Black and White Wildlife Photography

Throughout the ages, monochrome photography has been the mark of prestige. Since the earliest photographs were by default black and white, there is something quite nostalgic about a beautifully composed image set in the most basic of hues.

While wildlife photography is generally filled with colour, to capture the scene as it is, when the image is taken in monochrome colours, it takes on a powerful personality that instantly sets it apart from all of the thousands of other wildlife pictures out there. Wildlife photography, much like any other photography style, is used to convey a particular story and when the same image is taken in both colour and black and white, you can instantly feel the two emotions conveyed through the photo.

With colourful photos, there is generally quite a lot going on and this can be distracting when you want your audience to focus on one part of the image. Monochrome tends to bring the subject out more, and make them the focal point of the image. Black and white photography also tends to be quite mood and more than capable of picking up the finer details.

Then there is the artistic aspect of this style of photography. Nothing quite says artistic than an image shot in only two colours. The image can almost take on the form of a painting, especially when the other settings of your camera are tuned the right way. Blurred, moving images with a single prominent focus, can change the outcome of the photo, quickly turning it into a work of art.

A few tips to keep in mind

Once you’ve practiced your photography for a while and you know your camera, you could well be tempted to start exploring another side of your hobby. If monochrome is the next step for you, you might find these tips helpful:

1. Noise is okay. So don’t worry about a bit of blur or grain. The image is going to tell a story and sometimes, those imperfect photos are exactly what you need. With this style, it’s the perfect opportunity to be creative.
2. Use filters. There is a style of monochrome photography that is called spilt-tone, which incorporates some hues with the black and white image to create something that looks completely different.
3. Be bold with your textures and angles and take a different perspective to create something unique.
4. Choose a striking subject. As your image will be colour free, having a prominent subject is helpful and will ensure that the eye focuses on what you want the viewer to see.
5. Lighting is still important. Natural lighting will affect your photography, so make sure that you use the golden hour and shadows to your full advantage.

Black and white photography is a wonderful way to experiment and while your camera probably has a colour setting, to get the most out of your image, you might want to try shooting in colour and changing it during post-processing, until you get the comfortable shooting in black and white.  

With it being easier than ever before to own a great quality DSLR or advanced point and shoot camera, more amateur photographers have the tools to get out there and experience a field of photography that in the past was reserved for the pros.

Wildlife photography is anything but a walk in the park. It requires a certain skill that needs to be practiced again and again to get it just right, a good eye capable of quickly evaluating a scene to get that perfect angle, and a healthy dose of patience.

Not all wildlife images are going to catch your eye. This could be because the photographer is trigger happy and clicking away without much thought, hoping to capture something amazing. Or it could be because the photographer is missing a few of the basic skills necessary to bring the image to life.

Luckily, with the digital cameras of today, you have ample opportunity to play around and take as many blurring, uninspiring photos as you like. This is the only way you are really going to learn, and since you won’t be wasting film, you can click away until you have the basics down and your style sorted.

But in order to get you to the point that you can practice and take beautiful snaps as an amateur, we’re going to layout 5 things you need to know.

This is a topic that I get asked about a lot. Questions and statements like “Do I need to buy a new lens for this safari?”, “I have weight limits on luggage and I can not bring my gear along”, “ I don’t have the right equipment”, “it’s too expensive to buy a long focal length lens for a safari” etc.

Now we have the perfect solution for you and that is to rent the photographic equipment you need for you safari directly here by us. This means you can get the latest and greatest equipment for your safari and it safes you all those hassles of carrying and transporting all that heavy equipment and you don’t need to spend thousands on new gear just for one safari in Africa!

We work with a company here in South Africa that provides us with all the photographic equipment we need and thus all you have to me is what equipment you would like to use on your safari and Ill come back to you with an offer for the rentals. Ill also give you advice on what the best options will be for your safari. Once booked and payed for you can rest assured that once you arrive in South Africa your equipment will be ready and waiting for you to get those photos you have always dreamt off.

We will take care of receiving and returning the equipment thus you have nothing to worry about other than enjoying your experience with us.

We do recommend you bring you own SD cards so that you can take them home once finished with the safari.

Kruger National Park

Where 2 million hectares of unrivalled diversity of life forms comes together with a rich history and archaeology. This is real untamed Africa where animals still can roam freely and continue with life as they did hundreds of years ago. The Kruger National park offers incredible wildlife sightings and ranks as one of the best in Africa.

The Kruger National Park is the largest protected area in South Africa and one of the largest in the world. Covering nearly 2000000 hectares it incorporates large number of ecosystems that in it’s turn supports a vast number of living organisms. In the north it’s bordered by the Limpopo river and in the south by the Crocodile river. In the east it forms the boundary between South Africa and Mozambique following the Lebombo mountains, and in the west its bordered by community land and private game reserves.

The story of the KNP started many moons ago when Gold was discovered on the escarpment. With the discovery of Gold in 1869 in the Lydenburg district. A lot of people flocked to this area and along with them came also the big game hunters. By 1884 President of the Transvaal, Paul Kruger, suggested a game sanctuary that would protect the fast disappearing wildlife in this area, however he was not met with enthusiasm as at that stage wildlife was seen as plentiful and a burden to farmers. Finally, in 1898 two game reserves were proclaimed to protect the wildlife namely the sabie reserve in the south between the sabie river and the crocodile river and the shingwedzi game reserve in the north. This was where it all started, however it was only in 1926 that it was officially proclaimed as the Kruger National Park when land between the two game reserves was acquired to make it one big area. It was decided to name it after the late president who had the vision to create it in the first place when no one else even thought about the idea. In 1927 saw the first visitors to the park and since then the park had it’s ups and downs, but has stood the test of time and today we have one of the greatest parks in the world with many other conservation areas looking to Kruger Park as a leading role player in conservation.

