January 2026 Wildlife Photography Contest Beginner Category Winner

I took this photo in August 2025 during a photography workshop with British professional photographers Ann and Steve Toon in South Africa. My technical skills were still fragile, and it was the first time I had used my Olympus camera in manual mode. All I knew for certain was my desire to showcase the beauty of African wildlife through my images.

Zimanga is well known for the quality of its photo hides: the eye-level positioning, perfect orientation, and proximity to the animals — between five and ten meters — guarantee outstanding photographic opportunities.

As a beginner, setting up my camera on a tripod equipped with a high-performance gimbal was a tremendous help. I still find it difficult to stay steady when holding my telephoto lens (100–400mm) freehand. And that, in short, was the nature of my shooting conditions.

Scavenger Hide offers the opportunity to photograph vultures that come here to feed. By feeding vultures — particularly the critically endangered white-backed vulture — they are kept within protected areas, which limits the risk of poisoning by farmers or poachers.

After two hours of trying to capture the rapid interactions between the vultures, I was mentally exhausted. So I decided to focus on details and textures instead. My intention was to create an original composition — in this case, just a fragment of a vulture. As I framed the wing, I was pleasantly surprised when the shadow of another bird appeared. All I had to do was shoot… and that shadow turned out to be the icing on the cake.