Articles on Africa, wildlife and photography
I have a friend, a dear friend, who is constantly taking photographs. In fact she drives me nuts. No event is allowed to pass un-photographed; whether it’s a visit to the beach, a barbecue or just dinner, she always has her camera in our faces. To be fair, she has a good eye and some of her images are really[…]
Read more“It seems abundantly obvious to me … the rhino horn trade has been banned for 35 years, yet rhinos are still highly threatened and on the brink of extinction.” Click here to read the full article from South Africa’s Mail & Guardian
Read moreThe poaching of rhino horns and lion bones feeds a massive “millennium-old” industrial market in Southeast Asia, in countries such as China and Vietnam – and there is no way to stop it, except by legalising trade. This is the view of wildlife economist Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes and of insiders in the “legal” lion bone trade. Click here to read[…]
Read moreBotswana denied claims by Survival International that it plans to evict hundreds of Bushmen from their land to make way for a wildlife park. Click here to read the story from SA’s Times Live
Read moreThe majority of photographs taken in game parks are – naturally enough, taken from game vehicles. With larger mammals, like elephants, this is not a problem as you are at an ideal height to photograph them, but with smaller animals, and especially with cats that are lying around on the ground, you will frequently find yourself looking down on them.[…]
Read moreTo celebrate Africa day on the anniversary of the birth of the Organisation of African Unity, 25 May 1963, The Guardian newspaper has put together this quiz. No Googling now:
Read moreDon’t waste your time being jealous of the long telephoto lenses you see poking out of other vehicles, learn to make the best use of of the equipment you have, familiarity with your equipment will pay dividends time and time again. A close up is not always the best shot. While some close up shots work really well, even more[…]
Read moreKenya’s National Assembly has urged the Chinese government to demonstrate its true friendship by not buying ivory from the country. click here to read David Mwere’s article in The Star.
Read moreHere’s a transcript of the SA Government press release. In a bid to curb the ongoing rhino poaching, Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC, Vusi Shongwe has called on authorities from neighbouring countries such as Mozambique and Swaziland to help in this regard. Shongwe was addressing members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature during an oral reply session on Tuesday,[…]
Read moreSome encouragingf news from Kenya. Deputy President William Ruto has said that the government will fast-track the Wildlife Bill to make the killing of the Big Five to a capital offence. Click here to read the story from Captial FM News
Read moreThere’s a reason why most game drives take place in the early morning and late afternoon – and it’s nothing to do with photography. It is the heat. Africa gets pretty hot during the middle of the day so most predators are either active during the night or in the early hours of morning and just as the sun is[…]
Read moreIt is something that cannot be over stressed. If you know a bit about the animals you are trying to photograph you can significantly improve your chances of getting great photographs. It’s not just knowing where to look but also what to expect. Often their movements or attitude will give clues as to what they are going to do next.[…]
Read moreThis series of blogs looks at the art of taking wildlife photos and some of the things you can do to ensure that your safari photographs are out of the ordinary. Expectations Running wildlife safaris throws up all sorts of challenges but one of the toughest to deal with is client expectations. With so much top quality wildlife photography[…]
Read moreCome on Kenya, let’s make it happen. Kenya MPs will today be requested to approve an emergency amendment to the Wildlife Act. The ammendement proposes raising penalties for killing elephants to up to 15 years in jail and/or a fine of Sh10 million (USD1.1m). These penalties are equivalent to those under the Economic Crimes Act, the Organised Crime Act and[…]
Read moreAccording to the UN, armed groups in central Africa are using powerful weapons, some of which may be left over from the civil war in Libya, to kill elephants for their ivory, the United Nations said on Monday. In a report to the U.N. Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said elephant poaching was a growing security concern, particularly in[…]
Read more“Rhino horn is made of the same stuff as human nails. Still want some?” Conservation organisations WWF and TRAFFIC are running a series of myth-busting adverts aimed at encouraging Vietnamese citizens to stop buying or consuming rhino horn. Click here to read the story from SouthAfrica.info
Read moreWith the number of rhinos poached increasing despite government efforts, could legalising the trade in rhino horn solve the problem? It’s controversial and the main impetus for legalisation is coming from South Africa but is it a viable solution? We don’t know the answer but one thing is certain; if we are going to save this magnificent mammal we need[…]
Read moreSome good news at last. Although it would be foolish to believe that the amount of illegal wildlife products seized represents anything more than a fraction of the total trade, the investigations and seizures in Beijing and elsewhere in the country are a positive demonstration of the seriousness of China’s strengthened commitment to fighting illegal wildlife trade. Click here to[…]
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