The African Photographer
Beauty in Sandton

His discovery of nature’s special moments at a young age shaped his aspirations of today: to showcase the beauty of his continent’s natural wonders in a creative way.More. About Isak Isak is a specialist wildlife photographic guide from South Africa.

Isak is a specialist wildlife photographic guide from South Africa. Isak’s passion for nature is fuelled by the reminiscence of a classic Africa and his aim is to create conservation awareness for his continent’s natural wonders. When the Canon 5D Mark II was released in 2008 it was not only revolutionary for its DSLR video capabilities but also because it was the first affordable high resolution camera, at 21 megapixels. My aim was to use it for animal and bird portraits, and for all my landscape photography work. My guests were welcomed to the Mara with with the sight of wildebeest as far as the eye can see. Our plan to drive to camp from the airstrip changed into a photographic detour with my guests photographing a crossing even before they had checked into camp. These got the shutters firing fiercely and was a great way to start our week in the Maasai Mara! Five days at the closest wilderness to Johannesburg with some of my favourite people can only mean lots of fun to look forward to. After transporting a record amount of luggage and camera gear to Mashatu Tent Camp we got our workshop off to a good start with an afternoon game drive. To warm up the shutter fingers we decided to spend some time at an hyena den, photographing in golden light, before sundowner drinks concluded a great first day in the bush! For most guests it was their first trip to Africa, so it was a great privilege for me to introduce them to our iconic animals while getting them up to speed with the photography. Our fist drive included elephants, elephants, elephants and cheetah in golden light. Sundowner drinks with a great sunset concluded a perfect start to the safari. We reached camp just before the afternoon game drive time, and although we had seen most of the animals, including lions and elephants on the way up, none of us wasted time getting ready for our first drive. An incredible start to the safari included elephants play-fighting, owlets in a spotlight and a leopard stalking impala. With all that excitement, we can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring. After checking everyone into the lodge we embarked on our first game drive where we were blessed with good sightings of jackals in golden light and a leopard just before sunset. We got to camp early and had time to settle in before the afternoon game drive. He was a beautiful specimen and we decided to stay with him for the whole afternoon as the light got better and he delivered some stunning poses. In my industry of wildlife photography, this is the highest honour bestowed from the leaders in wildlife photography, BBC wildlife and the Natural History Museum in London. What is beautiful to one person does not necessary strike an emotional cord with another. But, if you do photography for your own enjoyment, regardless of what anyone else thinks, then you’re on the right track.