Akari Photo Tours

A male Common Chaffinch, standing on the forest floor like he owns the place.

These little birds may be common across Europe, but in the right light, with that soft background and a bit of moss underfoot, “common” suddenly feels like a very unfair name.

The colours are subtle, the posture is perfect, and the attitude is all there. Tiny bird. Big confidence. Basically the woodland version of a man wearing a tweed jacket and pretending he doesn’t care who notices.

Photographed at ground level, where the small details start to matter.

An adorable little Brown Bear cub we photographed the other day in Romania.

Just when you think you’ve mastered wildlife photography, a Eurasian Red Squirrel takes you by surprise, and looking like it stepped out of a fairy tale.

Tiny paws. Big tail. Serious woodland attitude.

This little character paused long enough for a snack, a portrait, and what I can only assume was a quick judgment of my life choices from behind those ear tufts.

Proof that in nature, you don’t need to be big to steal the whole scene.

Zambia’s South Luangwa is for photographers who want Africa to feel wild.

This is not a safari built around racing from lodge to lodge. We stay in one camp, learn the rhythm of the area, and work the Luangwa River and nearby plains for behaviour, light, and moments that build a stronger portfolio.

Lions. Leopards. Elephants. Hippos. African wild dogs if luck is kind. Birds, river scenes, crossings, interactions, dust, drama, and those quiet moments that often become the strongest photographs.

The beauty of Zambia is the breathing room.

Fewer vehicles. More time to work a sighting. More chance to think about backgrounds, angle, behaviour, and story.

This is the safari for people who do not just want to see wildlife. They want to understand how to photograph it better.

Tour Page:
https://akariphototours.com/tours/zambia-safari/

Helpful Blog Post:
https://akariphototours.com/blog/why-chikunto-and-south-luangwa-is-a-favorite-it-is-a-photographers-safari-done-right/

We sat at a Common Kingfisher nest in our boat blind on a couple mornings in the Danube Delta while the male and female both fed the chicks.

Zimanga is not just another safari destination.

It feels like someone sat down and asked, “What would photographers actually want?” Then they built it.

Low-level safari vehicles. Purpose-built hides. Overnight hide sessions. Close wildlife encounters. Excellent guiding. Strong teaching opportunities. And in 2028, we are taking over the entire lodge.

That matters.

It means the rhythm of the safari is built around photography — not around a standard lodge schedule. We control the pace, the teaching, the hide rotations, the game drives, and the flow of the experience.

With 3 professional photography instructors and a small group, this becomes more than a safari. It becomes a focused learning experience in one of the most exciting wildlife photography settings I have seen in Africa.

This is the kind of trip people talk about after it sells out.

Which is annoying, mostly because by then it is sold out.

Tour Page:
https://akariphototours.com/tours/zimanga-safari/

Helpful Blog Post:
https://akariphototours.com/blog/why-i-love-zimanga-for-an-african-photo-safari/

Small owl. Big attitude.

In Romania, we photographed a Little Owl hunting ground squirrels, and it was one of those quiet wildlife moments that kept everyone locked in.

A Little Owl is a small, daytime-hunting owl with bright yellow eyes and the confidence of something ten times its size. This one watched, waited, and then dropped into the grass when a ground squirrel made a poor career choice.

Natural behaviour, clean backgrounds, and a tiny predator with a lot of personality.

Romania keeps delivering.

We spent some time with the Carpathian Brown Bears in Romania the last few weeks. This little guy was so cute to watch as he played with his stick up on a hill. We ended up giving him a nickname of "Kung Fu Bear" because of all his antics.

I liked this photo because it was as if he spotted us and gave us a wave when he realized he had an audience.

A good safari shows you wildlife. A great photo safari gives you the time, space, angle, and instruction to photograph it properly.

Our South Africa Safari Photo Workshop combines purpose-built photographic hides with small-group game drives on a private reserve. That means low angles, quiet moments, eye-level encounters, and room to work with your gear instead of wrestling elbows with strangers in a packed vehicle.

We will work on the things that actually make wildlife images stronger: light, backgrounds, behaviour, timing, composition, and choosing the right settings before the moment happens.

Elephants, rhinos, big cats, kingfishers, bee-eaters, oxpeckers — this is a safari with variety. But the real advantage is how the trip is built.

Photography first. Comfort included. Chaos politely declined.

Tour Page:
https://akariphototours.com/tours/south-africa-safari/

Some safaris are about action. Uganda is about connection.

This workshop brings you face-to-face with mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, rhinos, birdlife, and wildlife along the Nile. It is one of the most moving African experiences we offer because the moments feel personal. A silverback watching from the forest. A chimp moving through the canopy. A shoebill standing still enough to make you question whether it was designed by committee.

Photographing in Uganda is different. The forests are darker. The subjects move quickly. The emotion is powerful. That is where guidance matters.

We help you think through camera settings, lens choice, exposure, and how to be ready when the moment finally appears through the leaves.

This is not a standard safari. It is Africa at eye level, heartbeat level, and occasionally mud-on-your-boots level.

Tour Page:
https://akariphototours.com/tours/uganda-safari-gorillas-chimps-the-nile/