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marionpayr

Travel photographer and storyteller. 📷🖋Empowering womxn to explore & create. Engaging in acts of travel, photography & conservation. Vienna based. Member of @bellcollective. Co-Founder of @printsforwildlife.

From lion cubs to leopard hunts and serval encount From lion cubs to leopard hunts and serval encounters—scenes from an unbelievable day on safari in Tanzania 🇹🇿 (with @unikat.afrika and @couchsafaripodcast | advertisement) 🎙️We recorded a full podcast episode on @couchsafaripodcast just about this extraordinary day in the Serengeti. 🎧 You can listen to it now on Spotify (it’s in German though). In the episode we reflect upon these outstanding sightings and how we lost count of the lions we saw eventually (there’s an ongoing debate if it was 36 or 39 lions in total 😅). In any case seeing a leopard hunt a hare and a serval a lizard right next to the car in and by itself would have made for memorable encounters. But topping this off with some really cute lion cub action and too many lions on top of granite boulders wasn’t too bad either. That’s what the Serengeti is famous for after all! ✨ And all of that happened in April, the middle of the rainy season in Tanzania. I guess you notice the blue sky… 😉 it wasn’t all rain! If you’re interested in a Tanzania safari please contact @unikat.afrika with the keyword „couchsafari“. If you book a similar safari like we did with them you’ll get a free hot air balloon ride (or a 560 euro discount)! 😍
Next level mobile camp in Tanzania: @andbeyondsere Next level mobile camp in Tanzania: @andbeyondserengetiundercanvas 🇹🇿 (On safari with @unikat.afrika and @couchsafaripodcast | Advertisement). While we were in the Serengeti we saw how a mobile camp was moved—this was truly impressive. Relocating a whole camp is an incredible undertaking (especially on muddy roads in April). Hence our expectations of the only mobile camp of our tour was very basic: ✔️ Tented rooms ✔️ Bucket showers ❌ but maybe limited fixtures...? And then we arrived at @andbeyondserengetiundercanvas and it was a bit different. How opulent can a camp be!? 😍 yes it’s tented and there’s bucket showers, but the furnishings were really lavish. My personal surprise moment was being able to use a hairdryer in the tent! 😅 Often that’s not even possible in full-blown lodges, let alone in a tented camp… But the highlight with @andbeyondtravel is always the excellent guiding. Our guide Elias (@elias_pirianoy) needs to be thanked personally, he‘s responsible for the unbelievable day we saw 39 lions, but he also handled complicated moments like when our leopard sighting got spoiled by guests in another vehicle who turned on music. He managed all this very well and also made sure we had an incredible time and ample time for photography! If you are planning a Tanzania trip I can highly recommend staying with @andbeyondtravel and booking your trip with @unikat.afrika who know exactly which locations are ideal for which season.
Subject or light? What’s more important? (@nikon Subject or light? What’s more important? (@nikondach | Advertisement). On my recent trip to Tanzania this was a constant discussion with my travel buddy Paddy from @couchsafaripodcast: What should be the focus when photographing wildlife on a safari? Is it chasing the most sought-after subjects like lions and leopards? Or is it rather working with the light, no matter if the subject is a dik-dik, a klipspringer, a might male lion, a vervet monkey or an Egyptian goose? In an ideal photographer’s dream world both line up: An incredible subject in magical light (preferable in a perfect location, just to add another layer of complexity here). 😅 But in a realistic world that doesn’t always happen, so I tend to keep my eyes and mind open for whatever unfolds in front of us ✨ And then it’s very possible that I’ll ask the guide to stop for an Egyptian goose sitting on a perfect log in some interesting light. Or that I‘ll stay with vervet monkeys for a while to watch something unfold. One day we were pressed for time to see a leopard that we were suspecting in a tree during sunset, and had to leave a large breeding herd of elephants behind to catch up with that promise. And it didn’t happen. So to me the art of wildlife photography is about patience and dedication for the most part. When things don’t line up this can be testing, but then there’s always an unexpected reward. A photo you didn’t anticipate. A moment you didn’t even dream of. And that’s the magic of photography. Opening our eyes to the miracle that our world is. In every single moment. All photos shot with @nikondach Z8 and NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR lens. Settings: Photo 1: ISO 560, 900 mm (using DX mode to crop in camera), 0 ev, f6.3, 1/2000 s #nikoncreator #nikondach
