Wholesale Zimbabwe...

The Trip...

"Have you ever landed up a hill?" The impact of the questions and the pilot's twinkling mishevious smile were lost on me as I peered enthralled out of the window at the fields of verdant green tea scattered below me.  As the question sunk in I managed to splutter a weak "huh" and jerk my head forward just in time to witness us landing, indeed uphill, on the slopes of Ratelshook airstrip near Chipingi.

The distracting view of Ratelshoek Tea Estates, grab shot taken with my iPhone.

I am on the last of my 3 day whirl around the country with Miles Peech and his team from Metro Peech and Browne Wholesalers, with 7 stores already under our belt we are touching down to photograph our 7th before lifting off to our final destination, Mutare. 

The Brief...

I am helping Metro Peech and Browne (lets shorten that to MPB to save my fingers and keyboard) develop a stock library of their stores, staff and products which they can use for their website, social media and print campaigns and I am having an absolute ball. Because of the tight nature of the schedule, 10 stores in 3 days, all the store managers were super organised and as a result the stores and staff looked fantastic which made my job all the more pleasurable.

The brief was simple, capture the stores and the services as much as possible but more so concentrate on getting great shots of the staff who are the lifeblood of the organisation. However, cautioned the brief, don't make them look too like stock images, these are our staff and they should look happy and proud! With this in mind off we went in our Cessna 208.

The staff...

Due to the pre-warning the staff all looked rather dapper and were all very keen to have their photography taken (who wouldn't?), all I had to do was concentrate on the photography stuff and make sure the MPB branding was visible and things like name tags etc looked good. So the challenge really came in the form of making sure the staff looked good in their environment, even when dusting the store or working the till.

My brief also stipulated that where possible I should get a good mix of close shots of staff engaging the camera (like above and top) as well as a variety of full length shots both engaging the camera as well as working, like below.

The soccer teams...

Being on a shoot and working with people who are friendly and willing to pose is an absolute pleasure so as you can imagine we ended up with a lot of staff images in the bag. But nothing quite compared to the excitement, pride and jubilation when it was announced we would like to photograph the store's soccer team. Nothing brings people together quite like the shared passion for a sport, even if its for a few minuets in the middle of a work dat for a photograph!

The stores...

The same can be said for the stores, except for the smiles and abject willingness of course. Each Store Manager ensured that everything was clean and the shelves stocked and packed well which again made my job a pleasure. The only snag was. luckily for MPB, the masses of shoppers going about their daily business. All the stores were busy and this made getting the shots I wanted a test of my patience, luckily I have a little left! 

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A 360 degree panoramic of Chiredzi store.

Another considerable challenge was the sheer size of some of the stores, especially the height of the shelving which would prove difficult to photography with a standard lens. Thankfully I was doing most of the store shots with a wide angle Nikon 24mm PCE lens which allows me to shift the lens up and down and from side to side. The lenses are traditionally used to correct the perspective shift that results in bent lines and buildings that look like they are falling over.

Another more sneaky but equally as usefull use is to tape a variety of shots as you move through the shift range of the lens. This allows you take vertical panoramics that allowed me to capture the height of the shelving, like below.

A horizontal panorama allowed me to capture the height of the shelves.

Luckily for me and MPB the lens works both ways and I was also able to shoot horizontal panoramics that allowed me to capture a wider view of the stores, especially when space was at a premium and I couldn't move back.

Landscape or horizontal panoramas are like gold dust when space is tight.

All in all the job for MPB was rewarding in so many ways for me as a photographer both from a technical and visual point of view. Most importantly of all the satisfaction that comes from knowing you have helped a client produce visuals that accurately portray their brand and people in a powerful way.

Size does matter...

Size does matter, especially in this case when nothing quite puts the awe inspiring size and beauty of the Chilojo Cliffs in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park into perspective like one of the parks' massive bull elephants.

The sandstone edifice of the Chilojo Cliffs forms one of Zimbabwe's iconic landscapes and is a landscape photographer's dream, especially in the dwindling light of a hot day's end when the colours of the cliffs change from a myriad of shining orange to progressively more subtle tones of glowing magenta. I love the cliffs and Gonarezhou in general and must have hundreds of pictures of this landscape in various forms and angles, but until now had nothing that showcased the immense size of the cliffs.

