Photographers Lounge we believe in ful disclosure and we thought it would be a good idea to show you the weather in Tanzania during the month of August in northern Tanzania.

Tanzania can be visited during all seasons. The weather is coolest and driest from late June to September. Day time highs average in teh mid 70's and in the night it can dip down to 50 degrees.

There is harldy any rainfall to speak of. This will make the plains dry and the wildlife easy to spot.

There is also no humidity to speak of during this time.

August will be a great time to be with Rick Sammon in Tanzania as the animals will be active and the Wildebeest heards will be from tens of thousands to a couple hundred thousand as they approach the Mara River.

Please check out the tour we have planned at the Photographers Lounge.

What is the weather like in Namibia in October

The Photographer's Lounge is running a photography safari to Namibia in October of 2013. We will be doing an African Safari to northern Namibia.

I thought it would be prudent to show you what the weather is typically like in Namibia in October so those that are thinking of coming can see what we are in store for.

The nights are cooler... 60 degrees fahrenheit and the days average 84 degrees fahrenheit.

Namibia gets 300 days of sunshine a year so the chances of us havign excellent weather for the 8 days we are there is excellent.

October is in the shoulder season between the summer and winter months. The average monthly rainfall is less than an inch. The watering holes will have water and the animals will still be gathered to allow for great photography opportunities.

You can also expect low humidity...

October is an excellent time to be going to Namibia with the Photographers Lounge.

What is the Naadam Festival in Mongolia

Naadam is a traditional type of festival in Mongolia. The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurvan naadam" (эрийн гурван наадам) "the three games of men". The games are wrestling, horse raciong and archery and are held throughout the country during the midsummer holidays. Women have started participating in the archery and girls in the horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling.

Overview

The biggest festival (Naadam of the Country) is held in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar during the National Holiday from July 11 – 13, in the National Sports Stadium. Other cities and towns across Mongolia and those with significant Mongolian populations in China, have their own, smaller scale Naadam celebrations, often taking place a few days before the national celebration. Naadam begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians. After the ceremony, the competitions begin.

Naadam is the most widely watched festival among Mongols, and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Naadam has its origin in the activities, such as military parades and sporting competitions such as archery, horse riding and wrestling, that followed the celebration of various occasions. Now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.

Another popular Naadam activity is the playing of games using shagai, sheep anklebones that serve as game pieces and tokens of both divination and friendship. In the larger Nadaam festivals, tournaments may take place in a separate venue.

The three games

Wrestling

512 or 1024 wrestlers meet in a single-elimination tournament that lasts nine or ten rounds. Mongolian traditional wrestling is an untimed competition in which wrestlers lose if they touch the ground with any part of their body other than their feet or hand. When picking pairs, the wrestler with the greatest fame has the privilege to choose his own opponent. Wrestlers wear two-piece costumes consisting of a tight shoulder vest (zodog) and shorts (shuudag). Only men are allowed to participate.

Each wrestler has an "encourager" called a zasuul. The zasuul sings a song of praise for the winning wrestler after rounds 3, 5, and 7. Winners of the 7th or 8th stage (depending on whether the competition features 512 or 1024 wrestlers) earn the title of zaan, "elephant". The winner of the 9th or 10th stage, is called arslan, "lion".In the final competition, all the "zasuuls" drop in the wake of each wrestler as they take steps toward each other. Two time arslans are called the titans / giants, or avraga.

Horse racing

Unlike Western horse racing, which consists of short sprints generally not much longer than 2 km, Mongolian horse racing as featured in Naadam is a cross-country event, with races 15–30 km long. The length of each race is determined by age class. For example, two-year-old horses race for ten miles and seven-year-olds for seventeen miles. Up to 1000 horses from any part of Mongolia can be chosen to participate. Race horses are fed a special diet.

Children from 5 to 13 are chosen as jockeys who train in the months preceding the races. While jockeys are an important component, the main purpose of the races is to test the skill of the horses.

Before the races begin, the audience sings traditional songs and the jockeys sing a song called Gingo. Prizes are awarded to horses and jockeys. The top five horses in each class earn the title of airgiyn tav and the top three are given gold, silver, and bronze medals. Also the winning jockey is praised with the title of tumny ekh or leader of ten thousand. The horse that finishes last in the Daaga race (two-year-old horses race) is called bayan khodood (meaning "full stomach"). A song is sung to the Bayan khodood wishing him luck to be next year's winner.

