Will Burrard-Lucas seems to be living the dream. A professional wildlife photographer, he’s spent the last several years trekking the globe, capturing candid photos of everything from African lions to Swiss cows.
Not only is he an incredible photographer, he’s also an innovator within his field. Unable to find any sort of photography equipment that would help him achieve his vision of taking close-up shots of potentially dangerous wild animals, he decided to invent his own contraption. Thus, the BeetleCam was born, and soon afterward, his own DSLR camera trap system.
Now — with the help of his wife Natalie — he’s come out with a book, Top Wildlife Sites of the World. It features over 30 travel sites for aspiring wildlife photographers to visit, each with a map, photos, a fact file and a first-person narrative from his time on the ground.
We recently got a chance to ask Will a few questions about his work and traveling as a photographer.
How did you find your way into wildlife photography?
As a child I lived in Tanzania for a few years and got to experience safari for the first time. I was immediately fascinated by African wildlife. I picked up my first camera back in 2001 when I went on holiday to Namibia. Pretty much from that trip I became hooked on wildlife photography, and took every opportunity to get out in the field to take photos.
What’s your funniest story behind capturing a shot?
Photographing meerkats in the Makgadikgadi Pans region of Botswana was one of the funniest experiences I’ve had as a wildlife photographer. These meerkats are very charismatic, and although they are completely wild, over time they have become habituated to humans. This means that when people are around the meerkats will sometimes climb on top of the nearest person for a better view out over the long grass! Trying to photograph animals that jumped on me whenever I got too close was certainly a challenge that I wasn’t used to facing…not that I’m complaining! Here’s a short video on that experience.
What’s the country that’s surprised you the most, and why?
One of the countries that surprised me the most was China, when I went to photograph the Giant Pandas in the Qinling Mountains. Not only did I have an incredible experience photographing the Giant Pandas, I was surprised to discover an abundance of other amazing wildlife in this region such as takins, golden monkeys, golden pheasants, and flying squirrels.
How would you encourage amateur photographers to capture wildlife?
The most important thing to do when starting out is to begin taking photos in your backyard. Experiment and learn as much as you can, even if your subjects are just your local wildlife. (Will also runs free Wildlife Photography Online Course for aspiring photographers.)
Do you have any tips you’d like to share about traveling?
Traveling as a photographer can be difficult — especially when you are starting out, mainly due to the cost of it. You can try partnering with, or volunteering, for conservation organizations or lodges in return for free accommodation and access to wildlife subjects. You can also offer your images for free in return for accommodation. This is how I manage to travel as much as I do.
Now that you know about Will, check out some of his incredible shots. And if you need more after this, make sure to follow him on Instagram.