Capturing this image required a fair bit of patience, although I kept reminding myself as I sat for hour after hour under the spellbinding view of the cliffs that I could have been in much worse places! Luckily for me there was quite a substantial pool of water in the bend of the Runde River near the cliffs and as a result lots of Ele's were making the trek across the hot, shimmering sand to get to the liquid gold. Unfortunately for me this was mostly in the heat of the day when the light was terrible and I was comatose in my tent anyway!

Thankfully this view was only a few paces outside our campsite so I could persevere every evening in the  golden light hours without breaking any of the Parks' regulations. It was only on the last evening of our stay when said perseverance and mother luck paid off and placed the bull elephant, golden light and a by then very twitchy photographer all in the same place. Needless to say there was a lot of snapping and holding of breath as the elephant nonchalantly and unknowingly made his way across the bed and into my library as possibly one of my favourite Chilojo cliffs images...

So from a technical POV what photographic aspects does my waffling above touch on? Simply put this picture works because the composition style of having a large subject (the cliffs) being balanced out by a smaller subject (the elephant) creates a very pleasing image that our eyes and brain can easily navigate around, and appreciate! If you would like to learn more about photography and its theories why not join us on an Introduction to Photography Course? See more info here...

How: lots of patience, picking the right spot and being consistent.

Where: Hlaro campsite, Gonarezhou National Park

Tech Specs: Nikon D3 Camera, Nikkor 500mm f4 VR lens, ISO 1600 f4 @ 1/40th second supported by a Induro GHB1 Gimbal head on Manfrotto carbon fibre legs  

Hwange's Pink Elephants...

Their thirst was obvious by the way their gait changed into a frantic run as the herd neared Nyamandhlovu pan in #Hwange national park. This is not unusual in the dry month of September as thousands of animals rely on the life giving water pumped into pans throughout the park.

Chris was lucky enough to participate in the Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe annual game count in Hwange National Park this September. Every year since 1972 hundreds of volunteers converge on the park and are assigned to watch a specific water hole for 24 hours and count everything they see. Its hot, you are confined to your car, its tiring, but the rewards are worth the effort, both for the experiences gleaned by the counters as well as the wealth of information that is recorded for the Parks' authorities.

The Hwange game count is the longest continual game census in Southern Africa and because of this, trends in animal numbers can be extrapolated and studied. As with most large scale surveys its not 100% accurate but generally very consistent, however it gets quite tricky to definitely say how many elephants there are in the park. Some estimates put the population between 30-35 000 while the figures from the 2014 game count results suggest around 23 000.

The count wouldn't be possible without the massive efforts of WEZ Matabeleland who organises the count as well as Friends of Hwange Trust.

Shot at Nyamadhlovu Pan, Hwange National Park, Nikon D610 with Nikkor 70-200 F2.8 ISO 640 1/160 @ F4.5

Zimbabwe's Verdant Tea Eastate

Zimbabwe is blessed with a wide range of stunning landscapes, from the majestic World Wonder of Victoria Falls to the stone wall brilliance of Great Zimbabwe to the game rich floodplains of Mana Pools. However an oft overlooked but no less stunning part of our beautiful country is its Eastern Highlands. Forming a rugged boundary with neighboring Mozambique the eastern Highlands are comprised of 3 main mountain ranges; Nyanga in the North, Bvumba in the middle and Chimanimani in the South. All 3 mountain ranges are part of the East African Rift system that runs down the continent from East Africa.

Nestled under the Nyanga plateau, which peaks to form Zimbabwe's highest point Mt Nyangani, is Eastern Highlands Plantations Limited, (also commonly referred to as Aberfoyle Tea Estates). Spread over the lower slopes of the Nyanga plateau are vividly verdant fields of tea.

A view in any direction from one of the many high points on the estate reveal rolling, lush and methodically trimmed fields, a testament to mans' innovative and persistent tenacity. Carved out of the wilderness in the 1950's there is no doubt that a lot of indigenous flora would have been mowed down to make way for the plantations, and as a lover of all things natural and indigenous this will always be in the back of my mind. However, the inherent man made beauty has the effect of subduing those negative thoughts.

