THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
When tourists go for their first time on safari in Southern Africa, they want to see the Big Five,
not really knowing what they are and why they are called that.
The first settlers in Africa didn’t have a lot of cattle and needed to hunt wild animals for food.
The animals that are known to be the most dangerous and difficult for the hunter to shoot were
quickly known as the Big Five: the buffalo, the lion, the elephant, the rhinoceros and the
leopard.
Nowadays, these animals are still shot on a regular basis, but cameras have replaced the rifle.
Wildlife photographers have added wild dogs and cheetah to the list, hence creating the
‘Magnificent Seven’ – animals that are difficult to shoot with a camera.
I moved to South Africa in 2002 and was amazed by the golden hour of dawn and sunset in the
African bush. I was trained as an Engineer in Applied Physics with Optics as a specialty so I
wanted to capture this light with photography. I took a couple of courses in Johannesburg and
specialized in wildlife photography during our multiple safaris (300+ today). The best school for
wildlife photography is being in the bush, talking to other wildlife photographers, watching
professional wildlife photographers from National Geographic or Africa Geographic and
learning about the impact of animal behavior on wildlife photography.
In 2013 I started a Facebook page (Caliwa) to share my photos, as well as having an account on
National Geographic’s webpage for amateur photographers. Both allow me to learn more
through feedback, and perhaps be noticed and have a photo published in National Geographic ,
the dream of every wildlife photographer!
I am in the process of preparing a website.
I hope you enjoy some of the results of my endeavors.
Chantal Liekens (Wanten)
aka Caliwa
My son, who has included a photo in the exhibition. was interested in dinosaurs as a
young boy, but in his case, this interest mounted into a passion for animals in their
natural environment. Wildlife photography helps him to increase his knowledge of
animals and their behavior. Orin plans to study zoology after graduating from ASP in
the UK next year.