Photography News | Issue 66 | photographynews.co.uk
Interview 32
PN: It looks like you’ve had a few near- misses with equipment, such as the lion with a tripod in its mouth! Did you get it back? Have you got any other encounters like this you can share with our readers? GP: I’d like to caveat this by making it clear if you annoy or harass an animal your chances of a good image fall considerably. My intentions are always to let the animals stay relaxed. The ‘tripod incident’ was pre-camera car… one of the many, many failures along the way. I did get it back. I still use it and love recalling the day it picked up its battle scars. My car has, at times, toppled. It has been rutted by red deer I’d say ten times. Luckily, this starts quite physical, but I think when my car doesn’t fight back the stag loses interest. I’ve been caught in a buffalo herd stampede and to this day I’m not sure how they missed my camera. I also worked with a lone buffalo bull. He was just plain disinterested… right up to the point when he charged my camera. He got to within six inches before my reflexes certainlysavedmycamera.Agrumpyelephant also charged and big cats chewed, chased swiped and stalked my camera relentlessly. There’s never a dull moment. PN: What about highlights – you must have experienced some amazing moments photographing such great wildlife? GP: There are so many. Every time I have a success, it is cause for celebration. Every image is its own little Everest. If I think which experiences I remember most fondly, I’d say the morning I had with a cheetah and her single cub. We had spotted her a few days before and frustratingly there was always something preventing us starting shooting. Cheetahs are endangered. On a daily basis their survival is precarious and only ten days before, themumhad lost her other cubs to buffalo (buffalo will attack big cats, they were not under any threat). If she had been hunting or unsettled it would have been reckless to try and photograph her with the remote camera. On the third day, we had started from pre- dawn with no success. With no sign of the mother and cub we turned the Land Rover to finally give up. Then out from four-foot-long grass walked mum and cub! We had these two delights for almost two hours before they finally stopped their meandering to rest under a tree. They were much less naughty than lions or leopards, mild mannered and relaxed. They played, they drank, they ran and they rested. Magical. PN: Do you have a favourite animal or species to photograph? And is there
a particular animal you’ve not yet photographed but would love to? GP: My favourite is easy: leopards. To those not fortunate enough to see a leopard I am usually asked, ‘why?’. For those who have seen a leopard they never ask why. The most beautiful, stealthy, secretive, elusive cat… No leopard sighting is ever disappointing. As for species I’ve yet to photograph, I’ve quite a long list. It puts a smile on my face to replaymywishlist –musk ox, bison, mountain lion, okapi, jaguar and wolf, I am enjoying ticking them off slowly as I want to make each experience as memorable as possible. PN: How much preparation and research goes into your shoots? How many months in advance do you plan a trip? GP: I rarely have an idea, plan it and complete it in less than a six-to-nine-month window. The only exceptions are Richmond Park and Maasai Mara, which I know so well I can be there shooting productively immediately. When you want to create unique shots, you need to plan much, much more thoroughly than if it was the kind of trip you might just sign up for, offering probably a more conventional experience. Although sometimes I need to do just that in order to make contacts and leads for a second trip that can then be tackled in a unique manner. PN: As a wildlife photographer, why do you feel it is important to document our wildlife? What do you hope to achieve with your wildlife images? GP: A very big part is to raise awareness. Every trip I make seems to ignite even greater concerns and worries about the plight of wildlife. In just the last 50 years we have lost 60% of the earth’s wildlife. I had felt like I should do something, and I felt that for quite a long time. Now I feel I need to do something, – I need to. There are differing opinions on where the point of no return is for many high-profile species. There are already more tigers in captivity in the US alone than alive in the wild.
Only 30,000 wild lions left and the plight of cheetahs, rhinos and elephants is bleak. I’m so pleased to have partnered with National Park Rescue, a remarkable organisation doing incredible things. Proceeds from the book are going to support this wonderful charity and the work they do on the ground. PN: Can you tell us more about the book and where our readers can purchase it? GP: The book is a collection of fine art black & white photographs accompanied by anecdotes and stories for the making of each shot. Iwanted the book to be different and stand out. This is, I hope, reflected in the images as well as little touches like the cloth book covering and silver foil front cover.
I’ve been caught in a buffalo herd stampede and to this day I’m not sure how they missed my camera
Above and below With a huge number of species now critically endangered, Graeme hopes his book will raise awareness, as well as support conservation activity
purdy.photography
Get the book
EIGHT FEET is available fromGraeme’s website, purdy.photography/book/ or through Amazon. Priced at £35, only 999 copies have been published.
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