There is something about a safari in Kruger National Park that keeps you looking.
Even after years of spending time in the bush, I still find myself scanning the trees, watching the sky, checking the tops of dead branches and listening for the calls of birds I may not have seen yet that morning.
It is easy to arrive in Kruger thinking about lions, leopards, elephants and wild dogs. Those sightings are always special, of course, but some of my favourite safari moments have happened when the vehicle has stopped for something much smaller, or something soaring high above us.
On a recent safari in Kruger, I had one of those wonderfully bird filled days.
From the incredible colours of a Lilac breasted Roller to the intricate patterns of a Pied Kingfisher, and from the quiet presence of vultures to the imposing silhouettes of large raptors perched above the road, I was reminded once again just how extraordinary the birdlife of Kruger really is.
For a wildlife photographer, these encounters are a gift.
They also require patience.
Because birds rarely pose simply because you have a camera pointed at them.
Sometimes you get only a few seconds. Sometimes the light changes. Sometimes the bird turns its head at exactly the wrong moment. And sometimes, if you are lucky, everything comes together.
These were some of my favourite moments from this particular safari.
The unforgettable colours of the Lilac breasted Roller
If there is one bird that seems almost designed for photography, it has to be the Lilac breasted Roller.
With its turquoise and blue wings, lilac breast, warm brown back and flashes of brilliant colour, it is one of those birds that can stop a safari vehicle in its tracks.
And when you see one against a clear African sky, it is difficult not to reach for the camera.
During this safari, I was fortunate enough to photograph one particularly cooperative individual perched among the branches of a dead tree.
The blue sky created a wonderfully clean background, allowing the colours of the roller to stand out. I love these kinds of moments because they show just how much beauty can be found in the simplest compositions.
There was no complicated background.
No dramatic landscape.
Just a beautifully coloured bird, an old tree and that enormous African sky.
But the encounter became even more interesting when the roller returned with a meal.
A large locust was firmly held in its bill, its wings and body creating an almost surreal contrast against the bird’s vivid plumage.
I managed to capture several moments as the roller adjusted its grip and prepared to swallow its prey.
It is these little behavioural moments that I particularly enjoy photographing.
A beautiful portrait is wonderful, but a photograph that tells you something about what the animal was actually doing feels different.
It becomes a tiny piece of a much bigger story.
A Pied Kingfisher watching from above
The Pied Kingfisher is another bird that I never get tired of photographing.
Black and white, sharply patterned and instantly recognisable, they have an almost graphic quality to them.
This individual was perched on a weathered branch, looking out across the surrounding area. The soft background and blue sky created a lovely amount of negative space around the bird, drawing attention to its distinctive markings and long, powerful bill.
Kingfishers are fascinating subjects because they can be so still one moment and incredibly fast the next.
You can watch them sitting quietly, apparently doing very little, before suddenly launching themselves into action.
That contrast is one of the things I love about bird photography.
You have to be ready.
The camera can be perfectly positioned, the composition can look beautiful and the light can be exactly right, and then the bird does something completely unexpected.
That is part of the fun.
Wildlife photography is never entirely under your control.
The quiet importance of vultures
Some of the most important birds in Africa are also among the most misunderstood.
Vultures don’t always receive the same attention as eagles, rollers or kingfishers, but they play an incredibly important role in the ecosystem.
They are nature’s clean up crew.
By consuming carrion, vultures help remove carcasses from the landscape and play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
Photographically, they are also fascinating.
Their feathers, bare skin, powerful bills and enormous wings create incredible textures and shapes, particularly when they are sitting in the warm morning or afternoon light.
During this safari, I was fortunate enough to photograph several species, including Lappet faced and White backed Vultures.
The Lappet faced Vulture
The Lappet faced Vulture has an unmistakable presence.
It is one of the largest vultures found in Africa, and when you see one perched in a tree, it is difficult to appreciate just how large these birds are until you see them up close.
The bare, reddish skin of the head contrasts beautifully with the dark plumage, while the powerful bill gives the bird an almost prehistoric appearance.
There is something wonderfully wild about photographing a Lappet faced Vulture.
It isn’t conventionally beautiful in the way a roller is.
It is beautiful because it is perfectly adapted to the role it plays.
The more time I spend photographing wildlife, the more I appreciate this kind of beauty, the beauty of adaptation, survival and function.
Every feature has a purpose.
Every feather, claw and curve of the bill tells part of the story.
The White backed Vulture
The White backed Vulture is another species that can be easy to overlook when you are surrounded by the excitement of larger animals.
But once you start paying attention to them, you begin to notice them everywhere.
Perched high in trees.
Circling above the plains.
Gathering around a carcass.
Waiting patiently for an opportunity.
Photographing vultures also reminds me of how interconnected everything is in the bush.
A carcass may initially seem like the end of one story, but it becomes the beginning of many others.
Vultures, hyenas, jackals, insects and countless other organisms all form part of that process.
Nothing is wasted.
The bush is constantly recycling itself.
That is one of the things I find so fascinating about spending time in Kruger. Every sighting is connected to something else.
A young Bateleur learning the world
One of the most special moments of the day was photographing a young Bateleur.
