AH, THE MARA PART DIEUX

THE INT'L READERS HAVE SPOKEN


mambo!

okay, seems like the pic-intensive blogs are the favorites, so here's more of what the reader's want. (see how i give?). these shots we're ALL taken with my iphone4, except for Pessy.

missing the mara, but finished the first game lodge vid for Slingshot Prods! and now have created a Slingshot Prods - Africa channel on vimeo (you're homework is to the watch vids of encounter mara and ethiopia clips!)

http://vimeo.com/channels/269147


since i've been back i've hired an editorial assistant, lorella, to train in final cut 7. she's a local and is smart and learning quickly and is grateful for the opportunity to gain some hands-on experience. i would love to keep her busy with lots of up-market game lodges and camp shoots to cut together. we're having fun. go Slingshot!

okay, let's get going with some pics, but first a vid. shot with my iphone. we were so close i was freaking that these guys we're gonna wake up and eat us!

the brothers' lion. what a pair. nothing says safari like a lion you could poke a stick at! while i was taking a still with the iphone for the blog he started rolling over so i rolled on it! but NOT with my canon 5D! oy! oh well, easier to upload iphone vids, bad for the client!

lorella. my edit asst. smart and stylish. intuitive and arty. final cut is becoming her friend. and
hopefully providing her with a useful skill set. 

nairobi java house at the galleria. where i almost always write my blog with a kahawa latte
moto kubwa. a large hot cafe latte! had an avo, bacon and cheddar omelette today. yum.

fly 540, an airline for the bush. nothing says adventure like a single engine prop job.

"roger, roger, Wilson tower, Slingshot crew is a go!"

clouds. love all the rivets on the wing.

this river, like life, takes a while to make any progress!

Fly 540 takes off after i arrive at Mara North airstrip. we were worried is was too muddy to land.

llove love all these old game watching vehicles. too classic! 

calum radios back to base camp.

our masai guard at elephant pepper. 

the legend and myth of Cyclops was born from an elephant skull. where else??

some white wine before lunch at EPC. then nap time. my kind of day!

loved the tent experience. pouring your own water into the basin was cool. no plumbing. even the shower
is gravity driven.

love the long table concept.

wider angle.

so green. too much rain! but kenya needed it.

the sleeping lions. they sleep 20 hours a day.

EPC door logo.

the skies are ab fab!

calum and soph at our sundowner. time for a G&T and some "bitings"! like crisps!

dead impala. looked like a leopard kill by the blow to the neck. strangled. i jumped out of the truck and
grabbed it by its horns. so cool to touch something that wild, albeit dead!
but what chased the leopard away? Cyclops...

tent life was good. especially at EPC and Encounter Mara.

Brown's cheese had a tent at the annual Christmas Fair. i volunteered. "would you like to try the
aged, mature gouda?? the fondue kits are only 700 Bob!"

delia stirling gets interviewed about Brown's Cheese. her sister is soph from EPC
and calum.

okay, of all the 10,000 pictures i've taken since 1985, Pessy is probably the best. taken with my canon
5D and a Nikkor 80-200 zoom lens. tasteful touch up by my brotherfromanothermother steve anderson.
http://www.steveandersonphotography.com/
i shot it in kenya, SA touched it up in so cal, and manfred wants it in germany! could pessy be going viral???
he actually had the sweetest smile. but taking pictures is mostly serious business here in africa and people
don't smile much. fine with me. and pessy is now the slingshot logo/bug clip at the end of all our videos.

couldn't wait to fire up these lanterns at home when i got back from the mara. my own safari vibe.
night time journaling and emailing. and a cold Tusker.

my church on sunday meets at Hillcrest school. karen vineyard church. too reminiscent of the malibu
vineyard at webster school!

nothing says Christmas like santa riding around in the back of a pick up truck in the mud
at the christmas fair ringing his bell and tossing lollipops into the mud for the kiddies to
pick up! too hysterical.


WHAT'S AHEAD...

the holidays are coming. trying to finish the EPC vid by next week, then off to lewa
conservancy to the north by mt. kenya the week of the 19th to shoot the lewa 
house lodge for another vid for calum and soph, then christmas in karen, 
then new years in cape town, then it looks as if salim amin got me a gig as a 
cameraman for CNN in mid jan shooting near the uganda
border for a 3 days then back in the kibera slum of nairobi for another 2-3. 
it pays well and could be an opening for me to do more freelance work with CNN. 
nice.

i also meet next tuesday with a retired immigration official to help me walk 
my work visa through. really need that to happen soon. praying it goes smoothly.

loving kenya more every day. finally the short rainy season is behind us and the 
sun is shining and drying us all out. loving that! the weather is still mild like high 
70's. perfect.

very excited about the possible upside of Slingshot Prods. booking and shooting 
up-market safari stuff would be insanely fun. fingers crossed.

keep the comments coming on facebook and here! feedback is good. and let's me 
know someone is reading!

big african hugs to all. it's just fun over here!


kwaheri!

ddm