Table For One - Sharing a True Maasai Mara Experience With Three Cheetah Brothers

One of three Cheetah brothers digs in while his siblings catch their breath following a brief but explosive chase and takedown of the zebra. Documenting this moment didn’t need to be gory. I achieved everything I wanted by keeping the elements in the frame subtle and respectful to both the viewer as well as the fallen zebra. I was witness to the hunt, chase, takedown and ultimate dispatch of the zebra. The latter was toughest to watch and listen to, especially being only feet away. The instinctive urge to somehow intervene was quickly quieted by the overwhelming voice in my head reminding me that I was witnessing nature and survival unfold before my eyes. What a privilege. The moment will stay with me forever.

Visit the gallery from this trip and purchase prints. CLICK HERE

First World Problems With An [Airline]

"First World Problem" of the day.

First thing, I'm blessed to be able to travel, especially internationally. However, I've had a recent series of experiences with [insert airline here] that I'd like to share as a cautionary tale, if not just to vent a little.

I booked my flights to and from Kenya, via Amsterdam, several months ago, before airline prices skyrocketed. Being as addicted to the logistics as I am, I checked back often on-line for any unannounced changes to my itinerary. Darn it if [airline] didn't change planes on me THREE different times, booting me out of my reserved seat each time - twice without even reassigning me. It's worth noting that [airline] didn't notify me of ANY of these changes. Had to find out for myself. Good thing because I could've shown up at the airport with no seat.

In addition to this...I had initially booked a DIRECT flight from LA to Amsterdam for the first leg of the trip. Then I upgraded to business class. I know what you're thinking and to quote the great Buddy Hackett - "It's not cuz I'm a big shot or anything...it's just that my ass doesn't fit in them little seats!".

Kept checking for secret, announced changes to find that they'd since inserted a connection for me in Houston! Wait what? Ok. Let's see where this goes. They subsequently changed departure/arrival times FOUR times until ultimately cancelling the first leg (LAX - Houston) that they'd added this morning! After two hours navigating [airline's] wonky website I gave up and called them.

I spent all morning getting automatically disconnected from customer service because their wait times were more than 45 minutes long (click). Thanks very much. Finally got through after half a dozen tries and spoke to a person. She spent 15 minutes confirming who I was, then, after 1/2 hour explaining the problem she told me I had to go through my travel agent to make any changes. I didn't use one. She said since I purchased my original tickets through my credit card they had to deal with any changes or refunds. I told her that they told me I had to deal directly with [airline] (after an hour on the phone with them earlier). She went away for a bit and came back saying that since I had done my upgrade to business class through [airline] directly she could help me. (eye roll)

Long story short, after going around in circles with a dozen different (and unacceptable) flight options she asked me if I would "settle" for a direct flight on the same day, from LAX to Amsterdam. Wait, what?? After picking my jaw up off the floor I said that's what I had originally booked months ago! Anyhoo...I now have a direct flight...same day...business class...no additional cost. Worth noting is that a look at the fares for this exact flight as of today show they're now $4,500 (!!!) more than when I originally booked...I'll take it! Thank you for your...help? Yes. Definitely a big thank you.

Don't get me wrong, I'll keep tabs on the website just in case. Fingers crossed it's not too good to be true. A lot can happen in the next two months before my trip.

Vintage Warbirds Flying Again in Palm Springs

Here’s one for you vintage aviation buffs as well as tennis fans (stay with me here). If you were watching the BNL Paribas Open recently you may have caught the flyover of three vintage military aircraft. As luck would have it I stopped in to the Palm Springs Air Museum just in time to watch those airplanes start-up, taxi, take-off AND land…from the tarmac!

Here’s a little iPhone video I threw together as well as a bonus slideshow at the end.

In order of taxi and take-off they are the T6-D, the P39 King Cobra and the P51 Mustang.

Photographing Cheetahs at The Living Desert

During a recent weekend away in Palm Springs I realized that, although I’d been to the Coachella Valley many times, I’d never visited the famed “Living Desert” outdoor animal park. Even though it was later in the day I headed that way and entered the park about two hours before closing. Although a good chunk of the park is closed off in preparation for the arrival of the new Rhinos (great reason to come back!), there was still so much to see.

