Photographing Wildlife in the Kalahari
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ต.ค. 2024
- Kgalagadi Photography in South Africa
WATCH EPISODE 3 - • What the Lions Taught ...
Are you ready for an adventure in the heart of the Kgalagadi? Join me as we explore the wild and thirsty side of nature, where animals gather at water holes in search of their next drink. With an abundance of activity and interactions among different species, this is a photographer's paradise. From predators hunting their prey to flocks of animals gathering at the water's edge, every moment is an opportunity for a unique and breathtaking shot. But the real magic happens early in the morning and late in the evening, when the animals are at their most active and we have the chance to capture them in their natural habitat.
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My name is Will Goodlet. I am a wildlife, landscape and astro photographer working in the African Safari business. I spend my time exploring the dusty roads of Africa with my Land Rover, Basil.
I've been taking photographs for 40 years, first in Hong Kong, where I grew up and later to follow my dreams of a life photographing Africa.
#WildlifePhotography #SafariPhotography #NaturePhotography
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Hey man, you deserve way more subscribers! Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot Abel, that's really kind. Really appreciate the support and the kind comment :)
Totally AGREE!!😊
Just wow! 12:21 rainbow and a cheetah! Love the look on the Eagle facing a Jackal as well:)! Wonderful photography , great adventure and a pleasure to see another region of Africa. Thank you for sharing:)
Thanks Margaret, yes that was a special moment. We waited through the heat for almost 4 hours for that opportunity. It was a female leopard and she'd been lying deep inside the branches of a camel thorn tree through the afternoon. All we could see was one paw dangling. And then she came down! Drank and walked over the other side of the valley, up onto the cliff to look at a rainbow :) One of the best moments of my life but before I started filming sadly! Take care over there!
@@WillGoodlet It was so worth it :) !!! Patience paid of with a beautiful sight that will last in your memory forever:)
Some superb images there Will. Very enjoyable video again.
Thank you Robert, very kind of you to say and thank you for watching :)
Great series on the Kgalagadi, please keep the videos coming ...
Cheers Con, will try my best! No travels for a while though sadly.
I missed going here for the first time this year since 1961 as a 10 yr old darn Covid !! ..Every year in April = Kalahari ..Rooiputs No 3 , Nossob and Polentswa 1 then home We are only going back in April 2022 so 2 years in a row ..Sad
Sorry to hear it Peter.
Great video Will. Thanks for doing this channel. I live in the UK and love to see African wildlife when I can, and can afford it. Next on my wish list is Botswana and also return to see much more of Namibia.
Hi Ray, good to know that you are enjoying this stuff. I was supposed to do a remote trip into Namibia instead of this Kgalagadi series. Sadly, It was cancelled 2 weeks before (due to a robbery). But I love it out that way.
*WATCH EPISODE 3* - th-cam.com/video/L24bJ9PM2DY/w-d-xo.html
Love it! And fact that you drive a Landy makes it that much better.
Thanks Jonathan! I don't know what I'd do without my landys. Love them.
Just Brilliant!!!
Glad you liked it :)
Nailed the trump cut bud lol 😂 fantastic images and info there 👌🤙 that dove hunting Jackal was quite something, loved the images there 😉
I could really nail it now! Just need a little dust :) Yeah there have been some incredible shots made there, mostly by retired photographers who set up caravan in the camp and spend some quality time waiting. Patience pays off.
Will Goodlet true you just need to PTFD lol 😂
Amazing video. Great guidance. Love it.
Thanks! Appreciated
will, thanks for another great video which bring your beautiful country much closer to me. I hope so much, that the virus is over soon and I can go to Africa again. Take car of you.
Thanks Mieczyslaw, I greatly appreciate your taking a look! Yes I think we'd all like to go back to normal as soon as possible. Hope all is okay with you over there!
Wow i realy realy enjoyed this one will! What a beautiful area and those pictures are stunning. Nice intro movie and I love the way you showed the pictures at the end. I always enjoy that you are so interested in all the animals big and small. I gives a lot more diversity to your videos and I recognise myself into that. Ik hate it when people only go to see the big cats...
Thanks Guido. Glad you liked it. I didn't want to vlog a day this time but to try to uncover some themes. It's hard because you don't know when you film these little segments, what they are going to be or how they are going to be pieced together because you never know what you will see on safari! It's definitely a challenge to make wildlife videos - I must make better use of voiceovers! I'm hoping I can identify some more themes for the upcoming episodes. Maybe the 'Camel Thorn' or 'Hunger' :) Take care!
@@WillGoodlet I would live to see an episode on hungry animals. It just amazes me how much different animals you see. The times I've been to Africa I was always to rushed to wait patiently at a water hole. So hopefully I will give my self some more time next time. Let hope that is going to be soon and that this madness in the world will stop fast. How is the lockdown with you? The walls are coming towards me further every day and I'm still allowed to go out if I want to but they advice not to. Stay safe will!
