Photography in Zanzibar

My interest in photography is probably less than yours, and I spent several days shooting in Stonetown. It is quite special.

I love the beach as well, but much less to photograph there. Regardless, 3.5 days is still cutting Zanzibar short.

Guess it depends on how long your safari is. 3 full days in one park is usually enough for me. After five days of game drives I am usually ready for a break.

Take Care,

BB

Yep, you definatley need more than a few hours in stone town, its an amazing place. Which ever beach you go to you will get stunning photos but the East coast has less tourists. But I think the most stunning beach is Kendwa. Enjoy!

Thanks for the replies, they're very helpful. Do most of the beaches on the east coast look the same? Perhaps I don't have to visit them all - I might be happy just visiting Kendwa as suggested and spending a fully day running around Stonetown.

Kendwa is in the north, and the northern beaches are quite different from the east coast, so to get a few different shots you should visit both. The east coast is more picture-perfect, imo. The east coast beaches do not all look the same, of course, but. I would dare to say, quite similar.

I went to Stonetown, Nungwi & Kendwa, & Paje on the East Coast.

Stonetown is a must for photos - there is such wonderful architecture - a town of faded colonial grandeur. As well as the amzing buildings, there are dhows in the harbour, markets, colour & so muchlife. As for beaches, I think Paje is a lot more stunning than Nungwi & Kendwa, the colour of the water is incredible - I took much better pictures there than in the north.

Sunset shots are a must too, particularly in Stonetown harbour.

I agree with all of the above. I also got some good pictures out at Prison Island (a short boat ride from Stone Town - organise this through your hotel or with a guy on the beach next to the Tembo Hotel). They should have finished doing up the resort on that Island now. Also, if you go on a Spice Tour they'll probably take you to some ruins on other parts of the island - the royal baths and some of the old chambers where they used to keep slaves in transit. Of the beaches, I preferred the east coast. If you intend to take pictures of people, set aside even more time - in Tanzania, it is polite to greet someone and then have a conversation about their family, their cows, their farmlet, etc., before you get around to asking permission to take a photo.