July 1

50 Photos That Will Make You Fall In Love With Africa All Over Again

Photography & Videos

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By Matthew Sterne on
July 1, 2017

Is it just me or does it feel like the world is just moving way too fast? A good remedy for this is to get lost in something beautiful and captivating from a far-off, exotic part of the world, like these photos.

Enter our Instagram channel and these stunning photos. Don’t think, just look. We hope you enjoy this African-tinted escapism…

“Bat Blizzard – Sneaking off on my own to the fringe of the forest, in the pitch dark of my last morning in Kasanka National Park in Zambia, I set my camera up on a tripod and waited. Fearing that the trip would end without me having captured a single image, except for copious amounts of migrating dust spots that were supposedly bats, but way too small in the frame, I waited rather anxiously in the dark with only my headlamp for comfort. The sun seemed to take forever to rise and when it finally did, I looked to the opposite horizon and low and behold, I saw an almighty bat blizzard on its way back to the forest, after a night’s foraging and gorging on wild fruit. Waiting for the blizzard to engulf the sun, I hit the shutter button with the finesse of a machine gun operator. The bat blizzard continued for the next hour as I came to realize that I had just witnessed the largest mammal migration on planet earth.” – @gregdutoit #RAtakeover ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“The Chase – The leopard landed amidst a cloud of dust and hooves. The antelope reacted with lighting speed reflexes and the leopard’s outstretched tail added an appropriate degree of tension to the scene. I have been fortunate enough to watch leopards hunt impala before and they always seem to single out an individual amongst the herd. With her gaze fixed squarely on the impala she had selected, a short chase ensued. The impala got away and the leopard lay down in the dirt and debris, amidst a cloud of dust. She was not in the least bit angered or frustrated. She was just doing what cats do.” – @gregdutoit #RAtakeover ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“Chimpanzee Siesta – The day that I took this photograph was one of the best days of my life. It was the first time that I saw and photographed a chimpanzee, our closest living relative. I was in Tanzania’s spectacularly wild Mahale Mountains, on the eastern shore of beautiful Lake Tanganyika and not far from where Stanley met Livingstone, uttering those famous words ‘Dr Livingstone I presume?’. To limit their contact with humans, I only had one hour with the chimps and after locating a community of the great apes; things were going well as they were out in the open. Then, without warning, they all decided that it was siesta time. The entire group lay down and prepared themselves for a siesta and my guide told me that they usually sleep for about an hour! Perplexed and not sure what to do, I decided to join my subject on the ground. As we lay there and gazed into one another’s eyes, I must admit, that I too felt sleepy.” – @gregdutoit #RAtakeover ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“Giraffe Twilight – Many words can be used to describe the African bush but for me the one word that encapsulates it best is the word ‘enchanting’. Even after spending 20 years exploring Africa’s wild areas I am regularly, on almost a daily basis in fact, surprised by this incredible enchantment. It was in Botswana’s Tuli Block that we were having what I like to call “moon-uppers” because as photographers we always miss sundowners, due to photographing until well after the sun has set. On this particular evening, there was a crescent moon in the sky and on a distant koppie a tower of giraffe had fixed their gaze upon us. I desperately wanted to capture the scene before me and sinking to my haunches I held my camera as steady as possible. There was no time for a tripod and at 1/15th of a second I managed to photograph the giraffe in the twilight. In order to capture the entire scene though, as I was seeing it with my naked eye, I then zoomed in and took a shot of the moon. By having created this in-camera double exposure, I am able to share the magic of the scene with you now. Enjoy.” – @gregdutoit #RAtakeover ___________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“Zebra in the Dust – The zebra are wild and shy on the floor of Kenya’s rift valley and they know that it is a favourite strategy of lion to ambush them at watering holes. For this reason, they approach the water tentatively to within a few meters, before turning and fleeing in paranoia, only to return minutes later. Ensconced in my hide, which consisted of a hole in the ground, sitting motionless became a test of photographic passion. I am glad to report that ultimately one brave zebra stuck its head through the cloud of dust caused by their frantic stampedes. As the zebra sipped the water the rapid fire from my trusty old Nikon F100 camera’s shutters had never sounded so sweet. This image was captured on slide film.” – @gregdutoit #RAtakeover ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“Swimming with Elephants – This big bull elephant was enjoying the cool waters of the Zambezi River during an infuriatingly hot day in the valley. Longing to be able to join the elephant in the cool water, I lay on a boat in front of him and as the sun set, the watery foreground began to glow orange. The big bull swam closer and with his giant body fully submerged under the water, we looked each other in the eye. It was perhaps not surprisingly one of the most invigorating wildlife interactions of my life.” – @gregdutoit #RAtakeover ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals #elephant #swimmingelephant

