“Never work with children or animals,” as the old adage goes. This is a phrase that refers to the unpredictable nature of children and wildlife that is not always helpful. When many of us are caught up in Disney’s Snow White scene as any photographer or videographer sees wildlife shaking up to you while shooting a location, wildlife curiosity can be a hindrance.
Only the Twittersphere can be considered a gift, Joaquin Campa recently blessed his timeline with a 40-strong yarn to say “wildlife hinders photographers”. Featuring animals from all over the world, including meerkats, seals, and penguins, the thread is a brain spice for doomscrollers everywhere.
Some of the shots remind Crest macaque of Naruto, whose “selfie” has been at the center of a legal battle for years between photographer David Slater and the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), arguing that Naruto has been photographed ever since? , The image could not be copyrighted by Slater. This unusual event marked the end of a settlement where Slater agreed to give 25% of the profits from Naruto’s selfies to the groups that protected Crested Makak and their habitat in Indonesia. However, enough legal talk. Here are some of our favorites from Camper Thread.
Blue-chip documentaries featuring David Attenborough have introduced the camera to their crew in recent years, bizarre, impressive, and sometimes dangerous length photographers and videographers must expand to capture once-in-a-lifetime shots of the award-winning series. Attenborough’s latest series with the BBC, A Perfect Planet, is a fine example of the horrific efforts made possible by hardy camera operators and with the help and knowledge of local residents.
An example of this is the first episode of the series, Volcano, which features the charismatic flamingo of Lake Naruto. The species of interest in this hierarchy was unfortunately surrounded by caustic soda flats that required a hovercraft to navigate, whose skirt (which is integral to its function) was repeatedly trimmed by razor-sharp zones. Fortunately for the crew, the Maasai of Lake Natron is highly skilled in multiple crafts, including stitching, and with their generous support, the team was able to bring their craft back to the flats ready to be completely torn down again.
Wildlife photography and videography is undoubtedly a career that takes you to places that other people may never see, but that doesn’t mean it’s always enjoyable. In a press release about the series, camera operator Matt Aeberhard said, “During the filming, I gained many months of experience in [at Lake Natron] flats. Yet, even after taking all the precautions and following the strict protocols, we fell on top of the salt for several moments which was very difficult. Engine failure is not fun. It is not fun to physically suck fuel through blocked filters to open the line in the engine.
“On one trip we came very close to being caught in a flat which means rescuing the helicopter and abandoning the craft. But I was able to clear the craft from a salt area to free water and then fall into the lake and kick myself with water and mud to move myself to the front of the machine, not really fun …” My guess is, there’s something worse than stealing your camera.