Juvenile birds have such a different appearance from their adults, and I think they are often overlooked simply because they don’t have the instantly recognisable colours and markings of mature birds.
But juveniles have their own character.
They are still learning.
Still developing.
Still figuring out the world around them.
This young bird sat quietly on a branch, giving me the opportunity to really look at its plumage and expression.
There is something almost awkward and endearing about young raptors.
They have all the physical equipment of a formidable predator, but they are still very much young birds.
Moments like this are a reminder that wildlife photography isn’t always about capturing the most dramatic behaviour.
Sometimes it is simply about documenting an individual at a particular stage of its life.
The power of a Martial Eagle
And then there are the birds that make you stop and simply stare.
Large raptors have a presence that is difficult to describe until you have seen one sitting above you in the bush.
The Martial Eagle is one of those birds.
Powerful, imposing and built for life as a predator, it is one of the species that can instantly change the feeling inside a safari vehicle.
Suddenly everyone is looking upwards.
Cameras come out.
Conversations become quieter.
And for a few moments, everything is focused on one bird.
Photographing large raptors is particularly rewarding because of the detail you can capture in their feathers.
The layered structure of the plumage, the shape of the beak, the eyes and the powerful talons all tell you something about the animal.
When the light falls across the feathers, the textures almost become three dimensional.
Those are the photographs I find myself studying afterwards, not necessarily because they are the most dramatic images, but because they allow me to appreciate details that can be difficult to see with the naked eye.
Why I love photographing birds on safari
There is a completely different rhythm to bird photography compared with photographing many of Africa’s larger mammals.
With elephants, lions and buffalo, you often have a little more time to watch their behaviour before deciding how you want to photograph it.
Birds can be a different story.
They fly.
They disappear behind branches.
They turn away.
They take off without warning.
And just when you think you have missed the moment, they do something extraordinary.
That unpredictability is addictive.
It forces you to slow down and pay attention.
You begin noticing the direction of the light, the movement of the branches, the background behind the bird and even the position of its feet on the perch.
You start anticipating rather than simply reacting.
And perhaps most importantly, you become more aware of what is happening around you.
A safari vehicle can drive past a tree without anyone noticing anything unusual.
But once you start looking carefully, that same tree can become a whole world.
A roller waiting for a dragonfly.
A kingfisher watching the water.
A vulture surveying the landscape.
An eagle waiting silently above the road.
Suddenly, the tree isn’t just a tree anymore.
It is part of the story.
Looking beyond the Big Five
One of the things I love most about Kruger is that it constantly reminds us that wildlife is about far more than the animals we traditionally think of as safari icons.
The Big Five will always have a special place in African wildlife photography, but there is an enormous amount of beauty happening around them.
Birds are hunting.
Insects are pollinating.
Reptiles are basking.
Antelope are moving through the grass.
Predators are watching.
Scavengers are cleaning up.
And above it all, birds are constantly moving through the landscape.
The more time I spend in the bush, the more I realise that some of the most rewarding safari experiences come from simply being observant.
You don’t always know what you are going to find.
And that is exactly what makes it exciting.
Photography, conservation and the stories we take home
For me, wildlife photography has never been simply about taking a pretty photograph.
Photography gives us a way of connecting with animals.
It encourages us to look more closely.
To learn.
To appreciate.
And hopefully, to care.
That is particularly important when photographing species such as vultures.
Many African raptor and vulture species face serious conservation challenges, and their role within healthy ecosystems makes their protection incredibly important.
Every photograph becomes a small opportunity to remind people that these animals matter.
That they are part of something much bigger than themselves.
That the survival of one species is often connected to the survival of many others.
This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about combining my wildlife photography with my wildlife art and conservation work.
Whether I am behind a camera or working with charcoal on canvas, I want the finished image to make someone stop for a moment.
To look.
To feel something.
And perhaps to see a wild animal a little differently.
Until the next Kruger safari
Looking back at these photographs, what stands out to me most isn’t one particular species.
It is the variety.
One moment I was photographing the almost impossible colours of a Lilac breasted Roller.
The next, I was watching a Pied Kingfisher sitting quietly against the blue sky.
Then came vultures, young raptors and powerful eagles.
Different birds.
Different behaviours.
Different stories.
All sharing the same remarkable landscape.
That is the magic of Kruger.
You never really know what the next bend in the road is going to bring.
Sometimes it is a lion lying beneath a tree.
Sometimes it is an elephant crossing the road.
And sometimes it is a tiny flash of colour high above you, or a huge raptor sitting silently in an old dead tree.
You just have to keep looking.
And keep your camera ready.
Because in Kruger, the next photograph is always waiting.
A note from behind the camera
These photographs were taken during a recent safari in Kruger National Park.
I am fortunate to spend much of my time in the African bush, both through my work in the safari industry and through my wildlife photography and art.
My photography is a way of documenting the wildlife encounters that inspire me, while my artwork allows me to interpret those experiences in charcoal.
For me, both begin in exactly the same place:
A love for wild Africa and a desire to help protect it.
If you would like to experience Kruger’s wildlife for yourself, join me on safari and let’s see what we can find together.
Because you never quite know what will be waiting in the next tree.
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