Your visual story telling is superb
Thank you Ken! Really great compliment. Hope you are doing well?
GREAT VIDEO Will Glad I found yor channel
Thanks and welcome
Superb as always. So very watchable. Love the jackal and eagle shot near the end - such a great expression on the eagle’s face. Stay safe and well in these strangest of times.
Thanks Giles! Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, that was a fascinating moment. I missed some great shots (out of focus) of the Snake eagle confronting two Jackal with wings spread sadly and this was the aftermath where they had decided they probably weren't going to successfully eat each other. I beleive the snake eagle was recovering from a snake bite and was somewhat dazed and interestingly a Tawny eagle flew down to assist it in facing down the Jackals.
@@WillGoodlet Feathered solidarity!
I'd like to see a Lanner Falcon! I dearly would. The heck with sleeping lions' feet!
I’m a massive fan of your wildlife videos and photography. My wife and I live in the UK and were due to visit Kruger in a couple of weeks, which has obviously been cancelled. Your animal stories, insight and general approach to photography is a wonderful lift during these difficult times. Thanks and we look forward to your next instalment 😁👍
Hi Dean, thanks so much for watching and leaving me a comment, I really appreciate it! I'm glad you enjoy the videos but really sorry to hear about your cancelled trip. Hopefully, you can rebook something in the future. Keep well and I'll see you in the next one ;)
Superb, easily in the top 1% of travel content on TH-cam - I hope you end up with a million followers one day!
Wow, thank you Ferdi! Great compliment :)
Great story telling and images. Compelling viewing. Thanks Will
Hi, Will! Another excellent production by you, actually I think this is one of your best (I may have said that before about multiple videos by you, lol). Thank you for this nice escape, I've been so involved with taking care of my family I haven't been on TH-cam much. But it was nice to melt away for a few minutes and see a beautiful place from far away. It's amazing how barren the land seems to be, yet so much wildlife, even though one would assume it might be easy to get some good photographs, I can imagine you have to work really hard to get some excellent ones, because of the limitations of where you have to situate yourself and from inside a vehicle. You have done a wonderful job showcasing this amazing place and also your photography is exceptional, really great story-telling both through the piecing together of your video but also in every one of those great photographs.
I hope you and your family and friends are doing well there, I'm really concerned about where various governments are taking their countries at this time and especially worry about my family and friends in SA. In the meantime, I am enjoying my own little family, having everyone home has been nice (for me) and of course, they are enjoying 3 cooked meals a day and a very clean house haha! I have some material for a new video from before the world changed... but I haven't been ''lus'' to make the video, instead, I'm focusing on an older hobby that needs some practice. Please stay well and stay safe.
Thanks Liesl! And thanks for another very kind and thoughtful comment. I have been meaning to reply for ages but I am a terrible correspondent. My only excuse is that I had some horrible deadlines to meet and a lot of late nights and stress. Hopefully all done for a little while at least :)
We are all locked away safely here, my wife and my dad are with me (and my three dogs). It's actually been great, like you say, being able to spend so much time together and mealtimes have taken on extra significance as we almost never go shopping for food. I think I managed to persuade Fiona to make 'spotted dick' tomorrow for the weekly feast. An old school favourite and happily a dish that requires only ingredients from the back of empty cupboards.
I am very glad you are well and safe, take care!
Beautiful ❤
Thank you! 😊
Now this IS music and it DOES go with the video.
Another thing, I believe I like the Western lands better than the Eastern. I know, I know, all the cool beasts are in the east. But when you've seen 1,000 elephants you've seen them all. Just kidding.
Anyway, on my trip to the RSA I began in Cape Town and traveled northwards first to Paarl then cut east towards Worcester and Robertson, then down a bit to Swellendam, back west to Caledon, and so on.
Lots of it are farms and so on. But also much beauty. I won't continue in this vein but the Western Cape is one of my favorite and then along the Garden Route to the Eastern Cape.
Very very nice, happy for you!!!
Thanks Dimitris. Hope you and family are okay over there!
@@WillGoodlet Tnx Will, we are well and tucked in. This is our 3rd week I believe since social-distancing/self-isolation started in France. So far, so good (e.g. there is food in the stores, etc.) but of course it is difficult ; especially the worries about how it is going to end. The light at the end of the tunnel maybe the oncoming train, comes to mind. Personally, I've been more busy than usual as all education has moved on line to distance learning which has created an enormous amount of extra work (at least for me). Stay safe and healthy.
