Instead of disguising their camera as a trap, which they note is how these kind of photos are traditionally obtained, the brothers mounted their DSLR and two flashes on a remote-controlled four-wheel drive buggy. With this rig they were able to wirelessly maneuver their camera up close to dangerous wild animals, from a safe distance.

They do admit that the “Beetle Cam” did not survive its first and only encounter with a lion, after which they moved on to slightly tamer animals such as elephants and buffalo.

Pro photographer Paul Burwell is publishing a series of “Learning Wildlife Photography” articles in the instructional category of his blog, Wild Shots. There are tutorials on lighting, composition, equipment, getting close and much more.

Paul’s tutorials are very informative, and a great resource for anyone looking to get into wildlife photography. As someone who has little experience in this field — the extent of it is shooting a few animals at the zoo — I was surprised to find that Paul uses a flash in many of his pictures. One result of doing so is making the animals look much more “alive” by putting a bit of catch light in their eyes.

Photo by mape_s used under a Creative Commons license.