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A SECOND CHANCETable Bay, South Africa

“Two African penguins hesitate for a second before jumping to freedom into the cold waters of Table Bay. Rescued from near starvation several months earlier, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) nurtured them back to health.

“Unique to southern Africa, the population of African penguins has dropped by more than 80 % since 1956. With only 26 000 breeding pairs left in the wild, the life of each penguin counts.”

HOW? Nikon D300, 12 mm lens, shutter speed 1/160 second, aperture f20, ISO 200, manual mode, with a !ash.

Photography to inspire action

EDITED BY SAM REINDERS

CHERYL-SAMANTHA OWENReading: The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle et aliPod playlist: Brahms’ violin concerto

She’s been pinned beneath a boat by a whale shark, had her face splattered with penguin guano, tiptoed

behind bu"alos and ridden shotgun in rusty 4x4s, in rickety boats and aboard tiny planes while exploring Africa and its oceans. Kenyan-born, South African-based Cheryl-Samantha Owen is a conservation photographer with a passion for teaching people to care. In order for people to be moved to save something, she believes that they have to love it #rst.

“I want to inspire people to act,” she says. “Conservation photography walks a thin line between being too cutesy and too gory. It’s easy to shock people. What’s di$cult is to #nd beauty in a situation that isn’t by its nature beautiful. This is the only way to help people understand the delicate world we live in.”

Sam studied and worked within the con servation biology #eld before turning to photo graphy. She believes that high-quality, dramatic photogra-phy can be a power ful weapon when paired with the collabo ration of scien-tists, leaders, rangers, #eld workers

and people like you and me.She considers her job a privilege

– although, as the guano incident proves, it isn’t as glamorous as people may think. And with all the bad news about conservation out there, doesn’t she get depressed? She shakes her head. “It’s the bad news that drives me,” she says. “It makes me more determined to win the next battle, to start the next project that will hope-fully make a di"erence.”

The skill of Sam’s work is that she textures environmental issues with the interwoven social issues – the animals, the scientists and everything in-between.

Right now, Sam is spearheading a photographic campaign to protect some of Kenya’s last remaining coastal wilderness, where the rich bio diversity and traditional cultures are under threat.

Fight on, Sam!

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PORTFOLIO

IT’S RAINING GIRAFFES!Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

“Dirty, hot, sticky and tired after a nine-hour drive south from Uganda’s northern border, we #nally turned o" the main road and into Murchison Falls National Park. Thoughts of a sti" drink and a shower got the better of my driver – rather than slowing down, his right foot became heavier on the accelerator.

“Speeding through a national park is a big no-no, and besides, I wanted to see the wildlife. I objected loudly and we came to a halt. The roar of the engine was replaced with the drumming of a summer downpour. Give nature a chance and you’ll always see something special, like this tower of gira"es that emerged out of the rain.”

HOW? Nikon D300, 300 mm lens, shutter speed 1/640 second, aperture f4, ISO 640, manual mode.

LOCKING HORNSOutside Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda

“These impressive beasts, with horns like elephant tusks, must surely be the most imposing of Africa’s domestic livestock. The Ankole cow is a cultural icon for the traditionally nomadic Bahima people of Uganda.

“After years of disputes between neighbouring communities and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) over traditional cattle grazing sites within Lake Mburo National Park, Fauna and Flora International (FFI) has encouraged all parties to work together on a solution that takes into account the cultural claims of the people and the biodiversity of the park. It’s a typical African situation and hopefully the result can be a blueprint for future conservation models.”

HOW? Nikon D300, 300 mm lens, shutter speed 1/1 600 second, aperture f4.5, ISO 200, manual mode.

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PORTFOLIO

STRUGGLING SURVIVORTana River Delta, Kenya“Despite having survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, sea turtles like this loggerhead are in great trouble. Only about 1 in 1 000 hatchlings survive to adulthood and those that do have to negotiate their way through polluted seas, not mistake a plastic bag for a jelly#sh and eat it, and steer clear of the hooks and nets of #shermen.

“On Kenya’s north coast, the Local Ocean Trust (LOT) is encouraging #shermen to release rather than slaughter turtles that get caught accidentally in their #shing gear. A #nancial incentive is provided to compensate those who take part in the programme. Hopefully, when a 25-year-old female turtle returns to lay her eggs on the beach where she was born, she can do so safely.”

HOW? Nikon D300, 12 mm lens, shutter speed 1/200, aperture f22, ISO 200, manual mode, with a !ash.

THE REAL PRICE OF SOUPTana River Delta, Kenya

“The plight of sharks being hunted for their #ns hit me hardest when I came across this bloodied drying wrack in a remote #shing camp on the Kenyan coast. The only way in and out of this area is by boat, and every month a Chinese agent in the port town of Mombasa collects a delivery of #ns from the #shermen.

“Nowhere in the sea are sharks safe from exploitation, not even in so-called protected areas – after all, they’re wanderers that don’t adhere to human boundaries.

“The main markets for #ns are in China and in Chinese communities worldwide, where they are boiled down to add a di"erent texture to chicken soup.”

HOW? Nikon D300, 12 mm lens, shutter speed 1/125 second, aperture f9, ISO 400, manual mode.

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PORTFOLIO

GANNET IN THE BATHTable View, Cape Town

“The Cape gannet, with its snow-white body, black-edged wings and distinctive golden crown, is one of southern Africa’s most graceful seabirds. But whether they will continue to #ll our skies is questionable, as they have to contend with a polluted sea and dwindling #sh stocks.

“In this shot, volunteers from SANCCOB are scrubbing oil from a gannet’s feathers. Ships in False Bay regularly release oil by emptying their bilge water, and birds are brought to SANCCOB often, especially in winter, when storms bring that oil to the surface.”

HOW? Nikon D300, 12 – 24 mm lens, shutter speed 1/100 second, aperture f6.3, ISO 500, manual mode, with a !ash.

UNDERWATER SURVEYNear Mombasa, Kenya

“Scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) measure the growth of coral in the Indian Ocean o" the Kenyan coast. The study is helping to determine the e"ect that a rising sea temperature will have on coral reefs. Coral polyps are slow-growing organisms and the natural resilience of reefs is under threat not only from climate change but also from pollution, over#shing and coastal development.

“Scientists estimate that as much as 70 % of the world’s coral reefs are in danger and many are already beyond salvation. The reefs in the Caribbean, for example, have lost up to 80 % of their coral species.”

HOW? Nikon D2x, 10,5 mm lens, shutter speed 1/250 second, aperture f13, ISO 200, manual mode, Subal underwater housing and Inon strobes.

Visit www.samowenphotography.com to see more of Sam’s work and to !nd out where her next project will take her.