Take A Walk on the Wild Side

Todd Gustafson leads a pretty wild life. While he lives in relative anonymity in mild-mannered suburban Chicago with his wife and family, his "business trips" take him to such exotic places as Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa photographing everything from lions and leopards to wildebeests and flamingos.

While Todd is a late-comer to photography, having started shooting seriously in 1998, he is no stranger to Africa. He grew up in Tanzania, the son of a missionary and educator. Todd was exposed to his father's many slide shows documenting the regional wildlife and the school he built, but his interest in photography didn't really blossom until after he had established his first career as a freelance trumpet player and music teacher at De Paul University in Chicago for 10 years. And when the bug bit, it bit hard, and he was able to put his heart and soul into it by setting up what has become a successful photographic safari business and returning to Africa several times a year.

Having grown up there, knowing many of the people, and having a full understanding of the nature of the wildlife that they are likely to encounter on a safari, Todd brings an unusual combination of talents to anyone signing up for one of his safaris.

What is your goal as a safari leader?

I take my decades of safari experience and share it with safari clients. My photo safaris start with the assumption that clients have an understanding of photographic concepts and a camera system that they are comfortable with. My job is to put them in a position to succeed. I make sure that we are in the best places for safari photography, at the right time of year, that the vehicles are suitable for photographers and that the lodges are comfortable and in great locations. When all of these factors are addressed, photographers can have the best chance to use their vision to create safari photographs.

What is your goal as a safari photographer?

To capture the decisive moment in whatever situation presents itself. I like to cover a lot of ground and maximize the number of possible great photographic situations. This is what I call the 'sleeping lion syndrome': Lions are a must-see on everyone's safari agenda, and it always creates a stir on a safari when the first lions are seen. The problem with lions is that they sleep most of the day. First-time safari-goers often want to stay until the lions do something. My theory is: while these lions are sleeping, there are other animals who are playing, fighting, eating, mating, or hunting. If we stay with the sleeping lions we are guaranteed NOT to see any of those behaviors.

Your book, A Photographer's Guide to the Safari Experience, includes a packing list of equipment that you bring with you on a safari. Obviously transitioning from film to digital has impacted this list. Could you give us a few pros AND a few cons as a result of this switch?

The two main logistical advantages of shooting with digital media are carrying a few CF cards instead of 300 rolls of film and the cost of CF cards verses the cost of film and processing. From a photographic standpoint, there is a much faster learning curve with digital. There is no substitute for immediately seeing the photographic results when you are in the field. You can also tell when you have the shot and are able to move on to capture new subjects without taking—and paying for—all of those dreaded insurance shots.

On the negative side (no pun intended), it is a full-time job just keeping up with the latest hardware, software, megapixels, higher ISO ratings, buffer speeds, computer storage, et cetera that is inherent in digital photography. In the days of film, a photographer could do the shoot, put the exposed film in a bag, and have a relaxing drink by the campfire. With digital there is a seemingly never-ending process of downloading, editing, processing, and backing up of the digital files. There is much less time to relax while on safari.

You seem to have a favorite big lens for much of your safari photography. Care to share?

I shoot 95% of my East African images with the Nikon 600mm VR lens. It allows me to get visually close to subjects without entering their "fight or flight" zone. The long lens has a shallow depth of field at wide-open apertures creating soft, out of focus backgrounds that add impact to a razor sharp primary subject.

You talk about mixing up different photographic styles as you approach each safari. Could you elaborate on that?

Rather than say a "style", I would use the term "technique". On early safaris, I tried to get every bird and animal that I saw as close as possible for a frame-filling portrait. There is a place for that and I have sold lots of that type of image. On some safaris I concentrated on groups of interacting subjects trying to make graphic sense of these relationships. I have used slow shutter speeds to illustrate motion. Sometimes one image can tell a story while at other times a series of editorial photos can give a more complete story of an event. Now it is second nature to go out in the field and choose different techniques to suit varied situations. While on a safari drive, I will talk through photo situations and let folks know what I am looking for in the scene and help them define their photographic vision.