Wildlife photography for MAUN youngsters

Ulf Nermark*
Correspondent | Monday December 5, 2011 00:00

The workshop was facilitated by Botswana resident professional photographers, Stuart Arnold of Kalahari Images and Ulf Nermark of Wafabo. This budget year, the first workshop taught 20 students for 10 days, November 1-10 2011 at Nhabe Museum in Maun.

The aim was again to take the opportunities for photo training to areas outside of Gaborone and to create linkages between active photographers from different parts of the country. Previously it has been held also in Francistown and Serowe.

The participants received photographic training with practical assignments including camera and equipment, handling, ISO setting, Focus, Brief Photo history, Exposure, Shutter speed, Aperture, Motion, Panning, Blur, Depth of Field, Colour, Light (natural, flash) and Composition.

The theme for the Maun workshop was environmental/wildlife/tourism photography as it took place in Maun at the edge of Botswana's biggest tourist attraction - the Okavango Delta.  The tasks given to the students during the workshop were in five categories; Environment/wildlife, Tourism, Culture, Portrait and Arts/fun. The participants were also taught how to improve photography through information and demonstrations as well as field excursions.

The intention of the workshop was to encourage the youth interested in photography to develop skills for self-employment to support the tourism industry in Maun and elsewhere in Botswana.

Therefore, part of the training related to photography as a small business for young entrepreneurs, with discussions on etiquette, ethics, copyright, pricing, among others.

The workshop also taught the participants about how to plan, select and hang/display a small exhibition. The result, showing 100 photographic prints, was presented during the evening of the last day of the workshop.

The second workshop is planned for Gaborone, to run over three consecutive weekends during February 2012, with a small exhibition of the workshop results held end of February.

This workshop will invite youth with some prior knowledge of photography as the tasks will be at a slightly faster pace.

The participants will receive photographic training with practical assignments; to produce photos in the categories of Portrait, Environment and Architecture. The aim is also to add on to training that relates to the skills needed for photography as a business. This will include a few days with post-production, using software on computer to link photography with the printing and advertising businesses. Images from this activity will also be a category for the small exhibition to be held at the end of the workshop.

An important outcome of the workshops is that the collaboration between photographers and the different institutions supporting arts development in Botswana can be strengthened.

The Botswana Society for the Arts has for over five years worked on the promotion of photography as part of the visual arts. It has organised workshops for photo interested youth since 2006.

The workshops have been in collaboration with the regional museums and the National Museum and Art Gallery.

For the last couple of years we have received kind financial support of the Department of Arts and Culture, French Embassy to Botswana and the German Embassy to Botswana. This year we also received a most welcome sponsorship from the GIZ (German Development Service) in the form of three digital SLR camera kits.

*The author is also photography instructor in conjunction with the Botswana Society for the Arts.