After months of preparation we are pleased to announce that Photo-Africa and Moya Wa tenga Safaris have formed a partnership which promises to revolutionize digital photography workshops and photographic safaris in Southern Africa.

Photo-Africa was born out of a passion for photography and wildlife.

Originally created in 2005 in order to share images with friends and family, Photo-Africa took off and quickly established itself as one of the most regularly updated and followed African wildlife photography blogs on the internet.

One thing led to the next and now, 5 years later, Photo-Africa has evolved into a company which offers workshops and photographic safaris aimed at everybody from rank beginners to seasoned pros.  By combining passion, professionalism and knowledge, Photo-Africa aims to be one of the top workshop and photo safari operators in the country.

Moya Wa Tenga Safaris specializes in providing comprehensive and fully inclusive travel packages to a variety of destinations throughout South Africa. Through their extensive travel network, Moya Wa Tenga Safaris will ensure that all transport and accommodation aspects of the photographic safaris and day trips run smoothly.

This exciting partnership sees a combined experience of almost 30 years in the photography and hospitality industry comes together in one comprehensive package. Gerry van der Walt, Kerry de Bruyn and Andrew Beck each bring their own unique set of skills and flavours to the table.

After completing a degree in Sport Psychology, Gerry travelled the world while working on board the Queen Mary 2, presenting enrichment lectures.  It was during this time that photography changed from a visual way in which to remember places and people into an obsession and ultimately, many years later, a career.

Upon returning from his travels Gerry moved into the lodge and hospitality industry and currently manages a game lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve.  Apart from having completed a number of photography courses Gerry is also a fully qualified Field Guide, registered with FGASA, and combines this with an infectious passion for people and sharing information when lecturing or presenting workshops.

With more than 9 years photographic experience and having lectured to many diverse groups of people from around the word, Gerry has the ability to take advanced photographic terms and principles and make them easy to understand and fun at the same time.

Gerry currently owns and manages Photo-Africa and apart from presenting workshops and photographic safaris also offers various photographic services, which includes one on one tuition, lodge & hospitality photography and lifestyle portrait photography.

Kerry started taking pictures when she was about 16 and since then she hasn’t really put the camera down. Friends labelled her as tourist, taking her camera with her wherever she went, but that didn’t distract her and her passion just grew with time. Her career started out as just loving travel, wildlife, and photography but as time went on she knew it was more than just love.  Photography became a passion and mixing wildlife, people and travel into that passion became the next natural step.

Capturing natural moments in a world full of beauty made her leave her job as a journalist and photographer for a few local animal magazines to pursue photography full time. She now runs Kerry de Bruyn Photography which specializes in fine art, lifestyle and hospitality photography and only wishes to carry on doing what she loves and that is, borrow the moments from nature to share with the world, and in some way contribute to keeping them here for everyone to see, a long time from now.

Andrew is a self-taught photographer who has spent much of his life in the bush and is passionate about sharing his experiences and knowledge with others.

Armed with formal qualifications from WITS University (MSc. & BSc. Hons in Environment, Ecology and Conservation), and The Field Guides Association of South Africa (FGASA), Andrew will provide you with an experience, which is not only memorable, but also educational.

The partnership has already seen a number of new and exciting events planned for the second half of 2010 and beyond. These include:

Digital Photography 101
- This fun and interactive full day workshop will help you to understand how your digital camera works and how to apply various technical and creative principles to help you create better images.

Digital Darkroom 101
- This course will take you step by step through the management and processing of your digital images.  Focusing on Lightroom and Photoshop, this full day workshop, to be launched in 2011, will help you to get the most of out of your digital images.

Wildlife Photography 101
- Run over two consecutive Saturdays, this two day workshop is aimed purely at improving your wildlife photography.  On the first day we focus on the technical, artistic and ethical sides of wildlife photography.  The following Saturday we do a day trip to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve where, accompanied by pro photographers and experienced field guides, you will have ample opportunity to practise your wildlife photography and grow your portfolio.

