Brilliant Black & White – Africa in Focus

There is something special about black and white photography, not an easy medium, but when you have that perfect image it can create even more wonder when transformed into monochrome … magic!

Here is a selection of some striking images entered in this year’s photo competition. Keep checking back to see if any of them make the judges cut for the People’s Choice competition, voting opens soon.

“Meeting of the Tribe” by Phil West; we had the privilege of sitting in on a meeting of the elders surrounded by the rest of the Pokot tribe, in western Kenya. I love the focus and seriousness of the central man whilst a more junior member behind smiles with a colleague.

“Lockdown” by William Steel; for many people around the world, a large part of 2020 was spent at home. Due to COVID-19, South Africa went into one of the world’s most strict lockdowns. This would be the longest time I have spent at home in the last ten years. As a wildlife and travel photographer, I felt trapped. The only solution was to turn my camera to the animals around me. The longer you spend observing the wildlife around you, the more you realise how many stories there are to tell. Every morning this Karoo prinia would search for insects in the security gate at my front door. The insects drawn in by the outside light proved an easy meal for this clever bird. Adaption is the key to survival in an urban environment, for humans and wildlife alike. Western Cape, South Africa.

“Into The Night” By Dylan Machado Carvalho; this image emerged after 6 hours of tracking a lioness down and finally successfully darting her. The Reserve had reached the limit for its lion population and so we had to sterilize this individual. This is necessary so to prevent inbreeding amongst the lion pride and keep the gene pool diverse. Moreover, this process can be reversed (even years later) should the lion population drop or the Reserve be able to hold a bigger lion population! It was a tough day of looking for the right lioness amongst the pride, follow her into the thicket and finally get a clear shot for the vet! All in all the process took no more than 45min after darting her and in less than one hour she was reunited with her family! This image was shot on assignment with painteddog.tv

“Weapon and Armour” by Troy Otto; when a kill circle crosses paths with a defence ring. During a morning patrol a pack of wild dogs stumbled across a strange scaly creature. The dogs spent several minutes completely baffled by the pangolin, before losing interest and moving off.

“Matador” by Sushil Chauhan; I have always admired raptors & vultures are my favourite large raptors. Unfortunately these amazing birds are highly endangered.

“Little Man” by Simone Osborne; Visiting the Hamer tribe in the Omo Valley in Ethiopia

“New Life” by Andrew Aveley; a young female cheetah cub rests alongside her mother in the late afternoon light while her three siblings play and expend energy before hunkering down for the night. Over a period of time I noticed this youngster stayed focused and was more interested in its surrounding rather than its siblings.

“Run to Survive” by Marc Martinez Moya; wildebeest running towards the Masai Mara, the great migration