A hearty welcome to PT Explorers, Shannon. We are super excited to have you here. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Thanks so much for having me. I’m a wildlife cinematographer and photographer originally from Australia, now based out of South Africa, but working all over the world.
What made you become passionate about Wildlife Photography?
I’ve always been passionate about animals and wildlife in general, as long as I can remember, from the creepy crawly to the cute and cuddly. Discovering photography was a happy accident and I soon was able to combine those two subjects to find my dream career and pursue it. That was around 2004, so over 16 years ago. Before that I had a career as a graphic designer for many years.
What’s the most elusive animal you’ve had to photograph and how did you meet that challenge?
So far it was filming a documentary on a rare Black Panther (melanistic leopard) in Southern India for over 18 months. It was an incredibly challenging environment to film in for many reasons aside from the fact we were trying to find and film such an elusive cat! ‘The Real Black Panther’ is currently being released all over the world now on NatGeo WILD channel and some streaming services.
As a Wildlife Photographer, how do you capture emotion and show the importance of conservation issues?
I believe that your passion and intention shows through in your work and certainly for me, understanding animal behaviour and being passionate about all the animals I encounter means I can convey that emotion whenever and wherever I shoot.
What are the important factors to consider while having an interaction/ taking intimate photographs of wildlife? How important is it to understand their behavior?
There isn’t anything more important than understanding your subject in this line of work. It means the difference between even seeing the animal at all, let alone getting footage or a photo. Above and beyond that I don’t want to just get footage or a photo, I try to capture exceptional content and document moments that will move the viewer. The only way to do that is through a thorough understanding of the subject, its environment and of course your gear, so that you’re ready if and when those rare moments come together.
Among the innumerable experiences you’ve had in the wild, can you share with us some truly memorable moments?
One of the most memorable experiences I’ve had is seeing a baby elephant use its trunk to drink for the very first time. It initially dropped to its knees and planted it’s face into the water to drink using its mouth but after watching the adults around, he finally worked out how to use his trunk to suck water up and then spray it into his mouth.
Having photographed in so many wildlife rich areas do you have any favorite places or locations that keep drawing you back?
There have been so many incredible places that I have been able to witness and document, so it’s really hard to choose one above the other but Madagascar is definitely a highlight and so is the Arctic, a truly memorable place of stark beauty
Is there an animal that you are yet to photograph but would like to?
There are still so many animals and places I want to go and photograph and film. At the top of my list is definitely going to the Galapagos Islands to see the Marine Iguanas and also to the Pantanal to document jaguar hunting caiman.
Have you ever witnessed something in the animal kingdom that you couldn’t photograph due to having got too excited?
I’ve never missed photographs or filming because of excitement but definitely because of being too far away or at the wrong angle or it happening way too fast for me to capture. That’s just part of the challenges of this job.
I manage to contain my excitement internally in the moment so I can stay focused on the job at hand, but I’m dancing always inside.
What is in your bag?
Going into specifics of gear I would take too long. I have accumulated a lot of stuff over the last 16 years with a mix of still photography equipment and filming gear.
For stills I’ve always shot on Nikon and I currently have a D850 and a variety of lenses from wide through to telephoto.
For filming I use RED cameras and have several of those ranging from 5K up to 8k. I also use a variety of lenses on those cameras as well as audio equipment, various tripods, stabilization equipment and drones.
In your belief, what poses the largest threat to wildlife conservation and what can be done about it as a photographer ?
I think the largest threat to wildlife conservation is apathy and people thinking it’s not their problem or they can’t do anything about it. This indifference is a lot of the reason why organisations struggle to get enough financial assistance to do the work needed in the field. Awareness and education is the key. As a photographer that’s where I come in trying to build awareness and education that I can share with a greater audience, people who may never have the chance to see these species in the wild but can enjoy a photograph and learn about that animal or habitat and therefore want to protect it.
Please share more about your Jewellery Line – “Wild in Africa”
I founded Wild in Africa – Bracelets for Wildlife in 2017 when I was off work very, very ill. I was bedridden for about 6 months and toward the end when I was able to get out of bed I was extremely frustrated creatively so began making bracelets as a creative outlet. I then turned it into a business to help raise money for conservation organisations that I had worked with personally and was able to offer financial support through the sale of these bracelets. I’m now proud to have a wide selection of charity bracelets and various charities that we donate 50% of the purchase price to so our buyers know exactly how much money and where it’s being donated.
Few words on your future projects and goals?
I’m currently busy on my next wildlife documentary for National Geographic on lions in South Africa. It’s about some very rare and very special lions, so it’s a very difficult long-term project so we still have another year of filming ahead of us. I also have various workshops and speaking engagements throughout this coming year and into 2021 which will keep me busy including in Spain, Canada and the US.
What inspired you to share your knowledge in e-book format, and what has the response been to your books?
I always post my camera settings on social media and I do this because it is one of the ways that I helped me teach myself photography by learning the settings of other photographers. While that certainly isn’t everything and context matters greatly along with a photographer’s decisions in the moment that lead to the setting choices, it still allows beginners to get a sense of how working professionals such as myself are shooting. That then encouraged me to write a variety of ebooks consolidating that information along with all of my tips and guidance in a very easy to read and visual format. I’ve also run photographic workshops in the past in both pet photography and wildlife photography so these books are very helpful resources for those workshops.
What do you think is one of the greatest difficulties for someone trying to get into the field of wildlife and conservation photography?
This is a very competitive industry because from the outside it looks very glamorous with its exotic locations and animals but it’s a very difficult job and I feel people that don’t make it are the ones that give up too soon or because it’s too hard. My best advice for people wanting to get into this industry is absolute dedication and the understanding that it may take years or decades to turn it into a living. I’ve been doing this for over 16 years now and it’s only in the last few years but I feel like I’m just starting to make a comfortable living with clients I had dreamt of such as National Geographic. I’ve had many, many opportunities to give up including sickness, life-threatening situations, and financial hardship and so I had many legitimate reasons to give up and the only reason I’m here is because I kept going despite every roadblock, every challenge and every hardship.
What are your three top tips for shooting wildlife that are almost never taught? Something new and fresh…
Tip number one is to shoot wider while you’re still trying to learn what makes for good composition. Then once you have the images downloaded you can play with different cropping and see which composition makes the strongest impact, this is a great way to learn what makes a solid composition and to play with options so that you can start making those decisions in camera because you’re seeing it while you look through the viewfinder.
Tip number two is get your safe shots first but don’t keep taking the same shots over, start to experiment, that could be with composition or focal length or getting creative with shutter speed or depth of field. Do something different so that you don’t end up with 20 photos that look the same when you could have discovered a really creative way of documenting the scene.
Tip number three is persistence, patience and practice.
Some words of inspiration/ advice for young aspirants in this field?
My best advice for young aspiring photographers and cinematographers is reiterating what I said before and that is persistence. There is no better advice I can offer. While things like networking and knowing your gear and practicing are all essential elements, at the end of the day what’s going to get you the opportunities and the work is to stick with it because then you’ll still be there when the opportunities come when most other people have given up.
