How did it all start?
We’ve been doing the photography and writing for books and magazines for many years. It began in earnest after I left the Natal Parks Board in 1998 after being their photographer for 16 years.
We had been supplying stock images for books, magazines, advertisements and calendars and at some stage we were commissioned to do magazine stories and eventually books… This is the 24th one that we have done together although our photographs have appeared in many others.
Why should people buy your latest book?
Few of us realise the precarious position in which lions find themselves. Fifty years ago there were about 450 000 wild lions in Africa – today there are only about 23 000. In our book, In Search of the African Lion, we highlight this and other lion conservation issues, lion biology and, importantly, historical and anecdotal information (traditional and cultural), bringing out the character of the beast as it were.
Accompanying the informative text are about 250 photographs including some unique images of lions cubs interacting with a young giraffe and coverage of a surgical procedure on a lioness.
Is there another book in the pipeline?
There could be another book but, we need to keep that under wraps for the moment. Follow us on Twitter (@RogerdelaHarpe) and Facebook (Roger de la Harpe) and we’ll keep you updated about books and other happenings.
What is the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you while on a shoot?
The scariest thing was being held up at gunpoint while on a shoot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I managed to get my cameras back, much to everyone’s surprise. While we were working on our book The Big Cats of MalaMala we found ourselves, one night, in the middle of a fight between two prides of lions. The one pride was using our open Land Rover as cover while the other pride tried to get at them. Terrifying!
Are you doing any photo workshops or Lightroom workshops?
We do have a number of workshops scheduled. The ever-popular Wild Dogs of Madikwe safari, at Jaci’s Lodges in November, is fully subscribed (we are looking at doing back-to-back safaris if we can get a good enough response) and another one is scheduled for January 2013.
Chobe [National Park] in Botswana is a stunning place to photograph (on one of our safaris we shot 6 000 pics in five days!) and we have our top safari happening there in September 2013 (for more information visit www.africaimagery.com) and we are in the process of developing one or two other exciting safaris there. Our monthly photography newsletter keeps people up-to-date with our safaris, photo tips and other happenings at Africa Imagery. Sign up here.