Pangolins are child’s play compared to trying to photograph this shy Kalahari creature, the Aardwolf!
During almost 5 months in the @tswalu Kalahari Reserve I only had two encounters with this elusive animal, both lasting less less than 1 minute. Despite being a close relative of hyenas, the aardwolf feed only on insects. Using their long sticky tongue, a single animal can consume up to 250,000 termites per night.
I savored each second in its presence and did what I could in such a short time to make the photograph as interesting as possible. Despite ending up not quite compelling enough to make it into the final selection for my @natgeo story, it nonetheless is a precious reminder of my time in the Kalahari.
Shot on assignment for @natgeo with @tswalufoundation and @k.e.e.p_kalahari_project_#kalahari#aardwolf#tswalu#photographer#southafrica#wildlifephotography#lightening
Moths race across the night sky as a thunderstorm discharges lightening across the arid savannah landscape. More than 220 species of moth are found in the @Tswalu Kalahari Reserve and some take flight after the first rains soften the soils, releasing adults from their buried cocoons.
This was NOT an easy photograph to make and for a long time I did not know how to bring this unusual scene to life. Finally, I decided on 5 second exposures to try to capture the lightening while my assistant @ottowhitehead using a powerful torch to light paint grasses and a small camethorn tree in the foreground. A head torch positioned right above the lens hood provided the illumination needed to capture the flight trails of the moths. We did this for about an hour until this image popped up on my LCD.
At the same time @aconservationstory from the @tswalufoundation kept watch so that I would not end up a snack to a curious lion.
Shot on assignment for @natgeo working @tswalufoundation
Check out my new @natgeo story ‘The Edge of Survival’ in the August 2021 issue of National Geographic Magazine.
#kalahari#moths#tswalu#photographer#southafrica#wildlifephotography#lightening