Photographic Safaris
Armstrong Fortescue was born out of the idea that photographic safaris can occasionally seem rigidly structured or aimed solely at semi-pro photographers intent on taking thousands of images.
We believe photography should be two things; fun and engaging. The fun is easy. Ultimately you are on a once in a life time trip and you should enjoy it, the more you enjoy it the better your images will be. The engaging side we look to bring in more subtly, helping you craft an image style that turn your safari snaps in to a genuine wildlife photography portfolio.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a lot over the years but, until travelling to Svalbard with Matt and Will of Armstrong Fortescue, I hadn’t been to the arctic; it did not disappoint!
The arctic scenery is stunning and surreal and seeing polar bears and other arctic wildlife in their natural environment was breathtaking, I was blown away. Matt and Will put together an amazing itinerary...Matt’s expertise as a guide and Will’s photography coaching proved invaluable.”
— Mark Meth-Cohn, Svalbard Guest, 2023
Upcoming Safaris
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Svalbard, May 2024
One of our favourite annual expeditions. Join us in the land of snow and ice as we search for polar bears, walrus, Arctic fox and so much more.
Guides: Matt & Will
Group Size: 10
Sold Out
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Amboseli & Maasai Mara, October 2024
Two of the most popular destinations for wildlife photographers going. Super tuskers, big cats and the Amboseli lake bed await you here.
Guides: Will & Graeme Purdy
Group Size: 5
Prices from $14,250
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Zambia Symposium, October 2024
One of our newest and more unique offerings. Exclusive use of two stunning camps, walking safaris, hide photography and heaps more.
Guides: Matt and Will
Group Size: 5-8
Prices from $12,225
What To Expect on a Photo Safari
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One-to-one Technical Tuition
On the basics of using your camera and getting to grips with the required settings
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Composition Tricks and Tips
Working out the best place to position yourself in accordance to your subject and the light, perhaps the most important lesson of all.
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Image Review Sessions: One to One
Regular sit down sessions with your guide to delve in to the basic (and advanced) tools of Adobe Lightroom and other editing softwares to help bring your images to life.
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Image Review Sessions: Group
One of our favourite parts of any trip is reviewing our images together, collectively (positively) critiquing each others images to ensure we all improve.
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Independent Safari Skills
We always feel your guide should have to say less as the safari goes on and allow you to take on the positioning of the vehicle etc. to yourself. Harnessing the skills you’ve learnt throughout the experience.
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Image Cataloguing
Once you have all your images your guide will show you how best to keep them organised and optimised for social media or website performance.
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After Care
Once you are home and you’ve waded through the countless images you’ve created, we offer complimentary online lessons in how to edit your images further.
Our Guides
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William Fortescue
CO-FOUNDER
An official Nikon Creator and holder of a first class degree in Marine and Natural History Photography, Will has led trips on three continents. Focussing largely on Eastern Africa his work hangs in private art collections around the world and guests love his intimate knowledge of composition and Lightroom editing.
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Matt Armstrong-Ford
CO-FOUNDER
From the Indian Himalayas to the frozen north Matt, with professional training in South Africa and Zambia, has spent over a decade in the safari guiding industry. We think he may hold a (lesser known) well record of showing one guest; mountain gorilla, polar bear, snow leopard, tiger, super tusker elephants and all three African big cats in the space of just six months.
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Graeme Purdy
AFRICA SPECIALIST GUIDE
A man with a real eye for the extraordinary Graeme’s work has seen him feet from some of the planet’s most exciting wildlife. A multiple award winning photographer, including second place (twice) in the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards. Graeme’s focus on black and white photography as well as prioritising quality over quantity of images makes him a fantastic addition to our guiding team.
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Behzad Larry
ASIA SPECIALST GUIDE
The word expert is used liberally these days but when it comes to photography in this complex part of the world there is no one better placed. Behzad believes he may have the most extensive snow leopard image collection ever created from his work across the Himalayas, taken by hand and with high-tech camera traps. Equally at home photographing people, landscapes and wildlife we are hugely proud to be able to work with Behzad on our guided Asian itineraries.
Recent Guest Photos
Silke Hullmann - Amboseli
Silke Hullmann - Amboseli
Silke Hullmann - Amboseli
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Nicolas Deloche - Maasai Mara
Nicolas Deloche - Maasai Mara
Alex Goldblum - Lake Turkana
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Nicolas Deloche - Amboseli
Nicolas Deloche - Amboseli
Silke Hullmann - Lake Naivasha
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Alex Goldblum - Maasai Mara
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Svalbard
Gerry Armstrong - Zambia
Gerry Armstrong - Zambia
Gerry Armstrong - Zambia
Gerry Armstrong - Zambia
Gerry Armstrong - Zambia
Gerry Armstrong - Zambia
Nicolas Deloche - Zambia
Nicolas Deloche - Zambia
Nicolas Deloche - Zambia
Nicolas Deloche - Zambia
Nicolas Deloche - Zambia
General Enquiry
If you would like to join one of our group safaris, or hear about other options, use the form below and we will arrange a time to meet with you and discuss our photographic safaris with you.