The estate also ceeded a large portion of its land on the lower slopes of the Inyangani plateau to nature and subsequently to National Parks. The Gleneagles Reserve is a haven of indigenous forest best explored on foot and with a sense of awe. At 2000 hectares the reserve is the largest and best preserved block of Afro-Montain forest in the country.

Babbling streams hemmed in by tall Forest Newtonians create a backdrop that wouldn't go amiss in a Lord of the Rings movie also create a habitat for a plethora of rare birds and so are a mecca for avid birders from all over the world.

The area also offers a variety of adrenaline inducing activities such as gravity defying zip lines through the forest canopy and white water rafting down the Pungwe River, these can be organised through Far and Wide Zimbabwe with Aberfoyle Lodge providing the perfect base to explore the area's many exciting offerings.   

Inspiration in the Darkness...

The shrill chant of children's voices echoes starkly in the fridge like classroom, the maps and colorful drawings plastered on the rooms’ walls are barely visible in the darkness. With barely enough light to see their material, 3 groups of children huddle around cheap, dim solar lanterns reciting mock test answers in preparation for their upcoming grade 7 exams.

Swathed in warm clothes and a beanie to ward off the bone chilling cold is the leader of this inspiring scene, Fuyana Tshatiwa, grade 7 teacher at Ngamo Primary School near Hwange’s National Park’s southern boundary. Entirely of her own accord and at her cost Fuyana is coaching 14 members of the grade 7 class every evening for several hours. The bitterly cold nights, worsened by the unheated concrete classroom and the lack of decent lighting are no deterrent to this inspiring teacher, who has already had a full day’s work at the school.

Tonight, as she inspires me and the few visitors who are with me in the classroom she is more upbeat than ever, buoyed on by the fact that the school has just received a donation of a 5Kva diesel generator, which brings the promise of decent lighting and thus easier learning.

The generator was donated by a selfless visitor inspired by the amazing work the teachers are doing at Ngamo Primary School, crucially, this visitor was a tourist on holiday in Hwange National park with Imvelo Safari Lodges and had visited the school as part of a community activity. With the support generated by tourism operations like Imvelo and Wilderness Safaris the Ngamo community have stepped up to the plate and are thriving, all thanks to tourism dollars.

For me personally this visit was an amazingly inspirational experience and a reminder that despite the current doom and gloom attitude in Zimbabwe everyday people continue to do amazing things in their communities. Fuyana braves the cold and the dark not because it benefits her but because she is selflessly committed to the enrichment and development of her grade 7 students, something we should all take note of.

As a photojournalist I am privileged to often find myself witnessing inspiring people doing amazing things, but will shamefully admit that I do not know whats going on in my own community back at home. Like Fuyana, I am sure there are selfless people doing inspirational things just round the corner from where I live, so I am going to find out and support them however I can, after all, isn't that how thriving communities are built?

Fish Eagles are Bullies...

Last year Chris spent a few days exploring the advantages of an "armchair safari" at African Bush Camps Kanga Pan Lodge for an article for British Airways' Highlife Magazine. Published in the March edition, you can read the full story below...

Chris watched this feathered bully harass the patient Grey Heron for 3 full days.

Fish eagles are bullies. They wait atop a tall tree near the waterhole I am observing, ominously watching as a grey heron painstakingly inched closer to its unsuspecting prey. When the Heron has found the right spot, it stands motionless for an age until one of the surprisingly numerous catfish in the small waterhole swims within reach of its poised head, neck taught in readiness for a fast strike into the water. 

Only about 1 in every 10 attempts I observed was successful and when the heron finally managed a catch, it had the arduous task of turning the wriggly catfish around so it could swallow it head first, to avoid the catfish’s lethal dorsal barbs jamming in its throat. It was during the heron’s prolonged attempt to turn the catfish headfirst that the ‘waterhole mafia’ swooped in silently, bearing sharp talons aimed at its victims head. 

