Even as a child, I clearly remember a great yearning to discover the world. I pictured myself in a khaki shirt. With a safari helmet on my head, a ‘reference book’ (although nothing of the kind existed) in my hand and a pair of binoculars round my neck, looking every bit like a world explorer. But life moved on and, except for some wildlife spotting with my grandfather, binoculars had no place in my life. This changed in the torrid heat of southern Africa.
Namibia, 37 degrees in the shade. In my hand, I hold my camera, fitted with a 600 mm objective lens. I cast my gaze over the sparse landscape of the Etosha National Park, constantly searching for animals. You might think they would be easy to spot. But not today. The heat is creating a haze over the landscape. The great distances on this flat plain don’t help either. That formation way off in the distance could be wildlife, but it could just as easily be a pile of stones or a cluster of trees – what I like to refer to as “bio herds”.
So it’s just as well that SWAROVSKI OPTIK has something really special in its portfolio for us photographers: a VPA phone adapter. On our travels, we have often watched guides taking photos through binoculars with a smartphone, using them almost like a telephoto lens. Not for a moment did we think we’d do the same one day. But, here we go, it just shows how quickly things can change. And it’s great fun. We’ve heard stories of people who have used this combination on safaris and been really pleased with the results.
FACTS ABOUT
Stephanie Bernhard & Stefan Tschumi
Stephanie Bernhard and Stefan Tschumi are travel photographers from Switzerland. They travel all over the world, recording encounters, emotions, and exceptional moments in photos. Stephanie and Stefan share a passion for foreign cultures and beautiful images, and want to experience our planet’s amazing animal and plant kingdoms up close.
Together they have published the book “Reisefotografie – The grosse Fotoschule” [Travel Photography – The Great Photography School], present talks and run the travel and photography blog Journey Glimpse and the learning platform Creators Path.
More about Stefan Tschumi: www.stefantschumi.photography.
Stephanie and Stefan recently joined the SWAROVSKI OPTIK Nature Explorer Team.
