Five Mintues with Thandiwe Mweetwa

Five minutes with...

THANDIWE MWEETWA

Wildlife Biologist - South Luangwa National Park

Who is Thandiwe? I am a 28 year-old wildlife biologist. I was born in a district called Monze in Southern Province.

Briefly tell us about your educational background. I did my primary education at Mazabuka basic school. In 2001, I relocated to Mfuwe where I did my junior secondary school at Yosefee, then proceeded to Saint Monica’s for my senior secondary. I then did an international baccalaureate course, and it lasted for two years. Later I went to Canada, where I studied animal biology at University of British Colombia for four years. Currently, I am studying for my master’s in Wildlife Management at the University of Arizona, USA.

What does your job entail? It involves the monitoring of the large carnivore population inside South Luangwa National Park.

Are you doing this for the love of money, or is it out of passion? Hmmm… I think it is passion. I remember in 2002 I made up my mind not to do office work. It’s nice to do the job that I love so much.

In five years’ time, where do you see yourself? I would love to be working in a different part of Zambia where the wildlife eco-system is not so (there needs to be a word here--I think she means “developed.”) A few eco-systems at the moment in Zambia offer opportunities like here in South Luangwa National Park. There is potential in expansion in all those areas for us. Eco-systems like Lavushi-Manda National Park--to see them recovering and animals return.

What has been your career highlight? My career highlight was when I got an award from National Geographic as a 2016 emerging explorer and I spent one week in Washington D.C.

Drawing from your experience, what will you advise to someone who wants to be a naturalist? Firstly, we need more Zambians as conservationists. There are a lot of opportunities in these game areas and it’s a field that is going to be more and more important. My advice to one who wants to be a naturalist? One needs to study hard in sciences and also must have a high tolerance for dust.

The third in our series of photographic tips with Edward Selfe – a veteran guide and photographer from Zambia – looks at breaking away from the camera’s AUTO mode and the possibilities that it brings.

take your camera off auto mode

All digital photos are created using light and a balanced combination of aperture (how wide your lens opens), shutter speed (how long it opens for) and ISO (the digital sensitivity of the sensor – like film speed from the old days!). This is the case whether you’re using a new digital SLR or an iPhone. The difference is that with a digital SLR, you have much more control over the balance of each of these settings. Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all have an impact on the final image, so being able to choose which one to prioritise is beneficial for wildlife photographers. Because wildlife photography often happens at high speed, there is rarely time for adjusting all three settings and checking the exposure. So below, I’ll outline the most widely used camera set-up for wildlife photography. This set-up, based around aperture mode, simplifies the process but still allows for flexibility when you need it. Set your lens to its widest aperture (the lowest number e.g. f4 or f5.6), which allows the maximum amount of light into your camera. This is helpful since we often photograph wildlife in the early morning and late evening when the light is soft. It also gives you the shallowest depth of field which is often preferred in wildlife photography to isolate the subject from its background. With your widest aperture set, you are just left with shutter speed and ISO to balance. When you half-press your shutter button, you’ll see your shutter speed indicated in the viewfinder or on the back display. Keep an eye on your shutter speed and use the ISO sensitivity function to adjust it when required. If light levels are low, increase your ISO sensitivity to give you a faster shutter speed. As light levels increase, reduce your ISO to keep the graininess of the image to a minimum (the downside of high ISOs) while still keeping a fast enough shutter speed. as a guideline...

...the following minimum shutter speeds are needed to ensure a sharp photo which has frozen the movement: - Sunsets - 1/100sec - Static animals - 1/250sec - Elephants - 1/500sec - Antelope - 1/800sec - Animals running - 1/1000sec - Perched birds - 1/1250sec - Birds in flight - 1/1600sec upwards Enjoy your safari! Get in touch with Edward for more photo advice, photo safari tours and beautiful images! Go to: www.edwardselfephotography.com