See the Duke Lemur Center through the eyes (or lens) of our resident photographer, David Haring! David has been documenting our lemurs for over 30 years, and his photographs have been featured in countless publications, articles, calendars, and websites. He has the world's largest collection of photographs of the world's largest collection of lemurs!
On the Photographer's Dream tour, you'll enjoy a morning traveling through our natural habitat enclosures photographing multiple species of lemurs with David and five fellow photographers. Participants typically visit three natural habitat enclosures (versus just one on our standard Walking with Lemurs tour), seeing the widest variety possible of our forested animals. This leisurely paced experience is catered to photographers who're interested in capturing the lemurs exhibiting natural behaviors such as foraging, climbing, resting, and grooming. You'll have time to set up the perfect shot and enjoy the company of fellow photographers of all experience levels.
This highly exclusive tour is offered only twice annually.
Because you'll be walking in a forested area, closed-toed shoes are required and long pants are recommended. As on all of our tours, for your safety and for the well-being of our lemurs, there will not be any opportunities to touch the animals at any time.
$250 per person plus tax. Maximum of 6 participants.
This highly exclusive experience is only offered a few times annually, and dates are announced as they are available. When offered, this tour runs 9:30 a.m. 'til 12:00 noon, and includes time in at least three different natural habitat enclosures with multiple species of lemurs. Interested parties should email primate@duke.edu to be added to an email list that receives advance notice of new dates, and for the opportunity to reserve spots before the general public.
Age restrictions: Participants must be at least 10 years old. All participants must sign a legal release waiver, and participants age 10-17 must have that waiver signed by a legal guardian. Additionally, participants age 10-15 must be accompanied by a legal guardian. Please note that legal guardian will be included as a paying participant in the total tour cost. Tour participants age 16-17 can attend the tour with another legal adult, not necessarily a legal guardian.
Novel objects: Because there are no barriers between you and the lemurs, we cannot allow canes, tripods, reflectors, walkers, stools, or other similar items on our Walking with Lemurs or Photographer's Dream tours. Some rascally lemurs can get too handsy with these "novel objects," which can pose a health and safety risk to both the lemur and the objects' rightful (human) possessors.
Please note, too, that you cannot sit or place items on the ground while inside the Natural Habitat Enclosures; so please pack as lightly as possible. You will need to be able to stand and carry your equipment for the length of the tour.
This video tutorial by Tamara Lackey Photography (Chapel Hill, NC) is a fabulous resource for anyone visiting the DLC for a Walking with Lemurs or Photographer's Dream tour and hoping to get great, professional-quality photographs! In it, Tamara shares tips for photographing fast-moving lemurs as well as capturing sharp portraits highlighting our lemurs' incredible eyes. The photos she gets are GORGEOUS, and her enthusiasm for lemurs is infectious!
Click the image below to be redirected to YouTube to watch the tutorial:
Here's what Tamara writes:
I never knew that lemurs were solar-powered creatures. I know this now. I also learned a whole lot more about these stunning animals in our newest episode, now live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEBkAI0Wmeg.
This reDefine Show episode is focused on how to photograph fast-moving subjects near and far, while also capturing sharp portraits (with a focus on otherworldly eyes) at very shallow depths of field. Check out Photographing Lemurson Adorama TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEBkAI0Wmeg.
A huge thank you to the Duke Lemur Center for the amazing opportunity to spend some rather unique time with these seriously beautiful animals. Standing in the middle of acres of protected woods and getting to watch lemurs leap about in every direction is truly just an incredible experience. I had no idea that this is the second highest population of lemurs in the world, outside of Madagascar!
Photographed with Nikon D850 and D5 and 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 & 105mm f/1.4.
As you enjoy the video, please bear in mind that Tamara is a Nikon Ambassador who visited us for a professional shoot -- with all the associated contracts and clearances. While her photography tutorial is valuable for all audiences, and especially for visitors wishing to photograph lemurs in our Natural Habitat Enclosures, the nature of her shoot was somewhat different from that of a standard Walking with Lemurs or Photographer's Dream tour. If you'd like clarification, please call the Education Department at (919) 401-7240 or email primate@duke.edu. We'll be happy to help answer your questions!
