Frederick van Heerden Lives in South Africa. He has a passion & love for nature & the wildlife in Africa. He captures the beauty of creation through his lens.
He travels into the wild with either his wife or brother in law to experience the adrenaline rush of the unexpected & bring the photos home. He made a portable hide where he waits for hours on end for nature to “happen”.
He describes these times where he just sits & waits as most amazing because while he is waiting for say: the African Fish eagle to make his appearance , he would experience events that make him grateful that he can see & has the ability & health to be there in the first place, for example he once saw 3 lonely little yellow flowers by the side of the lake…………his thoughts at that instant: “How is it possible for these little flowers to survive on their own?” Just then a bee arrives & services these little flowers supplying them with pollen from elsewhere. Or while he sits, still waiting for the fish eagle when a colourful pygmy king fisher flies by & lands on the 600mm lens ….(the portion that sticks out of the self made portable hide.) What a thrill it is to observe this extremely perfectly formed feathery colourful little bird that looks straight at him………. His mission is to capture wildlife behaviour in a manner that does not disturb their behaviour in any way. The objective is to be ”in position” before the wildlife arrives. If the animals are there before you arrive they tend to move away & are suspicious of you “as an intruder” or possible threat. When this happens the behaviour of the animals, birds etc. is NOT relaxed & normal. So for Frederick it is crucial to attempt to not let the animals even be aware of his presence.
The purpose other than enjoying the tranquillity of nature is to capture scenes in the form of art that could hang on the wall. When Frederick looks at a scene with or without animals or birds in it…..he sees a picture, a painting. This he portraits with his images. A lot of “finishing off” is done in the electronic darkroom. Without Photoshop it would be difficult to achieve the “perfect” mood for each image. Obviously one MUST capture a good image to start with.
The biggest single factor for success with wildlife photography after using quality equipment & understanding how the equipment operates is………………………………….patience. You cannot tell an animal what to do or to hold still. As you visit the wild & spend time you learn the habits of the animals & can then to a certain extent pre-empt certain behaviour. So every image that Frederick photograph is done without any inducement or artificial lighting…………….The action shots are taken as the animal or bird reacts by its own choice. The excitement when you are waiting for something to happen or for a wildlife subject to move in a position that would give the effect of that perfect “painting” to hang on the wall or to tell a story cannot be described in words……………..It is an absolute adrenaline Rush…………….it feels as if every vein in one’s body is pumping the blood faster. [Official Website]
