It all started with a voice note. Two months into 2020 and Jenni, a 26 year old photographer from Canada, was thinking about what she wanted to do most this year. Africa was a place she had always wanted to visit but until this point, her photography work with her partner Chase, a 30 year old photographer from Canada, had been taking her and her to the sensitive regions of the arctic.
Optimistic about 2020, she decided this year she would make Africa happen. Right away she started planning a trip for her birthday in October. She decided to message Donal Boyd, a 29 year old Irish American photographer, on Instagram. Pro tip: A good place to start research is always to seek insight from someone who has a wealth of experience. Donal responded with an 8 minute voice note full of information.
He was actually preparing for a workshop he was hosting in Namibia just three weeks away and he invited them to join him. Naturally three weeks is not a lot of time for anyone to prepare for a trip across the world. They decided to be spontaneous and join him in Namibia. The couple flew from Vancouver, Canada to Frankfurt, Germany. Then Frankfurt, Germany to Windhoek, Namibia on March 4.
At that time Corona Virus was just starting to creep into Italy and Canada hadn’t experienced any of the scare or hysteria yet. There were no confirmed cases in the whole country that were publicly known and no one could have imaged at that point in time that it would impact their trip let alone the entire world on such a massive scale.
They met at Erindi Private Game Reserve. While the whole world was being immersed in chaos from the spread of the virus, their group of photographers were oblivious in the middle of the African bush.
“Our days started before sunrise and ended well after sunset. We would be out in the bush in our Land Rover searching for wildlife all day and that was our life for the week. We had very little exposure to the internet, the news or anyone from back home.” Jenni
“We would see cheetahs, prides of lions with young cubs and elusive leopards. Giraffe, zebra, elephants, wildebeest and impala all with young. ” Chase
“The workshop was called “New Life” and we were consumed with excitement and felt a beautiful sense of harmony and optimism witnessing so many animals thriving in the lush surroundings that commonly are devastated by extreme drought.” Jenni
After the workshop was complete, the couple drove back to the main city of Windhoek to start their next lag of the trip to the desert in Sousslvei. As they arrived at the guest house in the middle of town, they were shocked to find out that virtually every country was being affected by the virus now and things were getting serious.
Travellers were being called back home by their governments
“the people we met from abroad, travellers like us, were all panicking.” Chase
“All the stations on the radio were filled with virus updates, “ways to protect yourself” and frantic people calling in wondering what to do. ” Chase
“We felt completely polarizing emotions from just a few hours earlier when we were back at Erindi watching a heard of elephants play in the grass.” Jenni
“We reconnected to the internet and had heaps of messages from friends and family worried about us, urging us to take the next flight home. When we looked into the flight possibilities we found out that we couldn’t fly out of Namibia because their flight route to Canada was through Frankfurt and they were banning all flights to and from Germany because Germany was being heavily affected by the virus.” Jenni
“We decided to stay at a guest house in the city for a night and get caught up on all the news before we made any decisions. We had previously intended to go to the desert for five days but we were fearful of being disconnect and out of the loop yet again if things got worse. We found a new route home before we went to bed that night. We could fly from Namibia to South Africa, South Africa to South America or Europe, and then home to Canada. We felt some comfort knowing that we had a few options.” Chase
The next morning the South African government imposed a travel restriction to enter the country. No one who had been to Germany within the last fourteen days was allowed to enter South Africa.
“We lost our only way home. We called Donal, who was still at Erindi awaiting some guests for another workshop he was hosting. We found out that he had to cancel the workshop because the guests couldn’t make it to Namibia due to all the travel restrictions.” Chase
“I also couldn’t travel home because of the same restrictions. It was suddenly clear that the three of us were stuck here for an unknown amount of time. ” Donal
The pair joined Donal back at Erindi to have time to reconvene and see what would unfold. Namibia at that time had only two cases of corona virus. Both of which were from travellers that had been isolated, recovered and returned home. Both of our home countries were getting worse by the day, so we were at least relieved to be away from it all. They then found out that at the very minimum they would be stuck in Namibia for thirty days so they had to get their visas amended.
Since then, the entire country of Namibia has gone on lockdown. No one is allowed to leave their homes without a permit or explanation of necessary need to do so. One day before the lockdown occurred the three gathered up on all the food and supplies they would need for the next 30 days in the bush.
So what do three photographers do for 30 days in the middle of the African bush?
“Well let’s face it, for us it is not the worst place to be stuck.” Donal
“We got creative and decided while everything is shut down and we are the only “guests” at Erindi, we have to do something epic.” Chase
They decided to create the ultimate infield wildlife photography course. The core essence of the course is practical infield application and examples. So instead of laying around with nothing to do, they decided to take you with them on their adventures. Whether that is on foot with a cheetah or on the Land Rover meters away from a pride of lions, they will walk you through their unique process of capturing the perfect photo right as its happening.
This photography course will be the first and only of its kind as they have full access with a vehicle, a guide (Steven) and endless wildlife including new born cheetah cubs, wild dog puppies and the entire array of African wildlife. This course is suitable for anyone interested in wildlife photography, from beginner to expert. Learning the theory of photography through their application of techniques in the field will propel you as a photographer and enable you to capture powerful images on your next wildlife safari trip.
The course will include all preparation, gear, post processing and editing. You’ll learn about the animals, conservation and the thought process behind the images we capture.
When you’re stuck at home during these uncertain times and feel like you have nothing to do, why not consider learning a new skill?
www.ultimatephotocourse.com
You can follow their journey stuck on an African Safari on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAB5koe__TqOWxQ6vob45g
For more of their stunning photography, follow them on instagram:
@donalboyd
@jenninaturally
@chase.teron
African Wild Dog by Jenni Lisacek
Male Lion by Jenni Lisacek
Young Female Lion by Donal Boyd
Baby Elephant by Donal Boyd
Cheetah by Jenni Lisacek
Male Lion by Chase Teron
Baby Elephant by Chase Teron
Young Female Lion by Chase Teron
