The Challenges of Gorilla Photography
The gorillas in the trees presented a number of different challenges; They swung from tree to tree at higher speeds, they were a long way off and many times they were back-lit. Camera settings required sufficiently high ISO to allow taking shots at a high enough speed to ensure that moving gorillas were not blurred, and, for the gorillas high in the trees, we used exposure compensation to ensure that the darker gorillas were adequately exposed against the much brighter sky. Treks are allowed to spend no more than one hour with a gorilla group on any given day so once the hour was competed we headed out and made the trek back out of the jungle.
Gorilla Trekking, Day Two
For our day two trek, we were assigned to the “Mukiza” group, again named after their leader. This group is smaller, consisting of 12 gorillas including two infants. For this trek, we first took a short drive to a trail head from where we began our hike. This time we began by hiking down through a somewhat open forest along a well-worn trail. We were all commenting how easy it was going down but reminding ourselves that the return trip uphill would be much more strenuous.
After a couple of miles, we received word that the Mukiza group had been located so we headed off the trail with our leader again hacking the way through the dense undergrowth. This time we hiked down a very steep slope covered in bracken. It was a challenge to stay on our feet due to the damp, slippery foliage on the ground.
Finding the Mukiza Gorilla Group
Once we reached the valley floor we had to climb back up the other side which was, again, steep and slippery. Unfortunately, some of the members of or trek this time were less able to negotiate the terrain and also needed to stop for frequent rests. This resulted in us having to make a longer trek because as we were moving towards the gorilla group, they kept moving ahead of us. We did, eventually, catch up with them and, to our delight they were all on the ground and very close to us.
On this occasion, the heavy undergrowth meant that it was quite dark so cameras had to be set at very high ISO (12,800 typically) in order to attain a reasonable shutter speed. But the proximity of the gorillas was amazing and the interactions of the infants with the silverback, the mothers and their surroundings was enchanting.
With the gorillas so close longer zoom lenses were often too long to allow a wide enough angle for the shot so this is where the second camera with a wider-angle lens came into play.
Observing Gorillas from Up Close
At the end of each trek certificates of completion are handed out and a feeling of immense satisfaction and amazement descended over us. We were also very tired after 6-8 hours of hiking over rough terrain and through dense jungle. Each of our treks was about 6 miles in length but it was worth every step. We felt truly blessed and privileged to see what we had seen.
The gorillas are wonderful animals and to see them up close is a fantastic experience. Being able to watch them interact, from the watchful eyes of the silverbacks, to the nurturing of the mothers to the playfulness of the young, it is all beautiful. Even as exhaustion sets in after a vigorous trek, there is an immense satisfaction to accompany it and a smile as we remember where we have been and what we have seen.
The overall experience was quite different from what we expected. We were prepared for the trek itself but, based on Will’s previous experience trekking in Rwanda, we expected that the gorillas would stay together as a group and would be more in the open. Having 2 cameras with the capability to shoot up both close and at a distance definitely helped. Decisions had to be made quickly and sometimes you had to compose to include foliage because it ws not always possible to get a clean, unobstructed shot.