Route 62 Photography Weekend
- Run over a weekend in the magical Route 62, this photography weekend will give you the chance to not only refresh the basics of digital photography, but also improve your compositional and technical skills.  A combination of lectures, practical and plentiful photo opportunities will make you look at photography in a whole new light.

Kenya Photographic Safari
- The Maasai Mara is without a doubt one of the top wildlife destinations in the world and in 2011 you will have the opportunity to join us as we lead you to some of the best photographic areas in the Maasai Mara.  With options ranging from budget to ultra-luxury, we will make sure that your trip to see the migration or photograph flamingos on Lake Nakuru is a once in a lifetime experience.

For more information please feel free to contact us at info@photo-africa.com

Gerry

Seeing Double

Krugersdorp Game Reserve, 29 March 2010, 16h19

Nikon D300, Nikon 200-400 @ 400mm, 1/400, f/4, ISO 400

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No funny stuff here.  Overcast conditions, long focal length, large aperture, close to subject, click.  If both squirrels were in focus the image would not have been as effective  and would probably have come across as messy.  The very shallow depth of field blurs the ground squirrel at the back enough not to distract from the image but you can still see that he is there and a part of the close knit group.  By being patient and spending time with the smaller creatures you open yourself up to some amazing photographic possibilities.  Don’t rush, take your time and get the shots!

More soon!

Gerry

‘This little guy is always worth another look!” This is a phrase I have heard more than a few times during the last week or so as we were doing some serious birding in Madikwe.  The afore mentioned phrase got used on more than one occasion when discussing some of the obscenely colorful little birds such as the Green Winged Pytilia and Violet Eared Waxbill and, as always, this got me thinking.

When is it that a wildlife image is worth another look?  Is the black & white elephant above worth another look?  Does it grab you?

Nature and wildlife photography is unique in that you can never repeat a moment. You never get another shot at that one shot.  It is the ability of a photographer to see, experience and ultimately capture these special moments that will result in images that warrant another look.  I think that unfortunately too many people, when photographing wildlife, try to create images rather than photograph what they experience.  Whether the goal is to mimic someone else’s images or the result of being stuck in a rut, trying too hard to create certain wildlife images will more than likely leave you with images that lack impact.  It will just be another wildlife image taken by another person trying to call themselves a wildlife photographer.

Whether you are on an African safari or photographing Grizzly Bears in Canada you cannot decide what your subjects will do at any particular moment in time.  If this was the case we would al be able to get that once in a lifetime shot.  Patience, perseverance, technical knowledge, an understanding of animal behavior and luck.   These are but a few of the prerequisites for creating powerful wildlife images that deserve another look but at the end of the day you, as the photographer, need to loose yourself in the visual moment.  You need to see and feel the moment in order to create an image that will make other people see and appreciate what you are showing them.

On many occasions I have packed my gear and headed off into the bush to try and get some good wildlife images.  I have sat at waterholes and filled memory card after memory card without capturing a single moment.  Yeah, I ended up with a lot of ok-ish wildlife images that are great to help filling the portfolio but nothing special.  Nothing that I would expect anybody to look at and look at again.

Then you get the times when you are out in the field with clients or guests when you are tired and feeling about as uninspired as anybody could be while perfecting how to put your game face on.  Then suddenly you get lost in a moment that inspires you and gives you the chance to create an image that will evoke emotion and captures the true essence of nature.  The most important thing when you find yourself in a movement like this is to shoot for yourself.  You need to photograph what catches your eye.  What excites you.  What inspires you.  Only then will you end up with an image that is worth another look.

There really is no point in trying to shoot images that will impress other people.  Do not compare your work to other people.  Yeah, absolutely look at other people’s images for inspiration and ideas but then stop.  Take what you need from it and move on.  Shoot for yourself and allow your own vision and passion to shine through in your wildlife images and remember that there is no right or wrong.

