November 2016 saw the inaugural Capture Earth, in the magnificent setting of Marataba Private Safari Lodge in the Limpopo region of South Africa. The line-up of professional nature and wildlife photographers, as anticipated, was impressive, with legendary French photographer Vincent Munier, from New Zealand David Lloyd, South African 'local' Greg Dutoit and from the Netherlands Jan van der Greef.

Most of the pro team met a few days before the event, getting to know each other and of course the 23 hectare private park that had been exclusively reserved for the event by owner and organiser, photographer Jonathan Chritchley. It was a wonderful couple of days, as these 'giants' of the photography world compared stories and exchanged 'playful banter'. What really came across is the great mutual respect they have for each other, and how humble and down to earth these great talents are. Nothing to prove when you're that good. 

Finally, on Saturday, our invited clients arrived, an international group from the UK, Switzerland, the USA, and India, to start a magnificent week of game drives, one to one sessions, processing, talks, slideshows, print reviews and laughter, with great food, and and  incredible backdrop. Seeing the lodge taken over in this way, walking through the stylish lobby and seeing Vincent Munier at a table with laptop open, two of our client watching intently as he talks through his workflow; seeing Jan animatedly demonstrating his motion techniques; seeing the group together every evening around a big table, eating and sharing the events of the day; all this and more showed that the vision of this event was actually a reality. The aerial photography was also a great hit with our clients, as was he unscheduled talk by legendary South African conservationist and former rugby international Ian McCallum.

All in all the week was an unimaginable success. After a slow first day the wildlife was abundant, the pros on top form and exceedingly generous with their time and knowledge, the days were well planned and gave just enough down time, the food was wonderful and the opportunites to learn and grow were many. One of our clients summed it up as the group were going their separate ways: 'You promised this would be the wildlife photography experience of a lifetime, and that's exactly what it was. Really, very well done.'

We are all looking forward to next years event, whn Laurent Baheux, David Chadwick, David Lloyd and Jan van der Greef come together for the second edition. Thanks to all who took part!

https://youtu.be/AwoWU4_62O4