The BRIZA Blog

By expert nature photographer, Shem Compion.   1.        Research. Research on your subject and location is important. Google Maps has made this so much easier, and even more exciting! Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.  -Frank Lloyd Wright 2.         Know your camera. There are times you will want to change settings rapidly and you should be able to do this without taking your eye off the viewfinder.  A minute looking for buttons and dials can cost you the shot of a lifetime. Work on perfecting technique rather than perfecting the equipment you have. Technique will take you much further than the latest lens or camera. By knowing your camera and remaining present you will be able and ready to capture the decisive moment.  A style is not a matter of camera angles or fancy footwork, it's an expression, an accurate expression of your particular opinion. -Karel Reisz 3.         Be patient. Wildlife h

Last time we relayed Compion’s motivation for one to become a nature photographer. Well, the experience below could go one of two ways: you’ll either be dying to get out there and take some potentially risky snaps, or you would rather die ! Being on safari a lot brings its fair amount of adventure and misfortune: I walk with elephants, I have been struck by lightning while opening a gate, and I’ve even been medevaced from the remotest part of Ethiopia after falling down a cliff into a river and knocking myself out. Shem Compion: Shem Images website I believe in the law of averages when it comes to walking with big and dangerous animals and one day that caught up with me and two others in Mana Pools [National Park, Zimbabwe]. Shem Images: Shem Images website We walked up to an old elephant bull who was having a morning slumber. From about 50m we observed him and then moved away. Something woke him suddenly and with his reverie disturbed, he decided to take i

Beginner, amateur, professional or aspiring: if these simply flawless reasons, by Shem Compion, to give nature photography a try don’t inspire and convince you, well read them again!  1.   It’s an ever-changing subject Nature photography never gets boring. Whether you are interested in wildlife or landscape photography, there is always a new angle, new perspective and new light that changes the end result. What makes this brand of beauty even more special is that it is from your point of view, your own lens, and it was captured because you deemed it worthy. Plus you put the effort into eternalising the scene. As Compion reiterates further down, you don’t even have to go as far out as you think you do; just open your eyes. There’s always something new. Image source: Unsplash online 2. You can be at one with nature There’s no better excuse for getting outside than feeding your thirst for nature, via photography. With a half-decent camera or pho