Wildlife photography is a very wide and diverse field and the possibilities for creating eye catching images, images that deserve another look, are endless.  I personally love creating black & white wildlife images as it has the ability, when done correctly, to enhance the mood and emotive qualities of an image.  This is not to say that any old wildlife image will work in monochrome but if you have captured a special moment to start with it might work.  I shot the above image, of an elephant walking on a dam wall in Madikwe, a few days ago and the simplicity is what keeps me going back to it.  It is the clean composition and negative space that, for me, tells an African story.  The black and white version at the top of the post is the result of layering an old paper texture over the monochrome image to create an ageless feel.  The color image was how I experienced the scene and the processed monochrome image is the result of my feelings about the scene.  Two different images which evoke very different feelings but both a result of me shooting for me.  I shot a scene that I enjoyed.

Whatever your wildlife subject, forget about what other people are going to think of your work.  Forget about trying to shoot your subjects in a specific way.  Play around, try different things but always shoot for yourself.  By doing this you are way more likely to create wildlife images that will make people say “That is worth another look!”

See ya tomorrow!

Gerry

Lion Cub by Gerry van der Walt

Lazy Pride by Gerry van der Walt

To view more of or purchase any of my images click here.

More soon.

Gerry

Experimental Wildlife by Fabian Haas

Now the interesting thing about Fabian’s latest images is that he drew the inspiration for these ‘experimental’ images from Nick Brandt’s work.  If you are not familiar with Nick Brandt you can check out a review I did of his second book by clicking here and you will see that, it is truly spectacular.

This week has been absolutely insanely busy and in between meetings, driving to Johannesburg and piles of papers I did not get around to confirming my guest blogger for tomorrow.  It’s Thursday remember!  So for tomorrow I am going to play the I-have-been-to-busy-to-touch-sides-so-I’ll-just-use-an-old-magazine-articlefrom-a-few-months-ago-as-tomorrow’s-guest-post card.

Nah, seriously.  By tomorrow afternoon life should be a little bit closer to normal so for tomorrow’s guest post, while I wrap up the busy part of the week, I will be posting a magazine article I wrote a few months ago.  In Shooting Africa in Black and White I share thoughts on shooting wildlife in black and white.  It seems we all have, and probably always will, keep on creating black and white wildlife images as can be seen from Fabian’s latest uploads and the guest post that Grant Marcus did a few weeks ago.

The images in tomorrow’s post are all a part of a limited edition print series I created at the beginning of last year.  If you are keen on any of them as a printed canvas there are still a few available!   Anyway, hope you enjoy the post tomorrow and I will see you again on Friday for a wrap up of the week.

Stay safe!

Gerry

Wildlife photography is one of the more difficult types of photography out there.  But it doesn’t have to be.

It is all too common for someone to have a passion for both wildlife and photography which ultimately leads to wildlife photography.  The combination is beautiful and it’s almost like it was designed for each other.  Grabbing your gear and heading out into wild areas is a fantastic feeling and what makes it even more exciting is that you never know what you are going to get.  You can never count on your subjects actually playing along.

Now whatever you plan to photograph there will always be a number of basics that you need to be aware of whether technical or artistic.  If you can make sure you are on top of all the variables that you can control you will be in a much better position to create amazing wildlife & nature images.

Standing in as today’s ‘guest blogger’, in this post I will look at and explore a few of the more common questions that I have been asked in the past and sometimes still ask myself.  When I originally looked at the list of questions there were more than 40 so I thought I would start with some of the basics and, if there is a demand for more, I will keep on digging into the more advanced questions like ‘How should I expose my image when shooting elephants?’

For now, here goes with my thoughts on some of the more common questions in Wildlife Photography Q&A.

What equipment should I use for wildlife photography?

Realistically you can get away taking decent images with any modern digital camera but if you plan on taking thins a little more seriously then you need to look at getting a DSLR with interchangeable lenses.  Forget the whole Nikon vs Canon debate.  A better idea is to go to a camera store and find your own answers to the following questions:

• How much are you willing to spend?
• Does the camera comfortable in your  hands?
• Do you find the camera easy to work and operate?
  
• Are you planning to do a lot of hiking with your camera?
• Are you planning to shoot a lot of fast moving subjects like birds?  I.e. do you need a fast and responsive auto focus?
• Do you need your camera to be weather proof?

Once you have answers to these questions you are a step closer to choosing the correct DSLR for you.  Then there is the whole question of which lenses to buy.  The short version is the best you can afford but that doesn’t really help does it?  My ideal combination of lenses, some of which I am currently using, would look something like this.

