Local wildlife photographer Hannes Lochner has become a bit of a household name for his amazing work on the Kalahari, where he has spent the best part of the last five years living in the wild, during which time he says he travelled “over 220,000 km and went through 16 tyres”.
His books of photographs have become a coffee table ‘must have’ for any Southern African wildlife enthusiast, and he recently launched his third book, The Dark Side of the Kalahari, which details his epic two year and 100,000 kilometre journey following a single leopard female named Luna as she struggled to raise her cubs in the extreme and unforgiving desert environment of the Kgalagadi.
Speaking about his unparalleled experience in the Kgalagadi, Lochner said “the Kalahari is like a lost world tucked into the furthest corner of Southern Africa, and it always delivers. . . For photographers this place is hot, sweaty, but with enough patience, heaven on earth!”
Lochner’s new book is also available to download with numerous other fascinating features as an interactive app. Among these features are videos, interactive maps, Wikipedia information, behind the scenes visuals and camera settings for budding wildlife photographers. The app also has ethical benefits: for each one sold Hannes will be donating part of the fee to two different conservation projects.
Born and raised in Cape Town, Lochner travelled to all of South Africa’s major game reserves and national parks as a child with his parents, and it was here that was life passion was discovered.
After completing a degree in Graphic Design at the University of Stellenbosch and a short compulsory stint in the military, Hannes went on to travel and kayak the globe; he then worked as a river guide and ran his own rafting company on the Orange and Kunene rivers before moving back to Cape Town to work as a freelance graphic designer, river guide and photographer.
In 2007, his passion for photographing Southern Africa’s wildest species and spaces won out, and Hannes starting working full-time as a photographer and would publish his first book, Colours of the Kalahari, soon after.
He hasn’t looked back since and will soon be embarking on another great adventure with his partner Noa, who does all the filming for his projects. This time it’s to be a two year stint in EtoshaNational Park in Namibia.
