Shot for the Day (03 March 2018)

March 3, 2018 | Zapfly

This is a shot from the Serengeti in north west Tanzania. There were a load of people standing around the scene, so I found a knoll next to the small body of water that elevated me just above the height of the foliage. The water was full of hippopotamuses and crocodiles, which was another reason I wanted to put some height between me and them.

Several tourists stood perilously close to the edge of the water, even though they had been expressly told by their guide not to do so, putting them in the perfect position for a croc to grab a late snack. I kept my camera poised for an action shot…

Shot for the Day (12 March 2017)

March 12, 2017 | Zapfly

Believe it or not, this is late spring / early summer in Ushuaia. You can just make out the city across the Beagle Channel to the right on the coast. The clouds rolled in from the south (which in this case, the next landmass is Antartica) and it started to snow (this would be like late May in Europe). We were on a yacht and the boat was at a constant 30 degree angle as we sped across the waves back to town. It was unbelievably cold and all of the passengers were required to stay on deck.

On the plus side, the wildlife we had travelled over to see did not seem to care about the impending storm.

Shot for the Day (15 August 2015)

August 15, 2015August 16, 2015 | Zapfly

This afternoon, I went for a walk on the wilder side of Singapore. In the centre of the island, there is a slither of nature called MacRitchie Reservoir Park. Just south of Upper Pierce Reservoir, there is a tree top walk, which in effect is a narrow suspension bridge, just wide enough for someone to traverse across the rooftop of the jungle below.

Lining the side of the bridge were many monkeys. They were generally quite skittish but the character in the image above was more than a little bold. I had a wide angle lens on my camera, meaning he was sat within an arm’s length from me when I took this shot.

Shots from the archive: Namibia

March 26, 2013 | Zapfly

Several years ago, I spent a couple of weeks on the road in Namibia. This was before digital photography had taken off (still prohibitively expensive), so I was armed with my trust Canon T90 and long lens as I intended to shoot wildlife photography. However, on day 2 of my 15 day trip, whilst I sat in Etosha Park waiting for the animals and lighting conditions to align at the watering hole, my camera electrics suffered a catastrophic meltdown (literally) at the hands of the African midday sun.

All I had left was a £20 Lubitel 6×6 camera, 10 roles of Fuji Provia and my father’s 40 year old light meter As it turned out, that was all I needed. Over a decade later and I still love the analogue nature of these shots, all captured on a camera with a super cheap lens.