• 10-20mm – A great wide angle to capture sweeping landscape shot or to get creative with larger subjects
• 50mm f/1.8 – Great for low light shooting and a lens that makes you think about what you shoot and how you shoot it.
  
• 24-70mm f/2.8 – This is a great mid length zoom lens for capturing wild animals in their natural environment.
  
• 70-200mm f/2.8 – If I could choose just one lens this would be it.  Great range, low light ability and by slapping on a tele-converter you get close to 400mm.
• 200-400mm f/4 – This is a beast and even though it is no the expensive side a fantastic lens for subjects that don’t allow you to approach too close.
• 600mm f/4 – This is the big daddy.  Takes a bit of getting used to but if you have more money than God made sheep, a definite must have.

For most of us money is an object so the above is not a real possibility.  If you had to choose one lens you could do much worse than going for a Sigma 50-500mm, Nikon 80-400mm or Canon 100-400mm.  All these lenses will give you a decent focal length and enough reach to shoot a wide variety of wild subjects.

When shooting wildlife, what should I focus on?

In general our gaze is automatically drawn to faces and, on a smaller scale, eyes.  When you are shooting animals or birds it is therefore imperative that you get the eyes sharp and in focus.  If at all possible take an extra second before clicking the shutter to make sure that your focus is locked on your subjects eyes.  If you are shooting an image which does not include an animals face or eyes you should try and focus on the area of the frame which will best convey your visual story.  Other than the eyes, our gaze gets drawn to large objects before smaller ones, diagonal lines before horizontal or vertical lines and lighter images in a dark scene or vice versa.  Think about the story you want to tell and what images will stand out which will give you the answer as to what you should focus on.

When shooting wildlife, what shutter speed should I use?

As a rule for hand held shots, in order to get crisp images, you always want to try and use a shutter speed of at least 1/focal length.  I.e. if you are using a 200mm lens you don’t want use a shutter speed of slower than 1/200.  If you want to creatively blur images to convey a sense of movement you can start going slower and pan along with your subject and if you want to capture fast moving subjects you will have to increase you shutter speed quite a bit.

When shooting wildlife, which aperture should I use?

This again depends on what visual story you want to tell.  Using a setting of f/8 as a basic, easy to use all the time setting, you can decide to:

• isolate your subject by using a larger aperture such as f/4 or f/2.8
• have the entire frame sharp by using a smaller aperture such as f/22

Aperture is probably one of the most important tools in wildlife photography and by understanding how to use it will afford you a whole new world of creative possibilities.

Does changing white balance really make a difference?

White balance must be one of the most misunderstood settings on  a digital camera.  If you shoot in RAW format you don’t have to worry about changing your white balance on the go as you can change it, quite easily, during post production.  If you are shooting in JPEG format choosing the correct white balance setting can make a world of difference.  The short version is that the white balance setting on digital cameras is designed to help the camera define pure white.  White, as we know it,  does not look the same under different lighting conditions and in order to get correct color rendition in your images you need to keep white balance in mind.  The Auto WB setting on modern cameras are quite good but can sometimes lead to disappointing results or, if you use the settings creatively, some fantastically moody shots.

If anything, the one setting you want to try out for your wildlife images is Cloudy.  If you are shooting overcast conditions this setting helps to warm up the image.  You can also set your white balance to Cloudy just as the sun drops below the horizon to punch the warmth in your images just that little bit.  Another great use for Cloudy white balance is that it warms up sunset and sunrise image beautifully!

What is the best kind of light for creating wildlife images?

How long is a piece of string.  it purely depends on what you are are shooting and how you want to portray that subject.  The main forms of light you will be faced with out in the field are:

• Front Lighting – This is your standard sun over your shoulder type of light.  It is the easiest to type of light to shoot in but can sometimes lead to slightly ‘flat’ images.  Front lighting is particularly nice when shooting birds as it makes the sky behind the bird pop very nicely.
• Back Lighting - This is probably the most difficult light to work with but the one that can create the most amazing images.  If you are faced with a subject that is backlit, you should generally try and underexpose by half a stop or so to make the edges of your subject come alive.
• Side Lighting - This type of lighting normally works best when you include some of the landscape / environment in your image.  It is great for bringing the texture of fur and feathers alive but can sometime be quite difficult to expose correctly.
• Soft Light – The easiest and most effective type of light you can hope for.  You get this kind of light on overcast days and it is perfect for general wildlife photography and macro images.

