2026 East Africa Dispatch Part I – Kyambura Gorge

Which Lens to Use

I picked up my first camera when I was four years old. While brushing my teeth at Treetops in Kenya, a shadow cast the bathroom dark. I peered through the gaps in the wood panels and saw what could only be an elephant eyeball, no more than 15 inches from my face, staring back at me. I yelled out to my mom as I ran to grab the camera. I wasn’t scared, I was thrilled! Camera in hand, I zoomed in, without a clue what I was doing.

I had watched others adjust their camera lenses, and it looked like it worked for them, or so I thought. Before I could figure it out for myself, a monkey snatched the camera right out of my hands.

I fell in love with my camera at 14 during a solo trip to Costa Rica. I joined a group in Arenal for a nighttime hike to see the volcano’s lava flows. At the time, Arenal was very active, erupting roughly every 35 minutes. The crater was angled so that you could safely approach the higher side at night, or so I thought. Thunder shook the ground as I started taking photos. This time, I knew enough about my camera to be dangerous. Well, I will never know how I did as ash landed on my lens, burning right through both the lens and the film. How I didn’t get burned myself remains a mystery.

I learned how to master my camera on safari.  I got better with an 85mm lens, I got comfortable with a 300mm lens and got daring with a new 600 mm lens. A rare Striped Hyena tested my skills as they are one of the hardest to photo well due to their appearance.

What really got me comfortable are primates. Taking photos of them, contrasting the landscape with their soulful eyes. If safaris got me comfortable, primates made me confident, especially in the untouched area of Kyambura Gorge, and the less traveled southern sector or Bwindi Forest in Uganda.

You’re never quite done learning, and I’m already eyeing my next lens and camera body. I wonder what my next level up will be.