The KNP probably has the best infrastructure for tourists of all parks in Africa and offers some of the best game viewing opportunities on this continent. The park offers huge diversity in terms of ecosystems, wildlife and birdlife.

Why choose to go to the Kruger National Park?

The Kruger National Park is a must for everyone. Just the diversity alone is already enough reason. There are very view places in Africa where you have the chance to see the Big 5 in one morning! This does not happen everyday however if you stay more than one day you are very likely to tick them all off. Then we haven’t even touched all the other species. The reason this is possible is because of all the different landscapes the KNP has and all these support different types of wildlife. Different seasons will dictate where animals move to and because we have the freedom to move around the whole park we can follow where these animals move where as in others reserves you are stuck within their boundaries and when the animals move away your chances of seeing them also diminish.

Tourism has been in the park from 1927 and since then the number of visitors to the park has increased. Some people might see this as a negative however this is not the case. Because of all the visitors to the park, the animals here have become very habituated to vehicles and this allows us to get very close to the animals while they continue with their daily lives as normal. This presents us with some of the best photographic opportunities. The animals also have the freedom to move away when if they wish to and are not continuously being harassed by vehicles. This is a big positive as we strive to keep this park as natural as possible and allow animals to live their lives as free and stress free as possible.

The KNP is one of the best places for bird watching and boasts an incredible amount of species for the size of the park. With more than 500 different species recorded you will not be disappointed! The best time for birding is from November to March. This is when all the migrants, together with all the residents, are here. With all the birders from the world visiting the park we have learned where to find the rarities and we are constantly being updated on where to find “special” birds that are not common or are vagrants.

The best way to experience the KNP is to stay in one of the rest camps in the park. From here one can leave the camp early in the morning without having to enter from one of the outside gates. It is very common to find predators that are still on the road when leaving camp early or before gate closing time in the afternoon. The camps themselves are a bird watchers paradise during the day and at night a lot of the nocturnal mammal and bird species also emerge in camp and this gives you the perfect opportunity to observe them. We always love to do a traditional South African braai in the evenings around a campfire where we tell stories and visit the memories of the day’s sightings again all the while hyenas or lions can be heard in the back ground. Hyenas often visit the camp fence where they come and look for food and this is a very nice opportunity to view them from close by!

Come and visit the KNP and let us show you why we love Africa and most people who visit us once, can not help but to come back again and again!

Africa is in all of our blood and the Kruger National Park is ready to get that blood pumping through your veins and you will connect with mother nature like never before!!

I will leave you with this quote from Richard Mullin:

The only man I envy, is the man who has not yet been to Africa, for he has so much to look forward to.

Welcome to Wild Photo Africa

Always dreamt of coming to Africa to experience and photograph all what nature has to offer? Look no further as we want to make it happen for you. Doesn’t matter if you are a professional, amateur or a hobby photographer or if you just want to experience wild Africa, we cater for anyone!

We are a small intimate photographic safari company based in Nelspruit, South Africa. We pride ourselves of being a photographic safari specialist in the world famous Kruger National Park and surrounding private game reserves.

We offer photographic safari packages as well as standard safari packages and we are certain you will find something that will suite your needs with us.

We also offer customized safaris where you can tell us what you are looking for and we will present an offer to you that will fit all your specific needs. The custom build safaris is by far our best selling option and that is because every person is different and has different expectations and needs. We take everything into account and create the safari of a lifetime!

We also conduct day trips to the Kruger National Park from all the towns and gates around the southern region of the Kruger National Park for those who only have limited time available and would like to visit the park.

Private Guided Safaris across all the Southern African countries are also available on request. Just let us know where you want to go, and we will make it happen.

All our game drives are done in an Open Safari Vehicle that meets all the legal requirements to operate in our National Parks. Our Open Safari vehicle is custom build with photographers in mind thus giving you a panoramic open view. If you join us on a photographic safari you will also have the use of bean bags for camera support as well as a professional photographic guide that will assist you with camera settings, general tips and because our guides are highly experienced and know animal behaviour they will get you ready and in position to capture those amazing moments you have always dreamt off.

Cameras, lenses, support systems can all be rented through us upon request. This make life a lot easier when traveling as you don’t need to bring along all your equipment. We collect and return all rentals thus making it hassle free.

We love Africa and we want you to experience what we are so privileged to experience daily.  Come and let us show you our Africa!!

Please browse through our website or any of our social media platforms to see what we are up to and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Kind Regards

Mario Paul

Owner / Photographic & Nature Guide

The Equipment included on a Private Photographic Safari

• We have our own Open Safari Vehicle which is a Toyota 3.00 d4-d Hilux that has been converted into a photographic game viewer. The vehicle is compliant to all regulations pertaining road safety and Kruger National Park regulations.
• The vehicle is open all around thus giving photographers the freedom to take photos in all directions. The vehicle has a roof as per regulations however this has major advantages when it comes to hot summer days and rainy weather. The vehicle also has a fold up Perspex front screen to protect our guest from flying objects and extreme weather conditions. This screen easily folds up and gives our photographers a clear view out the front.
• The vehicle is equipped with bean bags which can be used at any time to stabilize your camera.
• We also have a power point on the vehicle to charge camera batteries while we are on drive.
• Binoculars to use for the duration of the safari.
• Kruger National Park Map & Info Book
• Reusable Water Bottle that can be filled up from the water tank on the vehicle to reduce the use of plastic waste (Available free of charge to guests booking overnight photographic safaris with us).
• Professional Photographic Safari Guide that will get you in the positions you need to be and will give tutoring on the vehicle while on drive where it is needed.
• Hotbox with coffee and Tea