For our recent travel to Africa, I bought a Sony DSC HX400V camera, for the long 50X telephoto lens. I made the classic mistake, one that Barbara gently reminded me of..."Do you think it's a good idea to buy a new camera just before a trip?" On returning home, I had to admit to her that she was RIGHT. The damnable thing stopped working in Amsterdam! Stopped dead...unrevivable. Fortunately, I had my little red Canon PowerShot SX280 which I used non-stop and which is really as easy as advertised...point and shoot. I didn't spend time, like many of my fellow travelers, 5 cameras with huge lenses hanging around their necks, trying to get the shot, the getting of which often surpassed in importance enjoyment of the moment. And I think my animal photos turned out just fine (for me). I have no illusions that I can turn into a photographer at this stage of life. My photos are merely memory joggers. I've posted most of my favorites already but here are a few more:
The last photo was taken in the garden at the Ryksmuseum and that little guy with his sign, "Fridays are awesome" made me smile....I was amazed that his image turned out at all behind all the water movement.
I loved the kids in the Ewe village in Lome Togo...I have a couple of hundred photos I took during our visit. Many of the kids had large herniated belly buttons which I've since read occurs in both the white and black population but is more common among blacks. Most of them resolve as the child ages, but some do not. There's zero medical care in these villages - you've got to be tough to survive. Our guide related that he almost died twice after snake bites and was only saved by make-shift first aid from his family. When the only motorcycle in town finally turned up they were able to carry him to the closest clinic with anti-venom available. No coddling.