Attention FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS: #NikonFemaleFacets Attention FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS: #NikonFemaleFacets is back! 📷 (@nikondach Advertisement) I’m happy to announce that @nikondach is bringing back the female photo contest and women’s mentorship program in 2025! It doesn’t matter if you’re a hobby photographer or professional, you can enter your photos until the 18th of September 2025 in the following categories: ▶︎ Architecture & Street ▶︎ Landscape & Travel ▶︎ Macro & Still Life ▶︎ People & Portrait ▶︎ Animals & Wildlife ▶︎ NEW in 2025: Sports & Action All the entries will be showcased on the Nikon website and the prizes are incredible as well: 🥇1st place in each category: Nikon gear worth € 2,500 🥈 2nd place in each category: Nikon gear worth € 500 🥉 3rd place in each category: Nikon gear worth € 500 Additionally we introduced 2 special awards this year: 🏆 „Best perspective“ from all categories: wins Nikon gear worth € 2,500 🏆 „Young perspective“ from all entries of photographers below 25 years old: wins Nikon gear worth € 2,500 All the details about the photo contest and mentoring program can be found on the @nikondach website! And if you’re active on Facebook you can also join the “Nikon Female Facets” Facebook Group for personal tips from @nikondach & the mentors. We are truly excited about this opportunity for female photographers and can’t wait to see all your entries to the photo contest. From us, the 6 mentors: @kathrinschafbauer @rrrudya @tanja_brandt @alex_lovesnelly @heike_jasper_farbgetreu @marionpayr #NikonCreator #nikondach
Sea restoration with @wwfspain (Advertisement) 🌊🪸 I just returned from an incredible week with a team of scientists, conservationists and fishers at the Catalonian coast 🇪🇸 All of them are working for one goal: to restore marine habitats in the Mediterranean Sea 🐠🪸🦀🐙🦑🦈🪼🐚 The project is called „LIFE Ecorest“ and is currently restoring nearly 30,000 hectares of deep marine habitats in Catalonia with the active participation of the fishing sector. The process is quite time consuming and I got to witness it from the start to finish: • First the fishers are detangling the corals, sponges and gorgonias that are caught in their nets as bycatch. • Then they put them in containers with water and store them safely until they go back to the harbor (the organisms only survive for a few minutes outside of water). • At the harbor there’s special aquariums for the corals and gorgonias. The fishers document what organisms they are bringing in, make photos for the scientists and then carefully place the organisms in the aquariums. • Every 1-2 weeks the scientists from @icm.csic come to the participating harbors to prepare each piece of coral or gorgonia for the release. • They carefully place each piece on stones with epoxy or glue and sand. This is necessary so the organisms stand up vertically when released back into the sea. Otherwise they would lay on the ground, get covered by sand and eventually die. • Each piece is then documented again, to make sure there’s a count of how many organisms are being released. • In a final step the fishers go out with the organisms and release them in dedicated non-take zones, where no fishing is allowed. • Once per year the scientists then deploy deep sea robots with cameras to document the restoration process. 🪸Over 5,500 organisms have been released so far and are thriving and growing on the sea floor. ♥️ It’s an incredible collaborative effort with one common objective: to restore the sea for generations to come! A project by @icm.csic with the support of @fundacionbiodiversidad, @unibarcelona, ​​the @confrariesdegirona and funding from the EU @lifeprogramme.
Game drive moments in the Serengeti, Tanzania 🇹 Game drive moments in the Serengeti, Tanzania 🇹🇿 (On safari with @unikat.afrika and @couchsafaripodcast | Advertisement) Sorry that I started with the car photo and not the leopard (swipe to see!) 😉 I might regret that choice later, but it reflects how a safari feels so perfectly. It’s that feeling of sweet anticipation, when you start your game drive early in the morning and you hope you’ll see some wildlife. That rise of adrenaline when you hear alarm calls. The wind blowing in your face when you drive the open vehicle over the savanna. And then all of a sudden there’s a leopard! 🐆✨😍 In our case this female leopard decided to jump out of a tree just as we were passing by. We would never have seen her, if it weren’t for the perfect alignment of coincidences. She had seen a baby impala in the grass under the tree, and it was just at the right spot when we drove by, so she jumped down and caught it right in front of us. Paddy from @couchsafaripodcast just quickly jolted me and said „Leopard, leopard!!“ and we stopped the car immediately. The leopard hid in thick bushes right after her successful hunt and we could only get glimpses of her for a while. But patience paid off and after she had finished eating her prey she moved back into her tree. By that point the light was tricky, filtering through the leaves of the tree, but I still love that photo as it tells a story of luck and patience. And another incredible day in the Serengeti had unfolded.
