Tag Archives: portrait

Stop the horror

Conservation, , , , , , , , ,

Dear all,

Today marks World Rhino Day and I am amongst the first ones to agree that the horror has to stop. The injustice being done to these animals is just sickening (I talked about this in an earlier post).  As photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, we can do our bit in trying to stop the horror and the slaughter of these beautiful animals. Over the last few months I have developed quite a strong opinion on this though, being that photographers and conservationists have to STOP SHOWING THE HORROR to actually make it stop. Let me explain this. It is a known fact that in situations of genocide, because of being confronted with extreme violence, people get used to this violence and both perpetrators and victims start accepting it, up to the point where the victims start accepting they actually have to die.

I strongly believe that a similar thing happens in the mind of the general public when being continuously confronted with rhino horror shots. Because of this confrontation people actually start to think about the rhino as an animal, lying dead on the ground, bading in a pool of blood, with the horn cut off and a calf to its side, … I know it happens, we all do, yet keeping on showing the horror will not make a difference, on the contrary! The perpetrators don’t care anyway and the general public gets tired of these shots while slowly, slowly getting used to the species being extinct as early as 2025 (which could be the case if poaching goes on at today’s pace).

So, if we want to make a difference, we have to stop showing the horror and show more of the beauty of this animal and the environment it lives in, this way bringing people on board by showing them what they are fighting for. While doing this, we have to keep on telling the truth and spreading awareness about the plight of the rhino, … by doing so, I believe we can bring more people on board in the fight against poaching and ultimately be of more use to those beautiful animals out there.

Canon 7D, Canon 300 mm f/4 L IS USM, 1/640, f/5.0, ISO 800

In case you are with me on this one, then please spread this message as widely as possible!

Warm regards and talk to you soon,

Guy

 

Nothing comes for free

Photographic journey, Quicky, Tips & tricks, , , , , , , ,

Dear all,

After spending Easter on Lamu Island, another quicky to share some more good news, with one of my shots appearing on the National Geographic site, in the company of, amongst others, some Art Wolfe shots, check it out here. Definitely not something I would have thought one year ago. And don’t get me wrong here, this is not the reason for going out there and getting the shots (some nice thoughts by Gerry van der Walt on this subject, can be found here), yet it are nice little pushes that keep you going in the right direction, to get out there and get the shots, to keep on sharing your work, … since also in photography, these things don’t just happen. Nothing comes for free and one needs to interact and share to get his/her work out there.

That being said, I want to leave you with a buffalo shot. The buffalo is a species which I find difficult to photograph. I guess we all have our species, the ones which we can relate to and the ones we don’t seem to get right. Do you? This is a buffalo shot I am happy with and the ingredients to get it were a prime lens combined with a close encounter, forcing me to frame differently.

Canon 7D, Canon 300mm f/4 L IS USM, 1/13, f/4, ISO 1600

Have a great week,

Guy