Morocco
February 15 – 29, 2024
Happening Now!
Tribal Culture and Epic Wildlife
March 15 – 23, 2024
During this life-enriching photographic journey to Kenya, you travel to remote villages deep in the heart of Kenya to photograph tribes that very few people experience. With two pro photographers at your side, you will photograph intimate evenings with the Samburu warriors in elaborate attire, experience the beautiful singing and dancing of the Turkana tribe, and spend an unforgettable time with the Maasai people.
You will also be on a safari in Amboseli National Park. The open plains of the dry lakebed give this area an ethereal desert-like appearance. But the springs that rim its eastern margins act as magnets for the game we seek. Here, epic wildlife appears out of the shimmering heat-like reflections, allowing for some of the most fabulous wildlife photography you will encounter in East Africa.
We’re staying in comfort, Muench-style! You’ll enjoy the camps that provide all the expected amenities: fantastic food, luxurious accommodations with en-suite facilities, and hot showers. You can expect to learn the finer points of wildlife photography and environmental portraiture under studio lighting. Your pro photographers will work with you on location and in our image reviews and post-processing sessions in the evenings and during downtimes.
Expect to learn the finer points of wildlife photography and environmental portraiture, and walk away from this workshop with unique images you will want to share.
Your Pro
Sean Dundas
Location
Kenya
Tuition
$19,495
Dates
March 15 – 23, 2024
Availability
Workshop Completed
Limited to 6 Guests
Itinerary
About the wildlife: This workshop offers significant opportunities for photographing wildlife, and while we do our best to maximize our wildlife encounters—based on past experiences, local knowledge, and the current conditions—we need to impress upon you that the wildlife really is wild and that we don’t control it.
This itinerary is subject to change due to weather, local conditions, and other factors.
March 15, 2024: On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met and assisted through customs and retrieving your luggage to meet our driver, who will transfer you to our hotel in Nairobi.
Your first night will be at a perfectly situated hotel to make it our private charter flight we will be boarding the next day. Tonight, we will start this workshop with a lecture on creating impactful wildlife images and have an introduction to portrait photography.
March 16–18, 2024: This morning we fly on our private charter to Amboseli National Park, staying at one of our favorite camps in the area. This is a luxury tented camp on the western edge of the park. Capped with snow and soaring 19,340 feet into blue skies, Kilimanjaro is the most magnificent sight you can imagine and characterizes this fantastic area. No more than ten miles from where we will stay, its immense presence adds a unique dimension to everything you see in Amboseli.
The luxury tents are all large and spacious, with king or twin-size beds and elegant en-suite bathrooms. There is a main lounge, bar, and dining area, all exquisitely built with natural materials and thatched roofs, with unrivaled views of the mountain.
This is the ultimate place to get up close and personal with the abundant wildlife, especially Amboseli’s famous land leviathan, the African Elephant. Amboseli has the greatest density of elephants per square mile in Africa. Nowhere else do elephant mothers allow such close, uninterrupted viewing of their babies. The heavy-ivoried bulls of Kitirua can be followed in their daily round from woodland to waterhole and swamp.
During these two days, we will also spend time with the Massai. Get ready to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event that few people ever witness with these magnificent people.
March 19–20, 2024: On the morning of day five, we will board our private charter and head further north to the Samburu Reserve.
We will be situated in the arid north of Kenya, in a land of rugged beauty and untamed wilderness; you will experience close encounters with elephants alongside researchers who have studied the Samburu elephants daily for the past 21 years. This is one of the only places in the world where you can get extremely close to the wild yet trusting elephants.
Our camp is perched on a sloping riverbank beneath big Kigelia and Acacia trees. The camp is personal and luxurious, with only six custom-made desert-style tents with en-suite bathrooms, accommodating up to twelve guests. Large colorful cushions with Samburu beadwork and local rugs adorn the custom-designed furniture made from fallen trees. Every detail of the camp is designed to blend with the nomadic camp decor.
We will conduct multiple portrait sessions in a remote Samburu village during our time here. Back at our camp, the warriors will come to us, using the striking landscapes as our backdrops for environmental and studio-style portraiture that will last well into the evenings.
