photographer/ Videographer in residence program
The PIR/VIR program was established in 2016 and is a great way to showcase Onguma Safari Camps and what we have to offer through the lens of some truly talented individuals. We have met some wonderful people over the years and we love seeing how their different artistic styles capture the harsh landscapes, diverse wildlife & breath taking architecture our camps have to offer!
We do have a selection process, however should you feel like you would enjoy this kind of challenge, do get in touch with us for more details. Photographers spend up to a month on the property, you are housed in the comfort of our guides quarters, fed and provided with a vehicle to explore the reserve, working closely with our head of guides & park manager.
Bill Gozansky
Bill Gozansky is a professional photographer, guide, and photo editor based in western North Carolina. He specializes in travel, nature, and wildlife photography. Bill’s quest for images enables him to explore unique destinations and to interact with diverse cultures across the globe. He currently leads photographic safaris to Namibia, Costa Rica, and western North Carolina. In both private and small-group settings, Bill teaches field techniques of professional travel, nature, and wildlife photography in these remarkable natural areas.
Bill Gozansky is also the editor of Wildlife Photographic magazine. Bill’s award-winning images have been represented by galleries, exhibited in numerous art shows and competitions, and sold as fine-art prints to private collectors. Bill licenses his work through various photo stock agencies, and his images have been published in many books, calendars, and periodicals around the world.
“Onguma’s Onkolo underground hide provides a remarkable low-angle perspective and proximity to the wildlife that you just can’t get on a game drive. You never know what to expect at Onkolo, but there is a sense of anticipation when sitting in a hide that must be experienced. The Onkolo hide is a great complement to the traditional game drives you will do in Etosha National Park and on the Onguma Game Reserve. The unique photographic perspectives you can obtain from this underground hide are amazing, and the hide should be a must stop for any photographer (or wildlife lover) visiting the eastern Etosha National Park region. I always enjoy my stay at Onguma as the accommodations, the staff, and the photographic opportunities are all outstanding. I can’t wait to get back to Onguma!” – Bill Gozansky
Jan-Joost Snijders
My name is Jan-Joost Snijders, born on the 12th of April 1987 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. I grew up in a warm family with a father who has always been a fanatical photographer. So it was just a matter of time until I bought my own camera. In that same time I also fell in love with travelling around the globe. This combination made me an enthusiastic photographer even more.
In 2015 we visited South Africa for the first time. We immediately fell in love with this country. The people, its nature, the beautiful remote accommodations and of course the animals made us instantly hooked. During these trips I found out I just really love to sit, watch and photograph wild animals. Additionally I experienced that it is not just taking a picture of an animal, it is capturing that moment in which an animal shows you its inner-self. Those moments make me humble as a human being and proud to be a photographer.
“From the day we arrived until the day we left it was a wildlife photographers paradise.
Onguma truly invested effort to make our stay as good as possible to deliver the best photo’s. We got access to everything Onguma has to offer. Think about our own vehicle, access to the hide whenever possible, go out during the night to take night photo’s and more…
Onguma truly has to offer great wildlife viewing and because of the exclusivity we had the chance to photograph the animals in the best possible way without any disturbance.
These 4 weeks where a living dream, with lots of hours on the road looking for wildlife but also enjoying the luxury Onguma had to offer.”
Morgan Trimble
I grew up in Kansas, studied physics and biology at MIT, and completed an MSc and PhD in conservation ecology in Pretoria, South Africa. My scientific work has been published in a number of books and journals.
I’m a freelance photographer and writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I write about the environment, science, and travel and tell stories through photography. I’m an Emerging Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and the Royal Photographic Society’s 2019 Science Photographer of the Year.My photographs have been shown at the Science Museum in London, the Iziko Museum in Cape Town and exhibitions in the US, South Africa, and Europe. I’m honored to have won a number of awards for my work including overall winner of the Royal Photographic Society’s Science Photographer of the Year (2019), first prize in Wilderness Safaris’ Photographic Competition in the Conserving Africa’s Wilderness category (2019), first prize in the IUCN Terre Sauvage Save Our Species photo report (2015), third prize in their Nature Image Awards telephoto category (2017), third prize in the Royal Photographic Society’s International Images for Science (2017), runner-up in Nature’s Best Photography Africa landscapes (2016), first prize in BirdLife’s Wetlands of Life competition (2015), both the Sunday Times Travel and Wildlife Photographer of the Month awards (2015), and several awards from the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement’s Young Science Communicators and Science Lens competitions (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017).
“My time at Onguma was really special. Working out of the Onkolo hide was a chance to slow down, focus on the little things, listen to the sounds of the bush and smell the scents at the waterhole, and to exercise a little patience. What a welcome change from the bustling game drive experience and zooming from sighting to sighting. Sitting in a photographic hide is certainly a slower pace, but it let me be more in tune with the daily rhythms of the bush and to experience more natural animal behaviour. Most importantly, it was an amazing spot for unique photographic opportunities that led to many memorable images.”
Ashley Morgan
Ashley A. Morgan is a veterinarian, veterinary epidemiologist, and wildlife photographer. Her conservation and photographic endeavors have taken her to six continents. Her experience as a veterinarian has been rewardingly diverse, from performing dental work on primates recused from the illegal wildlife trade in the tropical rainforests of Java to providing veterinary care to street dogs in Botswana. Her images have been featured in a number of publications, including BBC Wildlife. She is passionate about furthering conservation efforts through both epidemiological research and science communication using the medium of photography. The arc of her life has been shaped by a deep reverence for the animal world and the world’s last remaining wild places, which must be protected at all costs.
“I was privileged to spend a month at Onguma photographing wildlife. The wildlife photographic opportunities on Etosha Game Drives and on the Onguma Nature Reserve are spectacular. Game spotted during my stay included elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, black rhino, kudu, eland, dik-dik, warthog, springbok, zebra, blue wildebeest, and oryx. I spent many hours in the Onkolo Hide capturing eye-level shots impossible to capture from a game viewing vehicle. The hide lends itself well to capturing wide angle shots and, at night, nocturnal wildlife. I also worked with Onguma’s anti-poaching unit to capture unique images of the elusive black rhino. There simply isn’t a better (or more luxurious) place to photograph Namibian wildlife than Onguma.”