Inevitably the poor heron dropped its hard-won bounty while making a valiantly noisy but fruitless attempt to ward off the fish-thief as the fish eagle flapped nonchalantly off to its high branch to feast on its spoils. The seemingly crestfallen grey heron watched forlornly for a while, then seemed to shrug it off and continue its patient stalking routine and the whole drama would repeat itself.

I was watching this wilderness drama live from the deck of Kanga Camp in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park. Built astride Kanga Pan, the camp’s deck is only meters from the only source of water in the area, which in the dry season means it is a veritable hotspot of animal activity. Unique to Mana Pools, Kanga Camp is situated 15 kilometers inland from the Zambezi River on it own private concession, affording you exclusivity and intimacy with your surroundings. 

Expertly positioned to afford the best view of the action from the lower deck sits a deep, sturdy, invitingly pillowed whicker lounge suite. Bedecked with enough fluffy cushion to be envelopingly comfortable and spacious enough to accommodate me, several others and my vast array of camera equipment. The couch will serve as my observation post for the next few days, my throne of decadence if you would.

From my throne I was privy to all the comings and goings at the waterhole, and they were numerous and frequent. As I arrived in the camp, my luggage hadn't even touched the ground when I had my binoculars firmly planted on my face, observing 8 different species of raptors either drinking at the pan or hunting among the thick foliage of the towering African Ebony (Diospyros mespiliformis) and Nyala Berry (Xanthocercis zambesiaca) trees that provide thick shade to the camp’s public areas throughout the day. Once I was done ogling the birds of prey I turned my attention to the bustling waterhole, full swing into the mid-morning rush hundreds of green spotted, african mourning and cape turtle doves were noisily flapping down to the waters edge, often spooking the notoriously shy family of kudu. 

Taking no heed of the raucous birdlife was a pair of grumpy looking ‘daga boys’ - old buffalo bulls who have taken retirement from the larger herds in their advanced age and find solace in each others cantankerous company. A troop of 50 plus baboons complete the bustling scene with their inherent human like poses and expressions, adding a chaotic sense of humour to the otherwise peacefully industrious scene.

I settled down into my feathered throne to watch the myriad of fascinating encounters unfolding in front of me, just in time to observe a thirsty herd of elephants run the last 100 meters of dry, dusty plain to the waters edge, so grateful for the quenching coolth of the water that they visibly couldn't decide whether to drink deep or drench themselves from head to wrinkly toe.

I reveled for most of the morning in the diversity of bird and animal life congregating around the pan, until a polite call for brunch stirred me into action and I used musclesfor the first time in several hours to haul myself over to the delicious looking meal. Eating was no easy task though, as soon as I looked down to decide what tasty morsel to devour next there was some commotion from the waterhole, a juvenile African goshawk catching a green spotted dove or a large bull elephant noisily drinking from the borehole output just meters from where I sat. 

Brunch, delicious as it was, totally exhausted me and I was thankful to avoid the scorching midday hours in the sanctuary of my luxuriously appointed room. Even from the cool comfort of my bed I could keep half an eye on the action at the pan, all the rooms at Kanga Camp have their own unique view of the waterhole.

Back on my throne in the late afternoon, the manic activity of the morning seemed to have cooled along with the temperature and I was able to watch more intimate moments a bit more closely. A mother Zebra nuzzling its nervous young foal towards the water and a pair of saddle billed storks repeatedly probing the shallows. The subtle sounds of the bush enveloped me and all seemed well and at peace with the earth as it slowly turned a glowing orange then red as the sun slid rapidly towards the horizon. As I lazily contemplated the many salubrious advantages of my “Armchair Safari” I was jolted into action and a hasty grab for my camera by the sudden arrival of a pack of 11 Wild Dog and their 7 pups, eager for a drink they unknowingly provided the coup-d’etate to my day of quiet observance. 

