Emily McCulliss
Global Nature Photographer & Expedition Guide
An 8‑day, 6 safari night, small‑group luxury safari journey at Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp in Kenya, guided personally by Emily.
Limited to 4 guests for intensive, personalized immersion.
For travelers dreaming of a first safari, a return to Kenya, a more private luxury safari experience, or learn wildlife photography.
.Loisaba x Laikipia
Kenya's Best Kept Secret
A private photography expedition to one of Africa's most extraordinary - and least crowded - wilderness regions.
Dates: June 21–28, 2026
Base Camp: Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp
Region Laikipia, Kenya
Privacy and inclusivity are the product. Every detail, every design, every person on that team it is all built for you, and it is all waiting.
No two mornings are the same here. No two landscapes. No two animals you'll find anywhere else.
Zero crowd pressure
Laikipia operates on private conservancy land. No public park regulations. No convoy of vehicles at every sighting. Just you, the guide, and the animal.
Unfenced, living wilderness
Wildlife moves freely across nearly a million acres of interconnected conservancies, following rain, following instinct. The landscape is never static.
Vertical variety
Open savanna. Basalt river canyons. Acacia woodland. High-altitude escarpment. All within one conservancy. Every drive looks different.
Activities impossible inside national parks. Be part of the nocturnal world.
Mount Kenya on the horizon, every single morning
Africa's second-highest peak, snow-capped and 150 kilometers away, visible from every tent and the infinity pool at first light. No other safari destination in Kenya frames wildlife against a mountain like this.
I want to take you to Kenya.
Specifically, to one of my most favorite lodges on earth: Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp in the heart of the Laikipia Plateau. This June. With a small group of photographers and like-minded people who love what you love.
Picture your first morning.
Sunrise spills across 57,000 acres of wilderness. Lions follow your vehicle out of curiosity, circling the tail lights. Wild dogs break into a hunt. Elephants cross right in front of you. And somewhere out in the acacia scrub - a black leopard.
This is a normal morning at Loisaba. Loisaba is the place of possibility.
Here's what the trip looks like:
All inclusive 8 days total - 6 nights at Loisaba, travel to and from NBO
I'll be in the vehicle with you. We'll track wildlife together in our private safari vehicle, I'll teach you how to read the light and anticipate the moment, and we'll review your images together during the trip and again after you're home.
This isn't a tour. It's a workshop in one of the most extraordinary classrooms on earth.
Image credit to Loisaba Tented Camp, Elewana
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The lodge itself.
Loisaba Tented Camp was a Condé Nast award winner in 2024 and is nominated for Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards in 2026. The Elewana Collection, which operates the property, is also a Condé Nast award winner, so the service and conservation standards match the landscape.
Your tent suite has floor-to-ceiling windows, polished wood floors, and a wide veranda with unobstructed views stretching all the way to Mt. Kenya. After a full day in the field, you'll decompress on the deck or float in one of Africa's most beautiful infinity pools while the sun drops behind the plateau.
that you work with trusted local partners, and that Loisaba Conservancy has a strong conservation and security framework. It is required to get insurance/evacuation insurance.
Why Loisaba specifically?
The conservancy sits on a critical elephant migration corridor, which means the wildlife encounters here are real, constant, and unpredictable in the best possible way. Elephants, lions, leopards, wild dogs, and over 260 bird species all move through this landscape on their own terms.
No crowds. No convoy of vehicles. Just the animals doing what they do, and you with a camera.
The Wildlife - Species You Won't Find Anywhere Else
Grevy's Zebra Endangered
Larger, more graphic, more endangered than the common zebra - with finer stripes and a distinctive bull's-eye rump. Laikipia holds over 70% of the world's remaining population. Photographs unlike anything from the Mara.
Reticulated Giraffe Endangered
Not blotchy - geometric. A web of crisp white lines over chestnut squares. Rarely found outside northern Kenya. In morning light against the Mount Kenya backdrop, this is a once-in-a-career frame.
African Wild Dog Critical
The Phoenix Pack. The only stable pack remaining in the region, slowly rebuilding after a 2017 population crash. One of the most kinetic wildlife encounters in Africa and one of the rarest.
Black Leopard Extremely rare
Laikipia is the only place in Africa where a melanistic leopard has been consistently photographed in the wild. A small population was discovered in 2018. Local trackers have studied their movements for years.
Northern Specials Endemic
Beisa oryx. Somali ostrich (blue neck, not pink). Gerenuk - the giraffe-gazelle that stands upright on two legs to feed from high branches. None of these live in the southern parks.
This is a small group. 4 guests. Spots are limited.
If Kenya has been on your list - this is the trip.
A note on investment
Safaris are expensive.
From the moment you land in Nairobi, every detail has been thought through, designed, and staffed - so that none of it requires your attention. Your only job is to be present.