Should I shoot my wildlife images as landscapes or portraits?

It depends on what you are shooting. If you want to emphasize the height of a subject, like a giraffe or bird sitting on a branch, you could use portrait mode.  If you are shooting moving subjects running across a grassy plain you should use landscape as this will not only make it easier for you to keep up the subjects in the frame but it will also make it easier for you to leave some space in the frame into which the animals can move.  Another thought is that a lot of magazines and other publications prefer portrait images as it fits into their layout easier.  Bottom line, shoot  both and see which you like best.

How can I improve my wildlife photography?

Take more pictures, read books, learn more about your subjects, shoot with other photographers, look at other photographers work, take more pictures!  If you are worried about the technical side of your image take the time to learn more about the tech side of images, processing and printing.  If you are worried about the creative aspect of your photography – don’t!

This is the fun part of it and no one can tell you that you are right or wrong.   This takes us back to the first part of the answer – take more pictures, read books, learn more about your subjects, shoot with other photographers, look at other photographers work, take more pictures!  Look, learn and keep on shooting!

I have no doubt that if you were to ask this questions to ten different people you will get ten different answers, and you have to be careful who tell you how things should work rather than share ideas, but the info in this post has worked very well for me in the past.  As I said in the beginning, wildlife photography should, above everything else, be fun.  It is a special privilege to head out into the wild and create images of nature in action.  The moment you start taking it too seriously it starts to feel like work which can very quickly lead to frustration.  Frustration then leads to despondency which, as you can imagine, is not the most creative mindset.

By paying attention to the basics, learning from other people, shooting as much as possible and enjoying the process you will be well on your to creating good, even great, wildlife images.  Luck has most definitely got something to do with it but when you find yourself in one of those lucky positions you want to be sure that you know what to do to get the shot.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to comment or send me an email.  If there is enough interest I will add all these images together and do a post like this every now and then so we can keep on digging into the questions that can lead us all to creating better wildlife images.

If you have any questions please fire away.  If you need more inspiration and ideas go and check out the Links page where you will find links to many fantastic wildlife photographers.  Look at other people’s work, look for ideas, use the inspiration and go out and shoot your own images!

With that I am signing off as today’s ‘guest blogger’.

See ya tomorrow!

Gerry

Yesterday I was looking for a specific lion image when I noticed a couple of images which looked very similar.  The two images were shot about four years apart.  Different lions, different cameras, different light but very similar compositions.

Very similar hey?  Even down to the the flies on the same side of each lion’s face!  I never had any intention of shooting similar shots but it got me thinking about what we are actually looking for when we go out to photograph wildlife & nature.  Is it purely coincidence?  Does it stand to reason that of you spend enough time out in the field you will end up getting a few similar looking images or is there something more to it?  It is not perhaps something more?

I am sure that every photographer out there, whatever their preferred subject, has certain images in mind that they would still like to shoot.  Certain images you want to create. This is obviously a little easier, not much though, if you shoot in a studio but if you shoot wildlife & nature this becomes even more tricky.  I have quite a few images in mind that I would still love to be able to shoot, not for the lack of trying mind you.  Some of these images I have tried to capture again and again but I am still not happy with the results.  And then there seems to be a few images, like these two lion shots, that just seem to happen and repeat themselves.

I have quite a few of these repeats that keep on popping up every now and then and this got me thinking. What is it that makes us shoot the same images, the same composition without trying?  Is it a strong composition that you just cannot, should not let go or is it a lack of trying something new?  Is it a winning formula that works or a lack of creativity? Still not sure so look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Tomorrow is Thursday which normally means guest post day.  Not this week though.  The guest blogger I had lined up had to cancel due to personal reasons and I wish him and his wife good luck!  Exciting times but more on this when I get to introduce his guest post during the following couple of  weeks.  So, for tomorrow I will be doing a wildlife photography ‘guest’ post, still deciding what exactly, so make sure to pop in tomorrow!

