What has isolation/lockdown taught you?

There are many ways in which people over the last year and a bit have had their lives changed. Whether its socially, financially, and other ways it most definitely has changed our lifestyles. However, how has it changed photography? For some and I should say most, travel has been restricted. Only now are international borders starting to open, whether you travelling to the many reserves and private lodges within South Africa or travelling further into the Masaai Mara, Uganda, Mana Pools, Okavango Delta or the Kalahari regions of Botswana. Before all of that creating content and getting images for a photographer were extremely difficult and very little motivation and inspiration was glooming around most photographers be it professionals or amateurs.

This blog that I have written is to keep all of you motivated into seeing opportunities around you in your daily lives to inspire you to either become better photographers and to look and broaden your horizons to subjects you haven’t noticed before that become more apparent during your isolation or lockdown phases.

Luckily for myself, being a field guide or also to some known as a “game ranger” I have had the opportunity to be based on the reserves I worked for during these isolation phases but however there were times were getting out was not possible and I had to change my focus to the smaller things around me that I had not even noticed before.

On many game drives conducted by field guides, many topics are discussed but very little detail and extensive knowledge is given across to guests visiting these areas. Subjects such as vegetation, geology, ecological systems etc. However, one subject stood out for me that is not forgotten about but most definitely not covered into great depth on a safari especially in areas where Big Five is regularly seen and this is birding.

So have taken the opportunity to showcase you a variety of bird species that I have managed to capture during my isolation phase with the assistance of two great lenses from Sigma South Africa, namely:

• Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sports
• Sigma 60-600 f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports

These two lenses above are extremely powerful telephoto lenses that provide crisp clear and great clarity to a professional level especially for bird photography.

Please enjoy my selection of bird photography images during my isolation and hopefully this will encourage you to broaden your horizons whether you in isolation/lockdown or return to normal happenings of your lifestyle. Also, hopefully next time you on safari, stop taken in what is around you and have a look at the birdlife, grow your knowledge of what’s happening around you and it will greaten your safari experience, I promise you.

Kevan Dobbie
Wildlife Photographer

Facebook: Kevan Dobbie Wildlife Photography
Instagram: @wildlife_with_kev