JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • Home
  • Portugal 2023
  • About
  • Gallery
    • This Was STC Santorini 2023
    • This Was STC Miami 2021
    • This Was STC Santorini 2018
    • This Was STC Miami 2016
    • This Was STC Santorini 2015
    • This Was STC Miami 2015 – Temple House
    • This Was STC Miami 2014
    • This Was STC L.A. 2013
    • This Was STC Bahamas 2013
    • This Was Miami – STC Oct 13-14, 2012 Seminar / Workshop
    • This Was STC Miami 2012
    • This Was STC Vegas 2011 – 2
    • This Was STC Vegas 2011 – 1
    • This Was Miami 2011
  • Model Search
  • Store
  • Blog
  • Contact

Blog

From Africa To Playboy – Behind The Scenes

Posted on: 12-19-2014 Posted in: Photography

One more amazing experience from Africa arises to print in Playboy International. No words can describe the gravel road journey we experienced. 2500 miles on challenging roads and few close calls with wildlife resulted in the first pictorial from many we photographed during our 14 day trip.

The images are some behind the scenes highlights of Ales Bravnicar’s Playboy pictorial and moments which are printed in our minds for rest of our lives. The actual pictorial can be seen here.

PBSLO568

After 24 hours of flying time, we arrived in Windhoek which is the capital of Namibia. The first remaining afternoon was spent loading groceries and snacks into our rented minibus which was now packed as tight as a snare drum. With the rebellious minds of photographers and our urge to discover the unknown, we had our mind set to explore the country on our own instead of with a map in hand in order to avoid the usual touristy atmosphere. I have learned that the some of the best photos happen during the journey instead of when you arrive to your destination.

IMG_5310

The equipment for the journey was provided by our sponsors Hensel from Germany and Chimera based here in the US. Besides the great gear, the beauty of this was our sponsors had shipped everything ahead of time to our lodge in Windhoek so we did not have to battle customs and luggage fees, which has become super expensive these days. The pressure was on since I can just imagine what a pallet cost could be with air cargo.

Our three models Liza Praprotnik, Jade Williams, and Mary Alejo were in high spirits after a day’s rest to counter the jet-lag before we rolled our minibus out of the capital in search of unknown beauty and locations this wonderful country has to offer. What’s really funny is that the capital city of Windhoek reminds me more of Stuttgart, Germany than an African city with its beer bars and western atmosphere. But when you drive about 30 minutes outside of the city, everything changes and the Africa we came to see emerges in full-force.

IMG_5234

We had our first encounter with baboons soon after exiting the city. They appeared on the side of the road and got our models diving for their cameras and STC attendee Doug Hill had his knuckles white while squeezing his Nikon in excitement to capture anything that may have jumped out of the bushes. And plenty did jump out on those bumpy roads including our hot models leaping out of their dresses.

One afternoon while we were filming three lions and a leopard on a tree, we totally lost track of time and quickly realized that we were running late and that we still had about 100 miles to our next lodge where we were spending the night. You just don’t drive in wild animal parks after sunset because now you will now share the roads with wildlife and put yourself in danger’s way. And we sure did.

IMG_9834

Ales Bravničar is not only a stellar photographer but is also a top-notch driver who can dodge a 5 ton elephant appearing 6 feet from our front bumper at 80 mph in the pitch dark while tires screech like we were in a Hollywood movie. With one hand on the steering wheel and another holding his Coke Light without spilling any, and cursing (we assumed) in his native language, he wove past the wildlife we had been seeking out only hours earlier. He drove the entire last two African trips that STC has done and clearly has a career in driving should he ever leave his camera behind which we hope that he never does.

By the time we finally reached the exit gate of the park, it was now closed and locked looking more like a North Korean de-militarized zone gate with all sorts of animals from hyenas to wild cats IMG_6434curiously peeking at us to decide if we were to be their next dinner. Thankfully, there was a local village a mile away that looked like a scene from Nicolas Cage’s “War Lord” movie where we found someone to let us out.