A major reason I came to the park was to dust off some camera equipment, get some practice and try out some new camera settings and shooting techniques in preparation for an upcoming Africa photo safari I’ll be doing in 2022.

The park was not crowded at all and many exhibits were very immersive. For example, the Wallaby exhibit was open-air and behind two sets of doors, allowing visitors to walk among the Wallabies (or vice versa).

I spent most of my time with the Cheetahs, thinking I’d hopefully be seeing loads of them in Africa. They did not disappointed, providing a multitude of poses, strides and angles. Below are a few samples of what I came away with.

I’ll definitely be back to the Living Desert in future trips and look forward to the opening of the Rhino habitat.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For you gearheads out there I used a Canon 5dMkIII with 70-200mm f2.8 L Series lens for this shoot.

NEVER FORGET

Twenty years ago today I was driving to work and tuned in to Howard Stern as usual. Only it wasn't the usual, Howard was upset yet professional, taking calls from witnesses, residents and workers of New York City getting their stories and reports of what they saw and what was happening in front of them.

When I got to work everyone's eyes were on the TV in the briefing room. One tower was on fire, then I watched as a second plane flew into the other tower. Reports were coming in of the plane into the Pentagon and the plane into the field. I was frozen. I was infuriated. I was scared and I wondered "When is it going to end?" "How many more planes...and where?" As a Field Training Officer I took my trainee out and we went into service after the towers collapsed. We'd see the footage the rest of our lives but my reflex and instinct was - call it a sense of duty or whatever - but I needed to hit field in the event, God forbid, something happened here. I think inside it also felt safer being outside in a car rather than inside a government building of any kind.

The car was quiet but I had two things at the top of my mind: my family and my trainee. I formulated a plan with my trainee as best I could - it's not like I was an expert in responding to large-scale terrorist attacks. Then I called my family in New England to make sure they were ok and to make sure no one was flying that day. As I recall my sister and her family took the exact flight of the "2nd plane" the month before, traveling from Boston to LA. Everyone was fine. No one was traveling. With that bit of peace I could refocus to the task at hand and prepare to absorb any horrible event that may descend upon us that day.

Never forget those who ran into hell that day in the service of others, many of whom would never return.

More Testing, More Airplanes at LAX

Tried out a new camera/lens combo on the south side of LAX yesterday. It was super foggy most of the day so there were only brief windows of opportunity to catch any traffic. It also made for pretty dull light but I wasn't going to go all the way down there and NOT take any pictures. Plus is was a good test for the equipment (and me). All Images © Craig Durling

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Canon R5 / Sigma 60-600mm

Journey, Struggle, Process and Passion - Manhattan Beach, CA

Here's a quick edit on a few of the images I made at the Manhattan Beach Pier the other day. The cloud cover made for dramatic skies but also prevented the "picture-perfect" sunset I was hoping to capture. Using a brand new camera (Canon R5) with seemingly endless customized options and editing in a program which has changed quite a bit since I last used it (Adobe Lightroom) it was a great re-entry into the art I love and enjoy. This was my goal. To make photography fun again. Between the pandemic and nagging injuries I've been sidelined from photography for way too long.

I took many lessons from this brief outing, including remembering to turn off the IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) on the camera when it's mounted on a tripod, among many others. The images I took with my iPhone had me thinking "What's the point of having this really expensive camera equipment if I can take these awesome - and easy - pictures with my phone?" I wouldn't fall into this trap. The journey, the struggle, the process is why I love photography. Especially in a time when EVERYONE is a "photographer" because everyone has a camera with them (like calling yourself an astronaut because you're rich enough to launch yourself into space for 10 minutes). That's where the art and skill live. The process. And the enjoyment of this process is what I missed. And what I'm trying my darnedest to find again.

Photo Gallery - Asia 2019

During our current quarantine situation I had a moment (or two) of productivity and edited some more images from a cruise I took with friends in April 2019. The cruise took us to places like Hong Kong, Shanghai (China), Taiwan, Kochi (Japan), Osaka (Japan), Kyoto (Japan) and Tokyo (Japan). All images © Craig Durling.

Click on the image below to view the entire gallery.