It has been said that adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you. That may be exactly what game ranger Daniel Williams was thinking when he ditched the corporate world two years ago.
Daniel was an accountant in Johannesburg with a bright future but decided to pursue a different dream and took the first steps to becoming a game ranger. “I started going to the bush from an early age and fell in love with it then. A few years ago, I took a break from my job and decided to get qualified as a game ranger. It was just a way for me to spend an extended time in the bush. After two months I thought I would go back into my old job, but it turned out I was not ready for that. I knew that if I was ever going to do this, it was now or never. That was almost two years ago.” Daniel is now a game ranger at Kirkman’s Kamp in the Sabi Sand concession in South Africa.
Once he started working as a game ranger, Daniel decided to get into photography. “After spending a couple of months in the bush and realising the crazy stuff you see every day I knew I needed something to capture it. I bought a second-hand camera and took it from there.”
Kirkman’s Kamp offers incredible game viewing. The Sand River flows through the property, which is famous for its game density and the game viewing it provides. The Sabi Sand concession is considered the best place in the world for leopard sightings – the leopards are accessible and relaxed, allowing Daniel to take stunning photos of these elusive creatures. As well as many other predators, Kirkman’s Kamp also sees wild dog on a regular basis, one of Daniel’s favourite animals. “The best part of my job is being out there every day all day and seeing those once-in-a-lifetime things on a regular basis.”
So what is Daniel’s advice to first-time photographers in the bush? “My tip is to not get stuck behind the camera lens, try take in everything. Often people come and they look through this little thing while they’ve got this incredible sighting happening right in front of them, which is 360 degrees of awesomeness. Take your photo, but experience what you’re here to experience with your own eyes.”
Daniel’s photos are moving portraits of the animals of the Sabi Sand. What he likes to call his ‘pics from the office chair’. As Daniel likes to point out, the views from this office chair are certainly better than the views from his old accountant’s chair. And he has the pictures to prove it.
You can follow Daniel on Instagram at @daniwilliams1986