The experiences were non-stop and many more stories could be told and will be in time but this is the beginning for the first pictorial that got published and a great example to show what many successful photographers do to get the editors to want more. Clearly, you don’t have to go all the way to Africa to find pictorial success but if you think how editors get bombarded beyond numbness as far pictorial submissions go, then you should realize the necessity of offering something very different to raise their eyebrows and their level of excitement.

Plan your next trip wisely and consider joining our Miami Beach seminar on March 21-22 to hear the rest of the story and how we make dreams come true and publishing a reality.

IMG_9517

_SCP3762Ales Bravnicar prepares for a sunset scene

 

Raw data during our journey to Africa

ibook-store-widget

  • 150 bottles of water
  • 72 bottles of Coke Light
  • 2500 miles / 4000 km
  • Two blown tires
  • 10 full tanks of gas
  • Two near misses with an elephant and a giraffe at 6′ close
  • One near miss with a Presidential convoy
  • One crashed drone
  • Zero rainy days
  • Two national parks
  • 300gb plus of photography and video
  • Average temperature 100F
  • 8 police checkpoints and one animal checkpoint
  • One Hensel Porty kit with two batteries
  • One Hensel Power Max with two batteries
  • One Hensel D1000 / D500 strobehead
  • Two Hensel mini strobeheads
  • One Hensel soft dish and Chimera 30′ collapsible beauty dish.
  • One Hensel Ringlight
  • One drowned Hensel remote trigger
  • One Chimera 4×6 Super Pro softbox
  • One Hensel Grand 90 deep octa
  • One 4×6 Sunbounce reflector

 

More “Wild Moments” from Africa

_SCP3685 _SCP3691 _SCP3766 _SCP3970 _SCP3987 _SCP4002 DSC_3549 IMG_0035 IMG_4713 IMG_4781 IMG_5389_ETOSHA_193 IMG_5475_ETOSHA_221 IMG_5894_Opuwo_082 IMG_6187 IMG_6418 IMG_6460 IMG_9624 IMG_9747 IMG_9785IMG_0204More pictorials from Africa coming . Stay tuned.

Aksana-Postcard-Low-Res-Square

shop-stc-click-pointer-2-568

STC-LA-seminar-568-banner
© 2014 Copyright ShootTheCenterfold.com. All rights reserved.

  • Popular Posts
  • Related Posts
  • Write for us sponsored posts
    Write for us sponsored posts
  • Learning how to take the best photography
    Learning how to take the best photography
  • Sarah Lyons - From STC Attendee to FHM Cover Model
    Sarah Lyons - From STC Attendee to FHM Cover Model
  • How Your Photography Portfolio Can Help You Avoid Rejection
    How Your Photography Portfolio Can Help You Avoid Rejection
  • Write for us sponsored posts
    Write for us sponsored posts
  • Learning how to take the best photography
    Learning how to take the best photography
  • Sarah Lyons - From STC Attendee to FHM Cover Model
    Sarah Lyons - From STC Attendee to FHM Cover Model
  • How Your Photography Portfolio Can Help You Avoid Rejection
    How Your Photography Portfolio Can Help You Avoid Rejection

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Twitter Feed

    Twitter not configured.

Archives

  • February 2025
  • August 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • April 2022
  • September 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • September 2010

Search Blog

Recent Posts

  • Write for us sponsored posts Write for us sponsored posts
    02-20-2025
  • Learning how to take the best photography Learning how to take the best photography
    02-20-2025
  • Sarah Lyons - From STC Attendee to FHM Cover Model Sarah Lyons - From STC Attendee to FHM Cover Model
    08-17-2023

Popular Posts

Every photographer has a story to tell …
© 2011-2023 Shoot The Centerfold. All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy
  • Customer Support
  • Ordering Details FAQ
  • Payment Methods
  • Return Policy FAQ
  • License Agreement
TwitterStumbleUponRedditDiggdel.icio.usFacebookLinkedIn