Kanga Camp offers one of the best “Armchair Safari” experiences you are likely to find and should be on anyone’s list of things to do when visiting Mana Pools. The lush environment of Kanga Camp and laid back but fruitful wildlife watching provides the perfect way to ease into bush life, especially if you are hot off a long international flight and several bumpy domestic ones. Mana Pools offers some of the most diverse landscapes and unique game watching opportunities in Zimbabwe, so it would be wise not to halt your journey at Kanga Camp. African Bush Camps, who own and run Kanga also operate a mobile tented safari operation, Zambezi Life Styles, that will afford you the opportunity to see the Mana Pools floodplain in all its glory and in luxurious style. For more information contact African Bush Camps on info@africanbushcamps.com and see their website www.africanbushcamps.com

Wrong place, right result...

Where: In a microlight at dawn, near Christon Bank, Harare. How: Nikon D3 with 28-300mm lens @90mm, ISO 1600, f8 @ 3200/second

As professional photographers we are constantly reminding ourselves that luck plays a big part in getting 'the right shot'. Whether you are shooting wildlife, travel, landscape or corporate pictures being at the right place at the right time can often make or break the shoot.

However, some photographers are consistently better at capitilising on this luck by ensuring that they are well organised, have knowledge of their area/subject and are in the field a lot. The rest is out of your hand, this doesn't stop us fretting about it though.

However, sometimes just bungling along or being in the right place at the wrong time can also result in some amazing results. Example; I was commissioned to do a professional aerial photography shoot for a client in Christon bank, just outside Harare, Zimbabwe where I live. Being the height of the rainy season the weather hadn't been ideal for a flight for a few weeks and I was growing more and more anxious to get this done before the client starting getting restless.

Many early mornings of weather checking where unfruitful until one day it seemed we may have a break in the weather. On the day in question some scattered clouds lay low in the sky and all looked like it would be possible, if not ideal, to fly. However, meeting the pilot at the airstrip just as the sun was rising heralded the arrival of a low, thick bank of clouds, and the wind.

Now having done quite a lot of aerial photography from a microlight even I knew that the conditions weren't ideal, but we were there and ready to roll and a small gap in the clouds inspired us to hasten our decision and get on with it.

As the thick bank of clouds continued their march towards the sun we hastily flew to our destination, which thankfully wasn't far away. The encroaching clouds softened the already warm blush of dawn considerably and the accompanying band of clouds provided a wonderfully moody and contrasty blue to the mist-strewn scene. Needless to say I was ecstatic with the conditions, up until we finally reached our destination just in time for the cloud bank to envelop the sun and kill the light, just when I needed it. Despite this setback I managed to get some decent shots of our target and we hastened back to the airstrip as the wind started to howl.

On the way back I carried on snapping away, the rolling valleys to our east were swathed in mist and the partially masked sun allowed me to capitalise on the lack of contrast between the sun and the foreground and snap a few hurried pictures. They didnt look like anything noteable on the back screen until I got back to the office and could have a better look.

So what have I been banging on about here, essentially ignoring our best intuition we did a flight in less than ideal condition so where in the wrong place but at the right time. The low, patchy bank of clouds effectively filtered and softened the rising sun even more, allowing me to capture a fantastic image that would have been tricky to do in clearer conditions. So essentially, at 300 feet and 90 miles an hour I made lemon juice out of lemons...

Purple Paradise - Finding Gold in your back garden...

Harare is renowned for many things but luckily for us photographers one of them is the annual flowering of the hundreds of Jacaranda trees that line our Capitals avenues. Standing in the middle of the street under an over-arching umbrella of bright blue and purple must be one of the most visually stimulating urban experiences available to us Zimbabweans. It was while I was standing there, in the middle of the street with my head craned back and my camera poised that I realised that I haven't really properly photographed, or fully appreciated, Harare's Jacaranda's until now.

And then it dawned on me why; us photographers are always chasing the gold at the end of the rainbow, travelling frantically to get to places that may provide us with the photographic subjects we long for, or that we hope will reward us with some stunning images. And I suppose there is nothing wrong with that, partly because I do it a lot myself and mostly because if it works then whats the problem?

My point here is this, generally speaking photographers tend to overlook or ignore the opportunities in their back yard, often missing out on not just amazing picture opportunities but also getting to know their neighbourhoods and communities. I have had many an engaging conversation with people on the streets of Harare who have approached me with friendly intentions and questions. Often these have led to interesting debates and the offer to photograph their neighbourhoods or families and friends. You can't buy these kind of invitations and opportunities as a photographer!

