Guest Post: ‘Shooting Africa in Black and White’ by Gerry van der Walt
Wildlife photography is widely regarded as one of the more challenging forms of the craft. Apart from sound technical skills to help you deal with challenging lighting conditions you also need a great deal of patience and luck.
The reality is that you will not always get the shot you want. Sorry, but you won’t. That’s [...]
Guest Post: ‘Wildlife Photography Q&A’ by Gerry van der Walt
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 [...]
Guest Post: ‘It Never Hurts to Have a Dream’ by David Lloyd
Someone once remarked to me the pointlessness of storing pictures on computers after taking them. I did this for a long time. Then I used my other skills to make a website to show them to other people. Then suddenly with that, a Flickr account, and a Facebook fan page I’ve had an unexpected number [...]
Blog: David Lloyd Wildlife & Travel Photography
I originally discovered David Lloyd’s site after ‘meeting’ him on Twitter and I am very glad I did.
David is a New Zealand born photographer living in the UK and after traveling to Africa, and other countries, has been able to put together a fantastic portfolio of wildlife & nature images.
When visiting David’s blog you will not [...]
Guest Post: ‘The Photo Safari Business’ by Shem Compion
Gerry asked me to pen a few thoughts about the photo safari business. The more I thought about it, the harder it became. Firstly I don’t know where to start, and once I do get started, I won’t know when to end- there is so much to talk about. I tried making a video to [...]
It’s Not a Wild Wolf
The winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year has been disqualified.
At the end of last year questions were raised about the authenticity of the winning image. You can check out this post for a little more background info but the short version is that the authenticity of the image was questioned. Was the wolf [...]
Guest Post: ‘A Time to Reflect’ by Greg du Toit
I once read a now obscure book or article on success. It advised that one should take time to reflect on the successes along life’s path no matter how big or small they may be. Seemingly, by way of cerebral osmosis, this notion was archived in my long-term memory. Now, years later, two recent achievements [...]
Honesty in Wildlife Photography
I recently looked through this year’s winning and highly commended images when I paged through Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 19. By looking through the images in this coffee table book you can see why the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the ultimate competition for wildlife photographers around the globe. The wildlife [...]
New Images Added: Gerry van der Walt
I have just added 11 new images to the Photo-African Stock Library.
Male Lion in Sepia by Gerry van der Walt
Elephant Close Up by Gerry van der Walt
To view more of or purchase any of my images click here.
More soon.
Gerry
Guest Post: ‘Photography Ethics’ by Albie Venter
My personal approach to photography is a very conservation orientated one. I enjoy documenting interesting aspects of nature and then communicating this to others. Even Lodge Photography, the more commercial side of my photography is focused on Game Lodges in natural areas. By photographing these places I hope to create images that would draw people [...]
Cropping Wildlife Images
A big thanks to Pieter Pretorius for his guest post and video yesterday.
I was lucky enough to to meet Pieter last year when I did a drive for WildEarth TV. He is truly one of the nicest people you can imagine and his passion for what he does shines through in his images. Personally I [...]
Don’t Compare
A big thanks to Marius Coetzee for his post, Photographing Leopards, from yesterday. Some great images of one of Africa’s most elusive cats. Great inspiration.
The post, and images, got me thinking though. Wildlife photography is a a very interesting beast and the way in which people react to images makes for a lot of very [...]
Use the Light
What do you think when you are out photographing wildlife?
I am not referring to arbitrary thoughts which tend to linger on the upcoming drinks stop or the size of the other guy’s lens but the actual thoughts about the image you are shooting. When you look through the viewfinder and you have locked your focus [...]
Book: Wildlife. Photography. And everything in between.
This is not only a book review but also includes some shameless self promotion!
I have just completed an updated edition of ‘Wildlife. Photography. And everything in between.’ The book, which I self published through Blurb, now consists of 198 pages and features well over 200 African wildlife & nature images taken during a [...]
Why Do You Do It?
Why do we keep on taking pictures of animals?
I mean, you can only have so many images of a zebra. They all look the same anyway. Well, that if you believe a person I heard on a game viewer vehicle a few days ago.
No really. What is it that keeps some of us picking up [...]
You Have To See This
No, not my shot. Although I wish it was!
The above image is one of the entries pulled from the 2009 National Geographic Photography contest in the category Predator vs. Prey. There are some absolutely mind blowing images so if you have 5 minutes to kill click here or on the above image to [...]
The Goal is to Improve. Not Change.
The processing of wildlife images remain a highly debated subject. Yes or no? If yes, how much?
Recently I was asked how a specific wildlife photograph could be processed in Photoshop or Lightroom in order to improve it. Wait!! Before we all get excited and start arguing the rights and wrongs of processing wildlife images stick [...]
New Images Added: Morkel Erasmus
Morkel Erasmus has uploaded new images to the Photo-Africa Stock Library.
Cheetah in Gold by Morkel Erasmus
Hyena Den by Morkel Erasmus
To view more of or purcahse any or Morkel’s images click here.
More soon.
Gerry
A Thought on Ethics
What is that makes us wake up early in the morning with camera in hand and head out into the wild places of Africa?
To me there is no doubt that wildlife photography is a way to show the beauty of nature and, hopefully, create an awareness of Africa’s natural heritage. And, of course, it’s great [...]
New Images Added: Gerry van der Walt
I have just added new images to the Photo-Africa Stock Library.
Naughty Cub by Gerry van der Walt
Flehmen Grimace by Gerry van der Walt
I must confess it has been a long while since I uploaded images to the Stock Library. Reason? Not sure. Not enough time. Busy with hospitality shoots. Trying to get my two sites [...]
Daily Photo: Wild Dog Dance
Wild Dog Dance
Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
(Nikon D300, Sigma 50-500 @ 117mm, 1/640, f/6.3, ISO 640)
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Found this image while I was busy transferring the blog to Wordpress. A few months ago we sat watching a large pack of Wild Dogs after they killed a kudu. After they finished their meal the younger dogs entertained us [...]
Working the Histogram in Wildlife Photography
The histogram is a graphical representation of the tonal range (exposure) of an image. If you shoot with a digital camera you will be able to check the histogram of every image as soon as you have clicked the shutter. This is one of the most helpful tools you can use in the field.
The far [...]
Which Mode Should I Use?
One of the most asked questions out in the field must be “Which mode should I be using?”
It depends on what you want your image to show. The story you want to tell or the action you want to capture. If you always shoot in Auto or Program mode you are allowing the camera to [...]
Wildlife Photography as Fine Art
When you look around at books and the internet you find a lot of reference to ‘fine art photography’. This is all fine and well but what exactly is this and can wildlife photography be classified as such?
Let’s start by looking at what can be seen as fine art. To keep it pretty plain and [...]
