ELEANOR HATTINGH

IG: @ella_h_333

Nikon D7100

Sigma 150 – 500 mm lens

ELEANOR WRITES: In July 2021, Indlovu River Lodge ran a competition on Facebook and I was lucky enough to win an amazing threenight photographic safari for two people. The lodge is in a Big Five reserve next to the Kruger Park near Hoedspruit and they have two sunken hides specifically for wildlife photographers.

I redeemed my prize in November 2021. It was very hot in the hide when I took this shot of a young nyala at the waterhole. I used a shutter speed of 1/320 second, aperture f8 and ISO 100. Although the hides are designed for optimum photo opportunities, you still need to be patient. You get dropped off at a hide for a session – four photographers at a time, for four to five hours (morning or afternoon). Once you’re there, you must stay inside, and wait…

For hours, we only saw birds, a tortoise, and a snake – and this nyala. Friends of mine were luckier; they managed to see lion, buffalo and elephant.

TOAST SAYS: Purpose-built hides have become the in thing over the past decade or so, with more and more being built in various reserves. They’re great for wildlife photography because they virtually guarantee results, albeit very specific results… If you’re patient and put in the hours as Eleanor did.

Why are sunken hides better than normal hides? It’s all about being at ground level when you take the photo. At a waterhole, this puts you at eye level with everything from a little waxbill that comes to take a bath, to an antelope or predator coming to drink. The lower vantage point lifts your subject above the horizon and adds the option of a near-perfect reflection. Sitting a metre or two higher in a normal hide will never give you this result.

If you were walking around on a farm taking photos of cattle, you could lie down on your stomach and get a similar effect. But you can’t do that in a game reserve – a lion might tap you on the shoulder! Photographic hides have become so specialised that they even consider what time of day you’ll get the best results – during the morning golden hour, or during the afternoon stretch towards sunset. As a result, images taken at these sunken hides often look very similar.

So, in summary, these hides are not the be-all and end-all, but they’re certainly worth investigating if you want great animal portraits taken in an environment that considers every little thing a photographer cares about.

I love the reflection in Eleanor’s shot, and those ripples of light on the nyala’s nose, which lift out the colours beautifully. The eye has a wonderful shine, and I also like that you can see all four legs, showing off its cute black-and-white “socks”.