The story behind the lens

LANSERIA – World-renown wildlife photographer Harriet Smith’s secret to taking great animal photos is patience – waiting for the right moment.

The American-born Smith has been visiting South Africa for the past 20 years and has been involved with taking photos of wild animals at the Lion Park in Lanseria for the past seven years.

“The first time I visited Africa it stole my heart, and it has had it ever since. Shortly after my first trip to Africa, I switched over from normal photography to wildlife photography.”

Smith was born on the East Coast of America and she currently resides in Las Vegas with her husband Jim and her six children. “I have to brag a bit and add that I have 14 beautiful grandchildren.”

Bringing it back to photography, she explains that, without the great field guides that are currently employed by the various national parks, she wouldn’t have been able to navigate the bush and locate these rare wild animals.

She further explained that one of the most amazing moments for her was when she took a photo of a leopard called Legadima in the Moreni Game Reserve located inside the greater Okavango Delta. “Just to give a bit of a background about Legadima, she is one of the world’s most-photographed leopards. National Geographic did a documentary about the leopard and they called it Eye of the Leopard which became an Emmy Award winning documentary.”

She explained that the photograph that she took of Legadima happened unexpectedly.

“We followed her around for hours and then she did something that we weren’t expecting – she ran back up the tree she had left 5 minutes ago. I laid back with my camera pointing up and took a photo of Legadima hissing at me – it is a memory that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.”

Smith said she is planning to return to the Lion Park again next year as she has been doing all these years.

“The staff at the Lion Park has become like family for me and, although I’m heading to Kenya and Botswana next, I will always return to and be fond of the Lion Park and my ‘family’ there.”