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ESTABLISHED 2011 IN NYC

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ESTABLISHED 2011 IN NYC

colleen putman photography

I love being able to share some of my favorite images from each of my photo sessions.

I also post photos of my travels, NYC street scenes, and group collaborations with other photographers.  

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African Adventure: Part 1

Feb 25, 2014

Last year I was asked by an incredible family to join them on their amazing adventure to Africa to… (ready for this?) … take photos for them!  It was truly a dream come true, beyond my wildest imagination.  We spent 2 weeks in the most amazing places in Africa:  Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge (in NE South Africa) and Singita Pamushana (in Zimbabwe), then went cage diving with Great White Sharks in Mossel Bay, and capped the trip off celebrating the New Year in Cape Town!

Please take a peek into this amazing expedition I was most fortunate to be a part of.  This is the first of four blog posts in which I’ll display some of my favorite photos from Africa.

Sabi Sabi was the most perfect place to begin our time in Africa.  The lodge had the most incredible people taking care of us, and our safari trips every morning and evening were so chock full of the most perfect animal observations, we wondered if we were on a movie set and the animal trainers were cued for our jeep to come by so they could let their animals out with perfect timing.  ðŸ˜‰  At one point during our first evening safari, we became surrounded by a herd of elephants, and I could not have been happier!  Elephants have always been my favorite animal and seeing them up close in the wild like this made me feel like I could pack up right then and there and head home a satisfied customer!  Then one afternoon we were able to get up close and personal with some rescued elephants that acted like puppy dogs; it was absolutely amazing!  Then came the leopards, and the zebras, and the perfect golden sunsets, and the rhinoceroses, and watching an actual lion hunt!  Thankfully for us, the two lionesses were unsuccessful hunting their prey (the antelope), but it was really something special to witness such a wild event.  The baboons swimming in the river was another insane thing to come upon during our safari drives.  Our guide said he has truly never seen baboons swimming before, so we all felt incredibly lucky to watch what fun they were having!  4 wheeling through the wilderness was another fun adventure, and then on our last night in Sabi Sabi, we happened upon 3 lions sleeping under a tree (very “Lion King” to me).  The universe was on my side, and my camera lined up for the most perfect photo op I could have asked for as the lions woke up, yawning, and started to pose for me.  I kid you not.  Thank you, lions, for making my photography dreams come true!

(All photos are © Colleen Putman Photography.  Please do not save or reproduce any of these photos without written permission from the owner). 2014-02-05_00012014-02-05_00022014-02-05_00032014-02-05_00042014-02-05_00052014-02-05_00062014-02-05_00072014-02-05_00082014-02-05_00092014-02-05_00102014-02-26_0006 2014-02-05_00282014-02-05_00122014-02-05_00132014-02-26_00042014-02-05_00152014-02-05_00162014-02-05_00172014-02-05_00182014-02-05_00192014-02-05_00202014-02-26_00052014-02-05_00222014-02-05_00232014-02-05_00242014-02-05_00252014-02-05_00262014-02-05_00272014-02-05_00282014-02-05_00292014-02-05_00302014-02-05_00312014-02-05_00322014-02-05_00332014-02-05_00342014-02-05_0035

comments +

  1. Diane Longhi Liner says:

    Absolutely AMAZING!!!! What a dream come true….. This is my Dream Vacation, (if I could only afford it!!)

  2. Marta Rhine says:

    Ahhh! Colleen! I can’t even choose a favorite! The Lion? The Zebras? The incredible sunsets? idk, they’re all so freaking fabulous and I’m convinced you must be luckiest girl in the world to have been given such a fantastic opportunity! Wonderful pictures, I loved them ALL!

  3. Allana MacNeil says:

    I feel like I just re-lived my own expedition to Africa. Your pictures are magnificent!

  4. Sharleen Hudson Stuart says:

    Beautiful Colleen. I felt like I was back home again. I love the black and white of the giraffe’s and the sunsets are just so beautiful. The lion/lioness (not sure which looking at it) walking along the road is stunning, the colors are just fantastic. Great job. I got my home fix just looking at your photo’s.

  5. Caro Lin says:

    These images are amazing, both the portraits and the wildlife ones. I believe the family will cherish them forever. Such a great opportunity!

  6. Priscilla Hiratsuka says:

    Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos I’m sure I’ll never experience such a trip!

  7. Tara Marie Jurevicius says:

    Yes these photos will be cherished!! All of them are unbelievable!!

  8. Christine Laudig says:

    Simply amazing! You have captured a wonderful trip and memory for the family, but also the most amazing photos of someplace that most will never get to visit. I’m thinking that you need to put yourself out there to travel with the rich and famous to do the exact thing you did here. I also hope that you’re planning to frame some of these!

  9. erin says:

    You are so talented!!!!!! I love seeing all your adventures. Hope to see you soon!

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