GORILLA PHOTOGRAPHy, PORT LYMPNE WILD ANIMAL PARK, KENT

No Bars or Fences is Ideal for Fantastic Photos with Clean Backgrounds. VIP African Safari

There are two very large outdoor Gorilla enclosures at this wonderful 500 acre venue near Folkestone in Kent. They are constructed in such a way that we can photograph these amazing primates with nothing but fresh air between ourselves and our subjects.

Privileged Access to Gorillas

Photographers on Safari have arranged for you to have access to the wall of the moat that forms the enclosure boundary. This close-up access is not available to the general public. It means that you can photograph the gorillas little more than 20 to 30 feet away, and you will be looking directly into their eyes at that same level. A quite amazing experience.

Photograph Baby Gorillas

There is currently one tiny baby that the mother carefully caresses in her huge hands. There are also two older babies that are still carried on their mum's backs. The mothers are so amazingly gentle with their babies which, compared to their mothers, are tiny. It is breathtaking just to witness the mothers delicately carrying them about in the enclosure, let alone to take stunning photographs. There are also two females that are obviously pregnant, so there should be more babies on the way later in the year. They truly are gentle giants.

A second baby gorilla was born early in May 2009 and is now a brilliant new attraction to photograph on this workshop.

Huge Silverbacks

The size and obvious power of the huge male gorillas at Port Lympne is awesome. They must be, pound for pound, one of the strongest animals in the world. We have arranged a special feeding session with the mothers and babies in the morning. Then at mid-day we will photograph the feeding of the male group from our privileged position. We will have a further session with the mothers and babies at about 3pm.

Tips,Tuition & General Advice through the Day

Tips and Tuition will be offered throughout the day. One technique that really does help, particularly with the gorillas, is fill-in flash. Their eyebrows protrude quite some distance in front of their eyes, and it is their eyes that usually tend to be in shadow in natural light. All will be explained on the day.

VIP Off-road African Safari

We will take their specially constructed safari vehicle and go off-road for a VIP African Safari Experience. The vehicle has open sides and there are no windows to hinder your photography. This trip is quite different to the normal on road safari drive that the park operates. When we find an interesting subject we are able to spend time with them and are not rushed to move on. These animals' home is some 170 acres of quite rough terrain. It is in complete contrast to the normal flat fields of short grass that you find at many venues.

Wildebeest, Zebra, Ostrich, Giraffe, Black Rhino, Eland, Przewalski's Horses, Bison and various types of Deer

We will spend approximately two hours photographing the above. You will have plenty of time to compose your photographs with uncluttered and natural backgrounds. There are 16 Black Rhino here at Port Lympne, which represents approx 8% of all these creatures in captivity worldwide.

Red Pandas & Colobus Monkeys

The potential for absolutely stunning shots of Red Pandas is greater here than anywhere else I have ever come across. You are able to photograph them eating bamboo, just as if they were in the wild in their native China. Both these and the Colobus Monkeys will be fed for us around 4pm. Both subjects have large open-topped enclosures and they have been constructed in such a way that there are no fences directly between the animals and your camera.

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