See ya soon.

Gerry

It’s always an interesting exercise to go through my images to choose five for the slideshow.  Here are the images I chose for February and a few thoughts on each.

I shot this image almost two years ago.  It was a pretty quiet, overcast day out with not too many major photographic opportunities.  We stopped to have a look at and shoot some images of a group of zebra on the side of a road when they slowly started crossing.  The perfect leading line of the road immediately came into play and all we had to do was wait for the right moment.  This was one of the last animals to cross and after stopping for a split second moved off the road.  The overcast conditions made for a pretty easy exposure as full on sunlight would have made the road a lot brighter but in this case matrix metering did the job.

The Springbok is one animal I have not had the pleasure of photographing all that often but I was lucky enough to capture this image in the Namibrand Nature Reserve in Namibia.  This male was following a group of females and was moving parallel to us for quite some time.  Again, it turned in to a waiting game ad I waited for him to walk into an area where the background would not distract from the image.  He was walking on the base of a sand dune and even though he did not want to go and pose on the top of the dune I was able to click the shutter as he walked through this dry, grassy patch,  Love the texture of the grass and the flash of color on his side.  Namibia, definitely heading back there not too long from now.

I was not sure whether to use this image or not.  I reckon it is a very powerful image even though technically it is not quite up there.  I shot this at midday, in very harsh African sunlight, when Gavin Tonkinson, one of the contributing photographers on Photo-Africa, and I sat with these two brothers for almost the entire day.  They were hanging around an old wildebeest carcass and every now and then they would have a full on go at each other to get to the last bit of meat.  It was spectacular to watch a scene like this but because of the very strong shadows, from the midday sun, quite difficult to shoot.   We played around with many different angles, modes and exposures and in the end I still like this shot even with the harsh shadows.  If only we could have photographed this scene a little later in the day when the sun was closer to the horizon. Imagine nice golden light on the two angry lions faces.  Those eyes would have just came alive.  Oh well, I still like the image.   If only…

This is an image I shot almost four years ago and till today it is one of my personal favorites.  After watching a massive breeding herd of elephants browsing around our vehicle on a rainy afternoon, the matriarch decided it was time to go.  As one, they all started moving away from us.  The hazy conditions made for quite a moody scene and this image was the result.

I have not done a lot of macro photography.  I shot this image, of an Elegant Grasshopper, about three years ago.  That particular year there was millions of these colorful pests around.  It was one of the few times that we took quite a bit of time to photograph the smaller things even though it was hit and miss kind of stuff.  One of my goals for this year is to do a lot more macro photography, with some of the new toys I now have, so as a way to remind myself of that I decided to add this image to the slideshow as well.

Quite a diverse mix of images but that’s what wildlife photography should be all about.  Would love to hear your thoughts and which image you like the most.

More soon.

Gerry

White Rhino in Black & White

Male Lion in Black & White

To view more of or purcahse any of my images click here.

More soon.

Gerry

Intense Lion Portrait

Madikwe Game Reserve

Nikon D300, Nikon 80-200 @ 200mm, 1/60, f/2..8, ISO 1250

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This was another one of those great sighting, poor light situations.  The Kgala male, probably one of the best looking lions in the Madikwe Game Reserve, was giving us a fantastic roaring exhibition as the sun was going down. An absolutely awesome spectacle but capturing it is quite a challenge.  ISO up, shutter speed down and try your absolute best to hold still and shoot a few frames in between each powerful grunt when the cat holds still for a second to take a breath.  In order to get a little more light on the lion’s face I asked a second vehicle bounced a spotlight next to the big cat.  Full spotlight would have been too strong and unnatural so the little bit of extra light bouncing up from the ground was perfect.  Due to the low light conditions and high ISO the image could have been a bit sharper but I still like it.  For me this image works because of one thing – the eyes.  It’s all in the eyes.

More soon!

Gerry