For those of you who have seen Gorillas in the Mist, in Uganda the vision of sweeping mountains and dense jungle masked in a coat of soft mist is very real. The indigenous people of the Forest actually named the gorilla’s home the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Impenetrable is, at times, an understatement of the actual forest entanglements made of trees and climbers – the guides have got to hack – with machetes – for a path to be created.

If you have ever photographed in rain-forests or jungles, you have undoubtedly encountered moisture problems. The majority of fellow wildlife photographers know too well about the annoying spot of condensation that appears deep inside the confines of a lens right as the lens cap is removed, often happening at the most inopportune times. One way to deter moisture is to avoid removing your lens from your camera body and leaving it out of your pack as much as possible in the open air. Utilizing one lens may be difficult for those who travel with one body, so bringing along a back up lens is strongly suggested. If this isn’t possible, try putting on an 80-200mm lens and leaving it on until your trek is complete. If you encounter lens condensation while in the field, place your lens in a warm, dry place or in direct sunlight until the moisture clears…..hopefully you get Some bright sun enough to clear the condensation…..:) 🙂

Wear Comfortable Hiking Boots and Gaiters

One of the most important tips is to bring along ankle-high hiking boots and knee-high gaiters to wear during your trek. On your way to find the gorillas or chimpanzees, you will traverse up steep inclines and scale down slippery slopes for hours – often cutting your way through dense jungle by machete. There is a lot of life in the brush that you don’t see, including red ants! Well worn hiking boots will aid against blisters and provide comfort and gaiters will protect against painful ant bites.

Bring A Camera Body with Good Low Light Capability and A Fast Lens

Shooting inside rainforest and jungle environments is very difficult and often requires advanced technique – even more so on a sunny day when there is a lot of contrast between a dark subject, like the black coat of a gorilla, and highlights. It is nearly impossible to prevent clipping highlights while keeping the gorilla within acceptable exposure. Instead, try omitting any highlights from your frame to improve the contrast range.

To improve the quality of your image, meter and expose for the gorilla. Depending on what kind of shutter speed you are metering for, setting your ISO between ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 is a good starting point. A shutter speed below 1/500 of a second is too slow and will result in a soft image, so don’t be afraid to go as high as an ISO 6400. Frequently check your camera display and histogram to ensure your settings are accurate.

Overview of ISO speed settings:

AUTO	Automatically adjusts the ISO speed to suit the shooting mode and conditions.
100, 125, 160, 200	Low	For shooting outdoors in fair weather.
250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800	Slightly Low	For shooting in cloudy conditions, or at twilight.
1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200	Slightly High	For shooting night scenes, or in dark rooms.

If you are concerned about the the introduction of noise when shooting at a high ISO, particularly in shadow areas, consider the gear you are shooting with. A D3s (or similar model from another manufacturer) and a  70-200mm f2.8 G AF-S ED VRII make a winning combination to combat the need for faster shutter speeds in low light scenarios.

Gloves Are Not Recommended – They Are Required!

If you want to avoid hand injury and make your hike significantly more enjoyable, wear a simple pair of leather work gloves or gardening gloves, which can be purchased from any local hardware store. While trekking, gloves will enable you to use the bush and trees as support. You will be thankful for knowing this in advance of your gorilla

Consider Hiring A Local Porter for Your Trek

Gorilla treks can be very strenuous. To lighten your load (and sneak up the mountain with more gear), consider hiring a local porter to carry your pack. A porter runs about US$20 per trek without gratuity. Porters are not only helpful, but you will be helping assist the local economy as well! –  they are from communities that leave around the Gorilla Parks.

Mind Your Behind

A simple tip that will make your gorilla treks more pleasant is to pack something to sit on. This can be used during rest breaks or enable you to get low and photograph an animal on the ground. Check your local camping outfitter for small inflatable or portable cushions designed for hiking. There are many reasons you don’t want to park your behind on the exposed jungle floor that we don’t need to discuss. This is a tip learned the hard way. There’s nothing worse than wanting to take a seat and not being able to for fear of getting ants in your pants.

Try Black and White Conversions

Among many there is a shared love for black and white wildlife images. Try some B&W conversions, particularly in situations where you have an image that you feel is unacceptable due to extreme contrast, has washed out colors, or is overexposed.

A Final Word

While traveling in any protected area occupied by wild animals, please be respectful of the environment. Please leave the place as you found it and keep acceptable distances from the wildlife for your safety and theirs. If you have the opportunity to travel to Uganda or Rwanda and observe some of the last remaining mountain gorillas on our planet, we hope these tips will help you capture some great images and also share the experience so that others may go and help protect these amazing creatures.