Tour Leaders
Todd Gustafson has been photographing nature, wildlife and natural history with great success. Most of his work has been done in Europe, North and Central America and East Africa. He has a special affinity for East Africa having grown up in Tanzania as the son of a Mission Sponsored headmaster. The Tanzania 2008 tour will be Todd’s 22nd safari to East Africa. Todd’s has an extensive knowledge of habitat and animal behavior as well as social interaction with local people. Todd photographs and works as a clinician/teacher for NIKON Corporation. Todd works with photographers as a guide and photo instructor in East Africa, Europe, Central America, New Mexico, Florida and throughout the Midwest. His agents are Panoramic Images (Chicago), Danita Delimont (Seattle), Natural Selection and Getty Stock Agency (New York). Todd’s photography is also represented by National Geographic Society. In 2006 Todd was the runner-up in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in the bird behaviour class, with his image “Flamingo Dance” taken at Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Read about the BBC award
Publishing Highlights
- Photographs from past safaris are published in "Wilderness Travel" and United Travel Group (UTG) catalogs.
- Many of Todd’s images are used by The Discovery Channel as signature images and in traveling exhibits.
- The Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History has a permanent exhibit “African Voices” that features Gustafson’s photographs.
- The St. Louis Children’s Memorial Hospital has a wing designed in an African motif that uses Todd’s images.
- Other images appear in The Conserve School’s (Chain of Lakes Wisconsin) 2,000-sq. ft. nature museum dedicated to conservation education.
- Hundreds of images appear in the new Africa House (Regenstein “African Journey”) at the Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago).
- Todd is also published in the National Geographic Desk Diaries and African Publishing Group’s “Game Parks of Tanzania”.
- The spring 2005 NIKON Full Product Guide features one of Todd’s photos as the front and back cover wrap around.
- Todd’s work has also been used extensively by the United Nations in publications for Tanzanian development.
- BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year Runner up 2006
Upcoming projects include: "Birds of Tanzania" a guide book scheduled for release in 2008 by The Africa Publishing Group. "Elemental East Africa" a coffee table picture book. "The Complete Guide for Photographing on Safari" A guide for travel related issues as well as photo insruction, animal behavior and site guide.
Arthur Morris is a world-renowned freelance nature photographer and writer specializing in birds. He taught elementary school in New York City for twenty-three years. For eight years he conducted the shorebird survey at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. A Canon contract photographer since 1995, Arthur is a past winner in the BBC Wildlilfe Photographer of the Year Competition and has been published extensively in virtually every wildlife publication in the USA. More than one hundred of his articles have appeared in publications worldwide. He is the author of the seminal work The Art of Bird Photography and its Volume II follow-up. Arthur travels extensively, leading workshops and instructional photo tours, and sharing the results with thousands of enthusiastic photographers world-wide with his famous email bulletins.
Martin Plant is a professional photographer in the UK with years of safari and nature photography under his belt. As a former bank CEO Martin has great organization and people skills and a passion for customer service. He’ll do everything he can to make your safari photography experience the best it can possibly be. Martin’s photography style is clean and uncluttered. “The key to success is managing light and controlling your background” he says. “On safari both of these require an excellent rapport with your driver-guide. The difference between a so-so shot and a prize-winner is often simply where you’ve positioned your vehicle.” Martin is also a great educator. In the UK he runs one on one and small group workshops training other professional photographers. He’s an expert in digital workflow and a Photoshop guru. Most evenings on safari you’ll find him on the safari lodge veranda, swapping stories or sharing some new-found technique to save time or make better pictures in Photoshop. Says Martin:”At the end of my first safari to Kenya with Todd, I was counting the days until the next one. I thought the novelty might wear off, but I get the same excitement with every trip. There is simply no better place to photograph wildlife.”
David Vore is a retired forensic psychologist and now a specialist nature photographer producing fine art prints, leading photography tours, and presenting visual programs to various groups. David is a self-taught naturalist who combines his deep love of and extensive experience with nature with photographic skills to produce dramatic and beautiful images. David’s photography has taken him to numerous locations in the USA, East Africa and elsewhere in the world. At Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico he was the first photographer to be selected as the featured artist and cover artist for the annual Festival of the Cranes. David’s photographic style produces clean, crisp, and dramatic images that speak to a mood or emotion in the viewer. His many years of national teaching experience in the area of Forensic Psychology give David the ability to effectively communicate with participants at all levels of expertise. When leading a photographic tour or workshop, David’s goal is to help all participants achieve the ability to produce fine art quality images. This goal is accomplished by getting participants to great subjects and increasing their understanding of use of light, composition techniques and background control.
