What motivated you to become a wildlife photographer and to then move away from taking more standard images to concentrate on documenting some of the most hard-core conservation issues?
I was privileged to be introduced at an early age to the wilds of the Zimbabwean bushveld by my parents, in particular by my father who was also an avid black-and-white photographer. (Never underestimate the value of positive encouragement from a parent or a role model!) We would spend days following rhinos or herds of buffalo or sable and it was these experiences that sparked a lifelong passion for conservation and introduced me to the art of photography. My love of the outdoors eventually determined my career and a camera has always been at hand to capture opportunities that present themselves.
It was, however, while working in the Kalahari that I began to realise that rather than simply taking easy-to-achieve record shots of species or places in nice lighting, I needed to create images that were more artistic and evocative. I wanted images to tell a story that grabbed people’s attention, not only showing the beauty and diversity of life, but also highlighting the real challenges and complexities being faced.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
