Friday, August 6, 2010

The Kilimanjaro from Amboseli National Park: Samsung WB1000 (TL32)

Following is a collection of pictures that a Samsung WB1000 (TL320) user took at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya.

The Amboseli National Park cannot be expressed in one sentence. It is where Hemingway wrote ‘The Snow of Kilimanjaro”. It is the biggest habitat for elephants among Kenyan national parks. It offers a spectacular view of the 5895m Kilimanjaro. Kenya is one of the favorites for nature documentary programs such as the National Geography. This trip was also to look around the place as a potential site for nature documentary program.


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Samsung WB1000(TL320) │ 1/180s │ f4.0 │ ISO 80 │ 4.3mm


The Amboseli National Park finds itself at 4 hour distance from Nairobi. Currently, there are four gates that lead into the park. Admission fee for foreigners is $60. Expensive! For me, good accommodation is important. A night or so at a cheap campsite can be romantic, but high-end accommodation is much more convenient for a frequent traveler like me.


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Samsung WB1000(TL320) │ 1/1000s │ f4.0 │ ISO 100 │ 4.3mm


Amboseli is a basin with no obstacle from one end of the horizon to the other. Sun rise and sun set offer breath-taking views. However, I wasn’t able to capture the scene this time. Desertification is underway in Amboseli. Global warming is the biggest reason, but the surge in the number of elephants and dirt caused by tourist cars causing death of nearby trees are other interesting rumored reasons.


Elephant family finally in sight!


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Samsung WB1000(TL320) │ 1/250s │ f5.7 │ ISO 100 │ 14.2mm


This group consists of about 40 elephants. Sometimes, the herd gets as large as 100 elephants. From time to time, the elephants will come across cars driving by. As the leader of the group, the big female elephant makes sure that the surrounding is safe until every member of the herd crosses the road. Elephants are quite similar to humans in many ways. I am saddened at the sight of elephant sculls lying around due to death caused by drought.


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Samsung WB1000(TL320) │ 1/180s │ f5.1 │ ISO 80 │ 6.3mm


The permanent snow reveals itself. It is unfortunate that much of the snow has melted, but the mountain is nevertheless beautiful. This picture was taken at Mode S, which automatically selected Landscape Mode. I really like the wide-angle zoom lens.


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Samsung WB1000(TL320) │ 1/250s │ f5.8 │ ISO 80 │ 18.9mm


This picture was taken at A Mode. I’m not quite sure where the focus was. The automatic landscape mode in S Mode seems to do a better job. The mountain is hidden behind the clouds. At a better condition, this scene surely would have captivated the hearts of many photographers.


Read more: http://www.samsungimaging.net/2010/08/06/the-kilimanjaro-from-amboseli-national-park/


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