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A Few Tips to Enhance your Wildlife Photography in the Okavango:
If you are shooting wildlife with a long lens, be sure to use a fast shutter speed. One of the most common errors I see among workshop participants is an image that is not quite sharp, caused by either camera shake with a telephoto lens or subject movement. Shoot at 1/1000 of a second or faster if you can, and try and brace your long lens for maximum stability.
Get to know your subjects. By observing their behaviour, you can better anticipate key moments such as when a bird will take flight or a lioness greets her cub. A call, a movement or gesture, a glance or flick of a tail, these can all be clues to some action that is about to take place.
Be prepared. Anything can happen at any time. Have your camera out and ready to shoot or you may miss the moment. You never know what lies just around the next corner!
Be patient. Spending time at any wildlife sighting will richly reward you with images of unique behaviour and interesting interactions amongst the animals. Many of my finest wildlife images were made by just being patient.
While it is exciting to get great close-up shots of wildlife, be sure to take some images that include the beauty of the surrounding
environment. You can get a full frame shot of an elephant’s
face at a zoo, but the stunningly unique environment of the Okavango will enhance your photos and add beauty and depth to your pictures. These are some of my favourite images to try and capture.
a civet cat. Owls, from the mighty giant eagle, right down to the tiny scops, wake up from their daytime sleep and start calling, as their sharp eyes search the darkening tree canopy for food. Hyena and other large predators often use the cover of darkness to hunt for their prey.
The African night skies here are so dark, and the stars so bright and clear, that this is arguably one of the most magnificent locations in the world for stargazing. The milky way, traditionally known here as the “backbone of the sky,” seems to come alive with beauty and previously unseen detail.
Whether on land or water, in the air or after dark, there are so many different ways to explore this spectacular environment, be sure to take advantage of all you can!
Above inset: A secretive male Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii) emerges from the tall reeds to feed in an open marshy area of the Okavango.
Facing page above: A Red Lechwe (Kobus leche) demonstrates just how quick and agile it can be crossing the floodplains of the Okavango.
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