Yes I'm not sure what the end will look like but lets survive it first! At least with education you are in a good sector that can continue albeit with the problems and workload of distance learning. I have slim hopes for tourism. But sometimes one has to seize change. Maybe I can do something better with my life. Or at least something that makes me happier. I only really need health, family, food , shelter and wild places - I hope I can stay in Africa when this is over.
Yet another entertaining inspiring and educational video. I haven't seen jackals behave like that my self. Very interesting! Thanks for the video. Can't wait for your next. Have a great evening.
Thanks Rino, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know!
Brings back good memories - thanks Will appreciate it greatly! Look forward to the next video!
Thanks so much Axel :) Hope you'll be back here soon.
Another great video and some stunning photos. I'm totally with you on sitting quietly with the smaller animals rather than joining the throng trying to figure out which piece of grass is the lion's mane! Many's the time in the Kruger we've not even stopped when there's a traffic jam.
Thanks Les! Yes, I know how you feel. Most of the point of going out there is to get away from the chaos everywhere else :)
Thanks for another lovely vid, Will. I'm enjoying your commentary as much as the filming and photos. Listening to your interesting observations about man-made waterholes, do they impact on the surrounding vegetation in that the wildlife would strip it bare? Been in lockdown here in the UK for a couple of weeks now, but am able to take some exercise (with my camera) at our local waterhole (The Lea Valley). Not so much going on there though!! Stay safe all xx
Hi Christine, glad you can get out with your camera 'for exercise' :) We aren't allowed out for exercise here but luckily I'm locked up in quite a pleasant garden unlike many in this country. Yes, waterholes are a controversial conservation topic. They denude the vegetation for miles around. The same thing applies to the wells Oxfam and others dig for villagers in Africa. Because livestock is a currency here and not just a food source, it is typical for villagers to grow flocks much larger than required for sale or food consumption. Bad husbandry. Then whenever there is a drought, the villagers don't sell down their herds (as commercial farmers do) and all the animals die horribly and at the same time the land is degraded by overgrazing. The same thing applies to waterholes in national parks, they artificially increase the carrying capacity of the landscape and because culling is no longer acceptable to tourists, the game management has to rely on closing waterholes and allowing game to die of thirst instead of the rifle. Waterholes are also a big part of the tourism offer here, they make it much easier to see the game and many people consider it a form of baiting. In Africa, we do not generally provide salt licks because we would consider that baiting but in countries like Sweden salt licks are used to prevent road collisions with moose (and to make it easier to hunt them) by drawing them into more remote areas. Whereas a Swede might consider water as a form of bait. It's interesting how there are many different perspectives on conservation practices. I actually think the Salt Lick idea could be useful for prevention of collisions with wild animals in Africa too.
@@WillGoodlet That's really interesting, Will. I had thought that maybe man made waterholes would be a problem in as much as the vegetation would be grazed all around, but as for bait, that is a stark way of putting it. I know that lodges etc often dig waterholes so that the guests can view the game more easily. I guess there is a balance to be made. Tourism is good for local people and the animal population if it is managed correctly. Sadly, our world has changed and there isn't much of the true wilderness left. It is not for me to tell a poor farmer how to behave when he is just trying to exist. There will come a time when the National Parks will be the only places we will see wildlife. Maybe we have to accept that and manage them as ethically as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Yep waterholes definitely assist with satisfaction of tourism but where the areas of the national parks are now so much smaller, they also assist with maintenance of more viable populations and better animal demographics. Providing, of course that the land can feed them all.
Once you experience the Kalahari you are hooked - well at least we are. How did you manage to take some of those shots looking down onto your Landie? Thanks for the video.
Hi Keith, thanks for watching. I use a insta 360 One X - a tiny 360 degree camera on a selfie stick. The camera footage can be re-framed and it automatically removes the stick from the footage (but not the shadows). The stick is about 2m long so if I hold it level with the roof, the wide angle makes it look further up.
@@WillGoodlet Thanks for the reply.
Just what I needed at the moment a virtual day out taking photos, somewhat distracts us from the harsh reality many of us are currently dealing with in various parts of the world...…… I agree with Abel Hoijtink you deserve way more followers than where you are at present. For what it's worth I'm going to share one of your uploads to my facebook page and see if I can get you some more subscribers. I'm based in Australia but I have people from all over the world following my humble facebook page, that I'm sure would enjoy your content, especially in these days we find ourselves in...….stay safe Will.....
Thanks again, really appreciate you watching and taking the time to leave such a nice comment. I may not have that many subscribers but I do have some of the best, most thoughtful and kind people to talk to here :) Thank you so much for sharing my stuff on Facebook, that's fantastic! I'm not sure what my purpose here on YT is but if I can bring some of the magic that I experience to people in other places, situations and countries then that is reward enough. Take care!
Yip my favorite 30 kms in this beaut part of our planet is South of Rooiputs ...Rooiputs, Kij Kij , Melkvlei
Hey Will thanks for an amazing and highly informative channel. What clamp mount do you use to mount your camera to your vehicle/window?