At the end of the day wondering around your neighbourhood may well produce the kind of stunning images that you could travel thousands of miles for, and you may well walk away with some new friends!

Where: Leopold Takawira Street, Harare.
How: Stand in the middle of the traffic and make yourself skinny!
Tech specs: Nikon D800 with Nikkor 28-300mm VR lens shot @ 135mm on ISO 640 Aperture F8 Shutter speed 1/80th second.

Shoot Wide to See More...

Most, if not all, wildlife photographers have gorilla sized forearms from wielding some of the longest lenses money can buy. They are also not shy to wield the beastly lenses in the direction of any animal, bird or insect that has the misfortune to wander into view. Its no surprise that I fit into that bracket and unashamedly utilize the large magnification you get from long lenses.

Other then the associated cardio workout that you get from wielding such lenses, you are also able to get really close to your subject matter without having to sit on top of them. This is an advantage that we should not scoff at as most wildlife photographers are keen conservationists and have the comfort of and respect for their subjects in the fore of their consciousness. The only drawback from wielding such magnification is that it can become quite addictive and when the action heats up there is little regard for thinking or doing anything else.

Again, I am one of those that gets distracted by the 'pink mist; when the action starts and have only recently been able to consciously drag myself away from the long glass and approach animal, action and behavior using shorter lenses that afford a wider view of my subjects. Again, most pro wildlife photographers will have a shorter zoom or prime, such as the excellent 70-210 range, for exactly that reason, the wider you shoot the more you see and seeing the whole picture is as important as seeing the tick that hangs off your subjects eyelash.

So next time you are bashing away with your long glass, stop, think and pick up a shorter telephoto and try and capture the animal, or animals, in their environment.

Why: Despite the temptation to use his longest lens Chris used a shorter focal length to enable him to capture the whole herd of Buffalo as well as the huge cloud of dust that picked up the subtle pink hues of dawn. Using a longer lens would have drastically reduced the angle of vision and thus how much of the scene Chris could have captured.
How: Nikon D610 and Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm ISO 800 1/500th second @f6.3
Where: Hwange National Park

Would you like to learn more about photographic techniques and how to take great pictures? Join Chris on a Photographic Safari Workshop in some on Southern Africa's most stunning wild areas.

Don't Create Wallpaper...

Everyone loves a sunset, especially one of those breathtaking, ‘OMG those are colors I have never seen’, kind of sunsets. I'm sure all of us, professional, amateur or learner photographers have captured a million such sunsets, and I'm sure we have all photographed them in the same manic, run-around, wild eyed, the "lights about to disappear" manner. After your nine-millionth sunset you will hopefully have control of the wild-eyed demon that emerges at sundown and will start to think critically about what you are doing.

Take this picture for example, its not even a sunset, rather a sunrise and something that most people not blessed with the crazy urge to rise before the sun often miss out on. Given a bit of cloudy weather to pick up the rays of the rising sun and the colors that they produce you can capture some stunning images, once you have tamed the wild - eyed panic beast.

And so to get to the point, an old University professor used to regard sunrises and sunsets with marginal interest and with almost gleeful disdain referred to them as "wallpaper". Beautiful colors yes but nothing of much interest. It took me quite a few years of frantic running around at sunset and sunrise to realise what he was on about.

You need something of interest, even if its subtle, to bring the organza of colors into perspective, to give them root in the place and scene you are photographing. In short you still need a subject matter even if you are photographing colors never seen by another human eye before.

So when you are next in the heat of the moment, take some time to slow down, pull yourself towards yourself and look for a subject matter to give some sense, place or scale to those amazing colors.

Where: Little Samavhundla pan, Hwange National Park.
How: Sunrise, HDR composite of 3 different exposures, calmness and attention to subject matter!
Tech specs: Nikon D610 with Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 @ 80mm ISO 800 F8 1st exposure 1/80th sec, 2nd exposure 1/20th sec, third exposure 1/250th sec.

Would you like to learn more about photographic techniques and how to take great pictures? Join Chris on a Photographic Safari Workshop in some on Southern Africa's most stunning wild areas.