Using powerful black and white, South African photographer Hannes Lochner captured these stunning images in Africa’s Kalahari Desert over a two-year period. “The Kalahari is a very dramatic and striking place to shoot and capture wildlife in some of its most wild locations,” says the 38-year-old.
Lochner, who who turned professional only four years ago, holds a special place in his heart for black and white photography. “‘What I always try to do is get a sense of personality out of the animals, some emotion,” he says. “Black and white has a lot more emotion for me. You get the affection, the feeling, and the sentiment in their eyes. It just tells more.”
The Kalahari desert is part of a huge sand basin that reaches from the Orange River up to Angola, in the west to Namibia, and in the east to Zimbabwe. Spanning an incredible 350,000 square miles, it is the home of the San Bushmen, who have lived in the desert for up to 20,000 years.
Dedicated to his profession, the self-taught photographer has been stung by scorpions no less than 16 times, but it’s a price worth paying, he believes. “I’m absolutely willing to go through that for my pictures,” he says. “I spend most of the day out in the field. Sometimes for 20 hours at a time, sometimes I don’t go home at all.”
South African photographer, Hannes Lochner