From Competition Win to a Trip of a Lifetime

James Rosling Shares Insights & Images

There’s a lot more to a photo safari than pointing a lens at wildlife. It’s about learning to see differently, reading the light, rethinking a composition, trying a technique you’d never normally reach for. James Rosling experienced exactly that on our Botswana Photo Safari, a trip that pairs expert photographic tuition and exceptional sightings with a genuine understanding of the ecosystems behind them.

We caught up with James to hear how it went.

Images by James Rosling.

Winning a Place on the Botswana Photo Safari

James and his wife went along to The Photography & Video Show last year with two friends. Browsing the stands, they stopped at the Penda stand and couldn’t resist entering. “Winning it was fantastic, honestly the most exciting thing.”, says James.

A First Safari With a Professional Wildlife Photographer

It wasn’t James’s first safari. He and his wife have traveled to Africa several times before but it was the first alongside a professional photographer, after years of teaching themselves. Even so the trip surprised him. “The camp is superb! I’ve never been somewhere quite so isolated, and it felt as though we had the whole area to ourselves,” comments James.

Capturing a Leopard Kill

One sighting stood out above the rest: a leopard kill, found high in a tree. James watched the leopard climb down and caught the moment on camera. His tour guide, Alan, helped him work on his composition and exposure settings in very difficult light, to capture something rarer: a brown hyena driving the leopard off its kill. “Getting that on camera was really special,” he says.

Learning Wildlife Photography Techniques in the Field

Getting his camera set up properly, James says, was the biggest shift, restoring the confidence he’d had with his previous Canon. He also picked up techniques in high-key and low-key photography, a look he’d always admired, and spent the week experimenting with composition. “It’s so variable,” he says, “but it was great to experiment with different approaches.”

A Favourite Frame: Lion Cubs in the Evening Light

Asked to pick a favourite frame, James doesn’t hesitate: the lion cubs, playing and gambolling in the evening light.

Advice for Anyone Considering a Wildlife Photography Tour

James is already thinking about what comes next: prints of one or two favourites and maybe entering his own images into the Penda Travel Photography Competition. His advice for anyone considering a trip like this is straightforward.

“Penda has given us a trip well beyond our expectations, and we’ve been on some good ones before.” he says. “Having a professional photographer with us transformed the whole experience.”

From Our Tour Leader: Alan Hewitt on the Trip

Alan Hewitt led the Botswana Photo Safari that James and his wife, Chryssoula, joined. A wildlife and conservation photographer, writer and workshop leader, he is also an official UK ambassador for FUJIFILM. Alan’s role on the trip went beyond finding sightings and each day, he worked alongside guests on the technical side of their photography. For James and Chryssoula, that meant guidance through a shift in kit, moving from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras.

“It was great to have James and also his wife Chryssoula, who joined us on our Botswana (Tuli Wilderness) Photography Safari. They were making the jump from DSLRs to mirrorless and were keen to learn how their cameras and lenses could be used, so they could take absolute control over exposure and focusing.

It was rewarding to see how things came together every day for them. They were enthusiastic and curious, and I think that was a big part of the progress they made, as well as their enjoyment and the results of their trip.”

Sightings across the Tuli Wilderness drives ranged from the small (field mice, fire finches, chestnut backed sparrow larks) to the large (elephant, lion, leopard). One afternoon stood out in particular.

“We had already enjoyed an exceptional few days of wildlife encounters, particularly with leopards and brown hyenas. During one late afternoon, we had three leopards and three brown hyenas within around 30 yards of each other. Six animals might not immediately sound remarkable, but consider what we were looking at. Leopards are solitary animals, brown hyenas are the rarest hyena species, predominantly nocturnal and solitary scavengers. To have three of each in the same area, all active during daylight, was something I would never have anticipated witnessing.”

– Alan Hewitt – Tour Leader and Wildlife Photographer

Inspired by James’s trip? Explore the Botswana Photo Safari, or browse our Wildlife Photography Tours.