Thanks Brendan. It’s a gimpro made by gimpro
gear in South Africa - gimprogear.com
Great video! Who is the music by? Reminds me Fleetwood Mac
Thanks - I really should make notes! Yes, you are right - very similar vocals (Sandra Bjurman). This is 'Wicked One' by Velvet Moon
Your video about sharpness, then your talk about the jackal at Cubitjie Quap, reminded me of a photo I took there. The jackal didnt do his normal thing, he came if behind a flock of sand grouse, in their blind spot, as they were landing and tried to fly with them and catch one in the air. I'd not shared the photo because I only had a second to catch it and the sharpness wasn't great, but what you were saying about sharpness rang true, no-one who I've even show the photo has said 'oh that's not very sharp', its not been an issue, so I've shared it today (flic.kr/p/DsxMSR ). It also makes me wonder about genius in other species. This jackal is special.
Hi Duncan, sorry YT held this comment back because of the link so I only just saw it. That pic is SENSATIONAL!!! Wow what a moment to capture :)
Which lens you recommend for the Kgalagadi. I have a Nikon 200-500mm and Nikon 300mm f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8. I have two DSLRs bodies Nikon D750 which I think to trade for a new Z6II and a Nikon D500. Thanks in advance for your help and support.
Felix Floresrodriquez almost certainly the 200-500. The animals can be distant (or you just see them further away) also it’s often bright so you can afford to use a crop sensor. I think the 300 2.8 could be good for animals in camp at night - maybe owls also at floodlit waterholes one camp.
You will also want a wide zoom for landscape. You may have a use for the 70-200 but most of the time the animals will be too far away.
Also a lot of the available shots will be birds
@@WillGoodlet, I also have a Nikon 24-120mm and Tamron 17-35mm
24-120 sounds good. There are also some opportunities for night sky too. Sounds like you are bringing a lot of gear !! :)
What camera car mount do you use
Hi it's made by Gimpro gear in South Africa. There is a video about it here: th-cam.com/video/-b224uT-tVk/w-d-xo.html
That singing woman round the 8 min. mark actually sounds a lot like American Country and Western music - the same sort of rhythm dominated, single note lyric punctuated in the beat, saying nothing - signifying nothing.
Hi Breck, I get that you don’t like the music! I read every comment here from everyone although sometimes I won’t answer for a while. Not much I can do about it now 2 or 3 years later. A lot of people love the music and continually comment on it. In fact I had a one on one with an Israeli photographer on Friday who raved about it. He said it made him feel like he was along for the journey.
More importantly I’m thinking of making a video just for you with only the sounds of nature :) I think, when you hear the camera handling bangs, constant screech of the image stabilisation and autofocus, wind noise, droning diesel engine and absence of birdsong. You will know that the actual sounds are not that pleasant nor do they enable the scene changes. The visual cuts must be helped by sounds otherwise they are jarring.
Every single sound in these videos, especially the more recent ones is curated.
None of them are ever filmed at the same time because you get terrible handling noise. Each sound is recorded separately at a different time. So the elephant footfall, the branch breaking, the birdsong etc… none of it is from video. Only my voice is recorded in the moment.
I now have a vast library of sound that I use to reconstruct the ‘soundscape’ using authentic sounds from the exact same area.
I think it’s important to understand the purpose of the music even if one doesn’t like the particular track.
This string or independent wildlife sightings is connected by nothing. There’s no script or story, they happen.
Stringing them together as they occur makes for virtually unwatchable videos.
The only thing driving a story and continuity is my presence, interpretation of the event, change in time indicated by light and the physical movement to a new location. This movement needs to been seen but its only purpose is to drive story. It is not fun to listen to it. Diesel engine, corrugations, bangs and thumps. To get to the next scene.
Nor do the sound clips so recorded ‘line up’ in volume or continuity. Having different and jarring characteristics caused by different level settings and type of microphone.
Therefore there must be music of whatever kind. I happen to hate the ‘epic nature’ tracks on most wildlife videos viewing them as extraordinarily pretentious for a guy thumping around the bush in a land rover. And don’t get me started on ‘African’ bingo bongo tracks. I like a strong vocal so that this can carry without the backing music, this allows me to stop a travel scene early instead of waiting 3 minutes for the music (or noise, as you like) to end. I’m even happier when the lyric is relatable to the situation - some of the songs talk about animals, waterholes, sometimes loss. I get lucky when I find one like that.
I’d like the audience to come along on a road trip with me. I’d like them to feel like they were listening to the radio on the long road to the next sighting. Sitting there with me.
This is the purpose. I think we clearly would fight about the radio station!! :)
Perhaps an audiobook instead?