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“Okavango Lioness – The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the most pristine habitats left on planet earth. Each year the Okavango River ends its journey, not in the sea like most rivers, but rather by flowing into the Kalahari Desert. The floodwaters are shallow, gentle, pure and persistent with crystal clear reflections. On this morning, we were in the Selinda concession when we received a radio call to say that two lionesses were heading towards Joubert’s Crossing. Knowing that the flood had reached the crossing we raced there and just as we got to it, we saw the two lionesses approaching the water tentatively. These lionesses live on the fringe of the delta and are not as used to the water as the lion in the central part. They did not like the water and opted rather to leap over it. Grabbing my second camera body, with my 70-200mm lens attached, I zoomed out all the way and managed to capture one of the lionesses leaping with her reflection. I then later inverted the photograph to increase the visual interest. ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #animallove #loves_wildlife #wildanimals #bucketlistgoals #travelafrica #travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife #wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“The Three Tenors – Three Yellow-billed Oxpeckers “singing” on top of a buffalo. The oxpeckers are one of the most important “tools” in biological control of ticks in many wild animals such as zebras, buffalo, impalas, giraffes and more. However, even though they help these animals, many consider them a nuisance and won’t let them land on their backs since oxpeckers are also fond of picking noses, eyes, ears and wounds, which can irritate them.” – @yswildlifephotography #RAtakeover ____________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #vet#veterinarian #wildanimals#bucketlistgoals #travelafrica#travelgram #luxurytravel #wildlife#wildlifephotography #africanwildlife #safarigram #safari #safariphoto #safariaddict #travelgoals

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“2. CAPTURE THE ACTION: Capturing wildlife behaviour can be some of the most rewarding and challenging images you’ll ever take. The higher your shutter speed, the better you’ll be able to capture movement sharply, such as this Verreaux’s Sifaka running in Madagascar. The middle focus point on your camera is the most accurate, especially in low contrast or low-light situations. Use single-point focus, press the shutter half way and then recompose your shot to frame it how you want. If your subject is moving, switch to AF-C, which is Continuous Auto-Focus on Nikon (known as AI-Servo AF on Canon) and the camera will do it’s best to track the moving subject as you follow it. And don’t be afraid of Manual Focus, sometimes it’s best if your camera is struggling to find focus for you.” – @shannon__wild #RAtakeover #AfricasPhotographerOfTheYear __________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #wildlifephotography #safariphoto #safari #safariphotography #travelgoals #africa #travel #wildlife #wild #photographer #photography #photofeature #phototips #apoty #photographytips #photographytipsandtricks

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“A gorgeous female rhino with her massive horn showing proudly. It was an emotional time when the decision to dehorn the rhinos was made but with the protection and now horns that are smaller and worth considerably less money, it has kept poachers at bay. Working in rhino conservation you can’t let your guard down and become complacent because if you do you could lose one of these amazing animals. As the rhino stats say the poached rhino numbers dropped last year to 1054. The stories you hear and the constant pressure that is continuously present, the slaughtering is not going to stop until the demand for rhino horn in Asia is drastically reduced. With so many people involved in saving the remaining rhino species the future looks brighter for a species in trouble.” -@sav_wildheartphoto #RAtakeover _______________________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #travelafrica #travel #africa # africantravel #safariaddict #willifeaddict #wildlifephoto #wildlifephotography #wildlifephoto #safariphoto #safariphotography #rhino #rhinoconservation

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“Heading out for a morning drive by myself I came across this massive snake on the road. I first thought it was a python, but as jumped out the car I saw it was a snouted cobra. It went to the bottom of a tree and stayed there for ages while I sat close by taking photos. It hooded up but didn’t hiss or show any aggressive signs. Most snakes give you some sort of warning before biting. If you encounter a snake in the bush it’s best to just leave it alone and they will leave you alone.” -@sav_wildheartphoto #RAtakeover _______________________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #travelafrica #travel #africa #africantravel #safariaddict #willifeaddict #wildlifephoto #wildlifephotography #wildlifephoto #safariphoto #safariphotography #rhino #rhinoconservation

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“My first ever hedgehog sighting while going out to do an anti-poaching patrol. Night drives offer a chance to see a whole different world that comes alive after dark. While working at Wild Heart I saw my first aardvark, a striped pole cat, a few African wild cats, leopards and even brown hyenas. I loved the night sitting out there listening at all the sounds. But this little hedgehog really was amazing and he was so inquisitive, hanging around for a photo then moving off back into the night.” -@sav_wildheartphoto #RAtakeover _______________________________ #rhinoafrica #rhinogram #travelafrica #travel #africa #africantravel #safariaddict #willifeaddict #wildlifephoto #wildlifephotography #wildlifephoto #safariphoto #safariphotography #rhino #rhinoconservation

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About the author 

Matthew Sterne

Matt discovered a passion for writing in the six years he spent travelling abroad. He worked for a turtle sanctuary in Nicaragua, in an ice cream factory in Norway and on a camel safari in India. He was a door-to-door lightbulb-exchanger in Australia, a pub crawl guide in Amsterdam and a journalist in Colombia. Now, he writes and travels with us.

  • Beautiful photos, and now living in my 6 African country over a period of 34 years, visited nearly every country on the continent I think the title is wrong. One never falls out of love with Africa.. When i leave, parts of my heart and soul will be left behind.

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