Make it count!

Opportunities can be few and far between in photography, so when one does come along it’s worth giving it everything you’ve got

- Tom Mason

An hour flight over the Okavango Delta, one of the most impressive landforms in the world, would, on the surface, seem to be an enjoyable experience. The window seat allowing for some amazing views of the intertwining water courses and a patchwork of wild, untouched landscape: it’s a feast for the eyes. I’ve been looking forward to this moment ever since I was first asked to head out to Botswana for a shoot, but as a photographer with a job to do, it’s bloomin’ stressful!

Working overseas is often one of the only times I feel the pressure of time on my work. In the UK, I can almost always spend weeks and months planning and refining shoots, working a location, and rearranging my schedule to get the shots. When away, however, a limited time frame and a pre-planned itinerary shift that working process to one where, in order to get the best from a shoot, you need to be working at 110% every second. Often you’ll only have one shot at a certain, er, shot, so make it count.