Kruger Sightings

Over and again, over the years, South Africa’s Kruger National Park has drawn me back to its wide open spaces, its hills and plains, and its plentiful wildlife. Trawling through my photographs from these many visits, I am struck by the wonderful sightings my family and I have had, of creatures great and small. And I am reminded, too, of that special sense of excitement, freedom, boundless curiosity, sheer bliss, that you get when you are bouncing along a track in an open Land Rover, scenting the air, feeling the morning chill on your skin as you enter a dip, scouring the bush, keeping an eye on the skies for birds or for that elusive leopard up a tree, watching the dirt road for animal tracks and dung and other signs of life.

The exercise of going back through the archives has been interesting from another perspective, too - seeing how my own photographic practice has evolved over time, as I have adapted and grown, screwed up (too many times to mention!) and learned.

So here are a few of my favourite images from the Kruger Park, taken at different times and with different equipment, from a pretty basic DSLR to my current Nikon D500 and 200 - 500mm lens. But I can tell you this much, from experience - while having the right equipment certainly makes a difference, in the final analysis it’s the photographer, not the gear, that makes for a good wildlife photograph, or a bad one.

Not to mention timing and luck!