Access & solitude
Private traversing rights across 57,000 acres
You are not sharing this landscape with a convoy of vehicles. Your vehicle goes where others cannot. Off-road, into the thicket, to the angle no one else has. The solitude is not accidental, it is what you are paying for.
Conservation
Your included conservation fee goes directly back to the land
Every dollar of your conservation fee funds anti-poaching operations, ranger security, habitat management, and community programmes for the people who live alongside this wildlife. You are not a visitor here. You are a stakeholder.
Your guides
Two kinds of expertise. One extraordinary experience.
Raphael does not read this land from a guidebook. He has lived it. He knows where the light falls at 6am, which waterhole the lions prefer after rain, and how to position you for the frame before the moment exists.
Emily brings the photography. Years of working in wild places across all seven continents: knowing not just where to be, but how to see, how to read light, how to anticipate the decisive moment and come home with images that are truly yours. Her eye, her instincts, and her teaching are what turn an extraordinary safari into an extraordinary body of work.
Together, they put you in the right place, at the right time, with the right frame.
The team behind you
More staff than guests. Every role intentional.
Your experience in the field is supported by an entire team you will rarely see.
Chefs. Trackers. Guides. Butlers. Mechanics. Hospitality agents. Housekeeping. Anti-poaching teams. Security
The vehicle
Purpose-engineered. Not just capable- intentional.
Your 4x4 is not a truck with open windows. It is a purpose-built photographic platform: off-road capable, position-optimized, designed to get you closer without compromising safety or the integrity of the encounter.
The accommodation
World-class dining. Award-winning design. Nature as the destination.
Once you arrive, everything is included: accommodation, all meals, drinks, activities, and laundry. Condé Nast award-winning. Nominated for Travel + Leisure World's Best 2026. Private plunge pools. An infinity pool above the savanna. Built around the wilderness, not in spite of it.
The intangible
What Kenya does to you, we haven't even touched on that yet.
The way this landscape recalibrates you. The way animals, light, silence, and your own photography practice begin to change how you see. Nature is your destination and your teacher here. That part cannot be itemized. But it is real, and it is the reason people come back.
The bottom line
Privacy and inclusivity are the product. Every detail, every design, every person on that team — it is all built for you, and it is all waiting.
Ready to explore if this is the right fit for you? I’m happy to talk through details, budget, and timing—no pressure, just clarity
Emily McCulliss is a global nature photographer, expedition guide, and certified travel advisor whose work has taken her across all seven continents in pursuit of connecting people to extraordinary, transformative encounters in nature.
She holds a NOAA research permit for cetacean photography, has gallery representation in Colorado, Montreal, and Mexico City, and serves as Artist-in-Residence at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Bay. She is a FORA certified travel advisor, which is IATA accredited, which means when she takes clients into the field, every logistical detail- flights, transfers, permits, lodging, guide relationships, is managed with the precision of someone who has done this professionally, not casually.
But credentials are not the reason people travel with Emily.
They travel with her because she has spent years building relationships with the guides, the conservancies, and the landscapes she brings people into. Raphael, who leads her Kenya expeditions, with her, at Loisaba, is not a vendor. He is a collaborator she trusts with her clients' most significant travel experiences.
They travel with her because she photographs the way she guides - with patience, with intention, and with a deep belief that the right moment in the right wild place can genuinely change how you see the world.
She doesn't manufacture experiences. She finds the ones that are already there, and she knows where to look.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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1 night comfortable accommodation in Nairobi
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6 nights luxury accommodation at Loisaba Conservancy
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Conservancy fees
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Day room in Nairobi on final day before international departure
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Internal flights (Nairobi-Loisaba-Nairobi)
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All ground transportation including airport transfers
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Daily game drives with private, exclusive use of 4x4 safari vehicle
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Expert local guide throughout your safari
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Expert photography instruction
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Photography instruction and image review sessions
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Full board package at Loisaba including:
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Accommodation
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All meals from breakfast on Day 2 (departure to Loisaba) through breakfast on Day 8 (departure from Loisaba)
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Additional lunch options (picnic or in-house)
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Soft drinks, beer, house wines and selected spirits
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Teas, coffees and refreshments (on the property)
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Laundry services
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Park fees and Conservancy fees
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Maximum of 4 guests plus Emily as your trip leader
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High-quality print of your best photo
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Access to a private online gallery/community
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Follow-up virtual session to review and edit your best images
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NOT INCLUDED
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International airfare to/from Nairobi
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Mandatory travel insurance
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Visa fees
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Flying doctors/medical evacuation insurance
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Champagne, private cellar wines and premium spirits
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Gratuities for guides and lodge staff
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Items of personal nature
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Transfers other than to/from nearest airstrip
Emily McCulliss is a certified travel agent and is able to assist guests with any flight or travel logistics
This amazing inclusive experience and investment in you and your passion is offered to you at $9000 USD pp based on double occupancy
Single supplement is available.