September 2020 - April 2021
The Photography Assistant position at African Impact in the Greater Kruger Area in South Africa combined many passions of mine: Photography, Africa, Wildlife, Teaching and Adventures. So I said yes in a blink when the Photography Manager Sam Cox offered me to come back to the project I participated in April 2018 myself!
I gave courses on the creative and technical parts of wildlife photography in the realm of ethical wildlife conservation. My task was to give photographical guidance and to make sure that everyone from the group would feel comfortable at all times. The first few weeks were quite intimidating but I quickly learned to love (almost) every minute of these incredible months.
My favorite task was leading the biweekly camping trip in the Greater Kruger. We always had one afternoon game drive, set up camp, had dinner and then headed out for a night drive which was a great chance to see all the nocturnal animals. Most nights, when the participants weren’t too tired, we would also do astro photography, which was an absolute treat to do in the african bush. Spending the night in a tent, hearing hyenas, lions, elephants and leopards while looking at the starry night is something I will never forget. At 4.30 am we already woke up again and headed out for a morning drive. This was the perfect time to find all the species that spend the night hunting and were now looking for a place to rest while the hot african sun lasted during the day.