Archery

Mongolian archery is unique for having not only one target, but hundreds of beadrs or surs on a huge wall. In this competition both men and women participate. It is played by ten-men/women teams who are given four arrows each; the team has to hit 33 "surs". Men fire their arrows from 75 meters away while women fire theirs from 65 meters away. When the archer hits the target the judge says uuhai which means "hooray". The winners of the contest are granted the titles of "national marksman" and "national markswoman".

Joine me in July of 2013 as I visit Mongolia to photograph the Nadam festival.

Workshop Leader Showcase

As the Photographer's Lounge continues to grow we are continually looking for experieinced leaders to run our workshops and seminars.

I would like to introduce the new members of the family to you.

Ethan Meleg...

In addition to being an awesome public speaker and pizza junkie, Ethan is a freelance photographer from Ontario, Canada. He specializes in photos of outdoor recreation, landscapes, ecosystems, birds and wildlife. He is represented by major stock agencies and has been published by National Geographic, Canadian Geographic, Forbes, Ontario Tourism, Lonely Planet, Popular Photography and many more. Ethan is a popular keynote speaker, workshop leader and magazine columnist. He writes the humor column in every issue of Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine. Ethan is sponsored by numerous camera-gear companies including Singh-Ray filters, Sigma Canada and F-stop packs.

Growing up near world famous birding hotspot Point Pelee National Park, Ethan often skipped school to watch songbirds during migration. By the time he was a teenager, he had developed an in-depth knowledge of nature. At 19, he received a hand-me-down camera from his parents and began to learn the basics of nature photography. In between watching birds and taking photos, he completed a degree in Environment and Resource Studies at Trent University. Before becoming a pro photographer, Ethan had developed a career as a nature guide and communications specialist in national parks.

Ethan is 38 years old and lives in Owen Sound at the base of the Bruce Peninsula. His greatest passion in life is exploring the natural world through his camera, whether on exciting trips or in his own backyard.

Please visit his website at www.ethanmeleg.com and check out his upcoming workshops at http://ethanmeleg.com/programs.htm

Workshop Leader Showcase

As the Photographer's Lounge continues to grow we are continually looking for experienced leaders to run our workshops and seminars.

I would like to introduce the new members of the family to you.

Jamie Douglas...

Our proud new "Dad", Jamie Douglas is a self taught wildlife conservation photographer from Scotland who has based himself in British Columbia, Canada. Jamie has become an outspoken crusader for the protection of Canada's Black Bears and hopes to promote bear conservation in his local community through his photography.

Jamie has always loved wildlife, from growing up in the UK watching BBC Wildlife shows narrated by Sir David Attenborough to living in British Columbia, lying awake at night listening to the local Coyotes harass the Canadian Geese in the ponds behind his house. Jamie developed an interest in photography towards the end of 2007 when he picked up his first SLR, a Canon Rebel Xti.

Since then Jamie has gone on to track and photograph the many wonders of nature that reside in and visit his new home land. Follow and be inspired by Jamie's latest project, photographing the local Black Bears that he shares his new home with. Come along for the adventure as he writes short stories and shares photographs from his many encounters. To follow Black Bear Diaries, click here: http://jmdouglasphotography.blogspot.com/

To see Jamie's website please visit, www.jamiedouglasphotography.com/

Photo Credits

BBC Widlife Photographer of the Year Awards - 2011 Semi Finalist

Tri City News http://www.tricitynews.com/ - 3 front pages in 2011Bear Aware BC http://www.bearaware.bc.ca/

Reifel Bird Sanctuary 2012 Calendar www.reifelbirdsanctuary.com

Photographers Lounge Sponsors and Partners

No matter what the company is, or what industry it operates in; a caompany cannot succeed without having strong partners to support it.

Our company is no different. We have a list of partners, sponsors and friends that work with us. They make our job easier, work with us to get the best price for the tours we run and some supply us with product to keep our overhead down.

We want to thank them and hope you can visit our "Partners Page" to see if any of our partners can help you with your own photographic journey.