Your experience with the proud Samburu people will allow you to see how they live. You will visit their homes, learn about their culture, and personally connect with your photographic subjects, ultimately enabling you to create more meaningful images.
March 21–22, 2024: This morning you will venture further north to Milako Conservancy, where we will stay for two nights in a luxury remote camp that appears as if it’s a mirage in this bare land.
Milako is home to the highly decorative and remote Rendilli Tribe. Known for their elaborate headdresses, jewelry, singing, and dancing, you will be given chances to converse with this group of people through an interpreter and expertly guided to photograph the elaborately dressed Rendilli in our camp and in the adjacent landscapes at sunrise and sunset.
March 23, 2024: After one final breakfast in the bush, our private charter will arrive and take us back to Nairobi today, with day rooms at Four Points, Sheraton. You can book your international flight home this evening.
Why a Muench Workshops safari?
We know you have choices, and yes, you can spend less on another safari. We aim to give you the best possible experience, maximizing your time and minimizing the hassle while providing the best photographic experience and instruction available anywhere.
Photography and Safari Guiding: We've personally chosen only the best local safari guides for this photographic safari.
Details Matter: Our itinerary is set to bring you the best game viewing and all the region offers. We arrange things so that we're in areas that are not overly crowded with many other safari vehicles, and we get off-road when possible so we can get close to the action and our subjects.
Life in Camp
Photography Instruction: This is a workshop, not just a tour. We will work hard on this safari, with instruction in the field and camp. Many evenings feature image reviews and post-processing instruction after dinner, and during the daytime, we offer one-on-one instruction as needed. You'll come away with a wealth of new knowledge on creating fantastic imagery and how best to process those images in Lightroom.
Years of Experience—Happy Repeat Customers: We've been leading, guiding, and teaching photographers for a long time—and we have thrilled customers who come back on our workshops again and again to prove it. If you'd like to speak to someone who has been with us on a workshop or safari, just let us know, we'd be happy to arrange a phone call.
Fitness
Easy: You must be able to get in and out of custom Land Cruisers, and ride for several hours on possibly bumpy terrain.
Flights
Arrive Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), Nairobi, Kenya anytime on March 15, 2024. Flights out can be made after 6:00 PM on March 23, 2024. Air travel delays are common. Please arrive early, possibly even the day prior, so you don’t miss any of the workshop.
What to Bring
Please see our page How To Prepare For Your Workshop. We will send you a detailed information document 90 days before your workshop. This document will include specifics of where and when to meet, gear and clothing recommendations, and more.
What’s Included
- All meals, soft drinks, and snacks during the workshop.
- All permits and park fees.
- Internal flights during the workshop.
- All transportation during the workshop.
- Tips for crew, drivers, and local guides.
- Multiple image reviews and post-processing sessions.
- Photographic guiding and instruction from Sean Dundas.
Not Included
- Travel to and from Nairobi, Kenya.
- Passport and visa fees (if applicable).
- Any meals or accommodations before or after the workshop dates.
- Items of a personal nature.
- Alcoholic beverages.
- Medical Evacuation Insurance (required).
- Travel Medical and Trip Cancellation Insurance (optional, but recommended).
- Anything else specifically not listed as included.
Payment Terms
- Your non-refundable deposit of $6,495 will hold your space in this workshop.
- Further non-refundable payment of $7,000 is due by August 1, 2023.
- The non-refundable balance is due not later than December 1, 2023.
- In addition to our standard Terms and Conditions, for this workshop all payments are non-refundable, and this is why we recommend comprehensive travel insurance including trip cancelation.
- Need special payment arrangements? No problem, just ask us.
Testimonials
“I have been on well over 30 workshops in 25 years. It is so refreshing to see that the instructors frequently don't carry a camera and really are intent on helping us get our best shots. ”
“This is where the workshop shone for me. This was my first Muench trip although I've attended other workshops. Sometimes, instructors teach in the classroom and during critiques, but only toss out tips in the field. With students having varying degrees of knowledge they seem to settle somewhere in the middle for instruction. This wasn't the case with Kevin. He met people where they were with their photography skills. He was polite, tactful and very perceptive about coaching us where we needed help. ”