Scenes from a day of 39 lions in the Serengeti, Ta Scenes from a day of 39 lions in the Serengeti, Tanzania 🇹🇿 (@unikat.afrika and @couchsafaripodcast | Advertisement). These young cubs were not always as innocent as in these photos. At times they looked like little angels—just sleeping or piously looking up to Mom, but the peace never lasted long. Most of the time they were chewing off each others ears or very intent on suckling, but mother wasn’t having it. So she kept growling and moving away from her babies, pushing them and making sure she gets some rest as well. But she never moved far away. So her rest would get interrupted quickly. Usually lions don’t provide much of a show during the light of day, but with cubs some action is guaranteed—and so we stayed with each of the lion families longer than expected—and never reached our goal of the day: Gol Koppjes. We missed the chance of seeing the large wildebeest herds of the great migration, but the distractions along the way were very worth it ☺️ Soon there will be a @couchsafaripodcast episode in which we’ll talk through that outstanding day in more detail. So stay tuned!
SAFARI GUIDE: Where to stay in Tanzania 🇹🇿 SAFARI GUIDE: Where to stay in Tanzania 🇹🇿 (in partnership with @unikat.afrika & @couchsafaripodcast | Advertisement) During our trip we stayed in five different camps and lodges for a total of 8 nights in Tanzania and each was special in it’s own way. 📍Save this 8-night Tanzania itinerary for your trip: • 1 Night Gibbs Farm • 1 Night Kisima Ngeda Camp • 2 Nights Asilia Dunia Camp • 2 Nights andBeyond Serengeti Under Canvas • 2 Nights andBeyond Klein’s Camp Gibbs Farm (@gibbs_farm) Founded in the 1920s as a coffee plantation Gibb’s Farm is one of Tanzania’s oldest lodges. It’s strategic location between Arusha and the Ngorongoro Crater makes it a perfect gateway to the Northern Circuit. Kisima Ngeda Camp (@entara_lodges) Kisima Ngeda Camp is a wonderful eco-lodge on the shores of Lake Eyasi It’s special for its unique cultural experiences with the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes, offering a rare glimpse into traditional hunter-gatherer and pastoralist lifestyles. Asilia Dunia Camp (@asiliaafrica) Dunia Camp is a luxury tented safari lodge in the central Serengeti, run entirely by women. It stands out for empowering Tanzanian women in all roles, from guiding to management, in a traditionally male-dominated industry. andBeyond Serengeti Under Canvas (@andbeyondserengetiundercanvas) This is a next-level luxury mobile tented camp that relocates five times a year to follow the Great Migration. It offers an intimate safari experience, featuring private butler service and excellent guiding. andBeyond Klein’s Camp (@andbeyondkleinscamp) A secluded luxury lodge perched on the Kuka Hills in a private concession bordering the Serengeti. Its unique location allows for exclusive off-road safaris, night drives, and guided bush walks-activities not permitted in the National Park. ⏳ Best time to go: We went in April, which is the very low season during what’s called the long rains in East Africa. From June to October is the main season in Tanzania, but there’s also advantages of traveling during the calving season from January to March. All the camps have been selected by @unikat.afrika who are Tanzania specialists with an extensive knowledge of the region.
A giraffe welcome at @andbeyondserengetiundercanva A giraffe welcome at @andbeyondserengetiundercanvas, Tanzania 🇹🇿 (On safari with @unikat.afrika and @couchsafaripodcast | Advertisement) What isn’t pictured here are the 39 (!) lions we saw on the drive this day. It was one of those days, that are hard to comprehend (and there will be a @couchsafaripodcast episode dedicated just to that day, so stay tuned). Crazy enough this was just a transfer day where we switched camps, so we didn’t even start in the early morning. At around 10am our guide Elias picked us up at Seronera airstrip and surprised us with packed lunch and the plan to stay out on drive for the rest of the day before checking in at Serengeti Under Canvas in the evening. The plan was to drive all the way Eastwards to Gol Koppjes, where thousands of wildebeest of the great migration were located. This year the great migration got interrupted by unusual rain patterns and so the animals had moved back to the Eastern plains. We were immediately up for the plan of course. Little did we know that we would get distracted by a leopardess hunting, the 39 lions we saw and even a serval—so eventually we had to turn around without reaching Gol Koppjes 😅 The wildebeest had to wait for another day! Later that evening we arrived at @andbeyondserengetiundercanvas with loads of empty camera batteries and full memory cards, and got surprised with the most lovely welcome dance choreography and a dinner under the milky way. I will soon show you the camp at daylight—when you see it it will be hard to believe that this is a mobile camp, it’s incredible really! #andbeyond #serengeti
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