TAKING FLIGHT

Hi First name / everyone, I hope you are having an amazing August!? I am sending this newsletter out a week early as I am about to head to the Masai Mara with guest. While I can't wait to share some photographs from Kenya with you soon, the days are a little bit too jam packed to edit any of them! So this month I wanted to share with you some images from the Okavango Delta, but not any old images; images shot from the air!

 

This month is a double threat as I also got a few rolls of film developed when I was in Cape Town last month. I hope you enjoy these fleeting moments shot on a 58 year old camera. Thank you as always for viewing and feel free to forward this to your friends! Here is #38! 

 

- William

In my opinion no trip to the Okavango delta is complete without experiencing it from the air! While it isn't a cheap experience, from this elevated vantage point you are able to see how this intricate and unique eco system works, and really take in the remote nature of your visit. Never mind the amazing photography opportunities, making it well worth the extra cost. 

 

I recently had the opportunity to get up in the air in conjunction with Helicopter Horizons and try and capture the beauty of our wildlife from the sky. Here are a few of my favourite images from an amazing scenic flight from Shinde over the Okavango Delta, I hope you enjoy them!

For those who have been following my newsletter for some time, or have been with me on safari, you may know my love/hate relationship with film photography. Maybe thats why I keep shooting film, a desire to challenge myself to think differently and accept imperfection! Easier said than done…

 

In the beginning of 2022 I got two rolls of film developed. The rolls of film had been filled very slowly and deliberately over the space of six months, and I made sure each and every moment was perfect. I was so excited to get it developed, but, to my dismay, my camera had a fault, meaning that not one single image was even recognisable! It has taken me over a year to get over that! Finally, at the start of this year, I picked my film camera up again and loaded some Portra 400 colour film. 

 

This time I took a different approach; shoot more, and enjoy it! When I started shooting film again a few years ago, I wanted it to be a fun way of doing photography without me classifying it as “work”. I wanted it to be an exciting offshoot for my creativity. So it was definitely time to go back to that. While none of these images are “wow”, I must admit I really enjoyed going through them, and can't wait to see what I get from the Masai Mara!

RECENT HIGHLIGHT

Recently, after a week on the Chobe river with guests, a joke was made along the lines of “I don't need to see another elephant for the rest of my life”. While the statement was made in jest, it highlights a major bonus of photographing in the same area and repeatedly seeing a subject. That bonus being; that after you have got the “safety shots” you can start experimenting with different focal lengths, angles, positioning and techniques! As a result, learning and creating at the same time.

 

Recently I have been experimenting with wider lenses. These next few images were all shot with a Sigma 24-70mm, and I hope they demonstrate how different the same scene can look in the space of just a few minutes with a bit of creativity in the way you shoot. 

Thank you as always for reading and I cannot wait to here what you think of this months newsletter! Newsletter #39 coming soon, so make sure you have signed up to the next one!

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