Meet Abigeal

by Piper on • (30 comments)

All of you who have traveled with me in the past five years have met Abigeal by email. Abigeal is my right and left hand when it comes to ensuring that all the details of your safaris, tours, and workshops are well ordered. Many of you ask about her often, but since only a few… Read more »

Light: Seeing is Believing!

by Piper on • (6 comments)

After the comments I received on my previous post discussing the importance of backgrounds in a composition, I thought it would be helpful to follow up with a simple discussion on the impact of light. PRETTY HORSES One of the first images I show during my presentation at the Spirit-N-Light workshops is one that I… Read more »

Composition: A few feet and a world of difference.

by Piper on • (10 comments)

It sounds simple enough—just move a few feet forward; but when you’re in an exciting new place, it is too easy to react, holler STOP, point, shoot, spray, and pray—especially in wildlife photography, with limitless pixels. This is why my simple motto of asking, “What is my light? What is my background?” rarely fails if… Read more »

Worry or Wait with Purpose – 9 Great Ideas

by Piper on • (19 comments)

“And this too shall pass.” My mother quoted these words often throughout my life. Since I had been on the road the entire year (since Jan. 2nd) in remote locations with a limited network, I was sheltered from the saturated coverage of COVID -19 by the media—until I reached the US. The first week I… Read more »

While I was away, the world changed!

by Piper on • (16 comments)

On January 2nd I headed to Ethiopia to enjoy their Christmas celebration in Lalibela and then on to visit the tribes in the Omo Valley; completing 10 years of successful tours to Ethiopia.  I then headed to South Sudan, with a leading African cultural anthropologist, to finally visit the tribes after several years of research… Read more »

New Year, New DECADE

by Piper on • (17 comments)

January 1, 2020 is not only the first day of a new year, but also the magical start of a new decade! This is a great time for a fresh start — a re-launch in the fearless pursuit of what sets your soul on fire. REFLECT This past decade was one that most of us… Read more »

Speaking Event November 7

by Piper on • (6 comments)

I am currently in Africa where I have had the privilege of traveling with guest in Kenya, Chad, and South Africa, for the past 9 weeks, with one more to go.  When I was recently contacted to speak at this event, I had no idea that two people very, close to me, would be diagnosed… Read more »

10 Best African Photo Safari Companies in the World

by Piper on • (7 comments)

Greetings from the Maasai Mara, Kenya! I have just finished another epic migration safari and have not had one extra minute to share this exciting news.  Just before departing for Kenya the Insatiable Traveler named Piper Mackay Photography as one of the 10 Best African PhotoSafari Companies in the World! This really is a huge… Read more »

Work the Scene Naturally

by Piper on • (18 comments)

We were deep in southern Angola, about as remote as one can be, camping near a few Himba homesteads. Going in deep and setting up mobile tent camps is certainly a huge challenge. However, being in a pristine remote village at sunrise is such an authentic magical experience it is worth every challenge. Just before… Read more »

A legend passes with grace; RIP Audrey Griffin

by Piper on • (9 comments)

Most of us have all heard the quote – “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!” –… Read more »