The tour runs from 17-14 October 2013.  There are only a limited number of places, so book now to secure a place on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Join him as he journeys through the diversity of Africa, capturing the essence of its colours and cultures in this exciting live theatre presentation in which he articulates the challenges faced by Africa’s people and environment in the 21st century. He shares with the audience this extraordinary continent; through landscapes from desert to jungle, dynamic wildlife, and human life from remote villages to teeming metropolis.

Hear his experiences making the books Living Africa and Trading Places, the Merchants of Nairobi. See silverback mountain gorillas deep in the Congolese rainforest; the tallest sand dunes in the world; the remote tribes of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley; endangered black rhino drinking at a moonlit waterhole; Mozambican migrant workers toiling in a gold mine three kilometres below ground; a wildebeest calf in the moments after its birth; pilgrims in the ancient rock-hewn churches of northern Ethiopia; an impala in the dramatic instant of its death, and fishermen on the Niger River at dawn. In this unforgettable event, Steve captures the diversity of the continent where he grew up, and where he has felt compelled to return throughout his life.

Each event will be followed by a book signing session. You can join Steve for a tour of Tanzania from 19-24 October 2013, with Better Moments Photo Tours.

Wednesday January 23 at 8pm Living Africa – STAMFORD ARTS CENTRE

Wednesday February 20 at 7.45pm Living Africa – THEATR BRYCHEINIOG, BRECON

Thursday February 21 at 7.45pm Living Africa – THE BREWHOUSE THEATRE, TAUNTON

Wednesday February 27 at 7.30pmLiving Africa - THEATRE BY THE LAKE, KESWICK

Wednesday March 6 at 8pm Living Africa – CIVIC AT CENTRAL HALL, DARLINGTON

Friday March 8 at 7.30pm Living Africa - KINGS LYNN FESTIVAL AT THE ARTS CENTRE

Thursday March 21 at 8pm Living Africa - TURNER SIMS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

In separate events, Steve will be presenting a lecture at Glasgow’s Strathclyde University, as well as the prestigious Photovoice lecture at London’s Kings Place in April, covering his work in South Africa in the 1970′s, through to photography in contemporary Africa.

Monday April 29 – Africa – KINGS PLACE LONDON - PHOTOVOICE LECTURE

Thursday February 28 – Living Africa – STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY

Saturday 6 October Wildlife Journals – BATH FESTIVAL FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Wednesday 31 October -  My Big Cats and Polar Journals - WATERSTONES CANTERBURY

Saturday 13 October -  My Big Cats and Polar Journals - CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL

Saturday 3rd November -  Wildlife Journals - HOWLETTS CANTERBURY

Sunday 4rd November -  Wildlife Journals - FOLKESTONE BOOK FESTIVAL

See Selected Pages

Buy Signed Copies

Thames & Hudson   ISBN 9780500650103 £7.95

]]> http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/new-book-my-polar-animals-journal/feed/ 0 http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/lions-and-elephants-at-the-watehole-the-story/ http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/lions-and-elephants-at-the-watehole-the-story/#comments Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:07:31 +0000 steve http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/?p=790 The lions had killed an elephant at Savute, Botswana and were very thirsty after eating all night. There was a lot of tension at the waterhole and the elephants kept chasing the lions away. When lions are hungry or deperate enough they will kill elephants. The killing took place in the middle of the night and the lions came to the water in the early morning shortly after sunrise. I had to elevate myself high in order to prevent the rock in the foreground from obstructing the view of the lions, so was standing on my toes on the seat of the Landrover, hand holding a 300mm lens. When I reach 5000 page likes on Facebook a random person will receive a signed copy of my book Elephant! 

]]> http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/lions-and-elephants-at-the-watehole-the-story/feed/ 0 http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/talk-at-york-festival-ideas/ http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/talk-at-york-festival-ideas/#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:43:42 +0000 steve http://www.stevebloomphoto.com/blog/?p=767  

My Big Cats Journal and other adventures

Friday 22 June 2012, 4.00PM

Speaker: Steve Bloom

Follow internationally bestselling photographer Steve Bloom as he travels across continents in search of wildlife. Find out how big-cat predators live and the challenges photographing them. Bloom’s in-the-field account makes a compelling narrative which is both informative and pacy. An event full of amazing pictures and stories from around the world, suited to both adults and children.

Steve Bloom is an internationally renowned photographer, traveller and author. He has published many titles for both adults and children. His books include Spirit of the Wild, Living Africa, Elephants for Children, My Favourite Animal Families, and his latest book, My Big Cats Journal.

Admission: By free ticket only available from yorkfestivalofideas.com/tickets.

Location: Explore York Library Learning Centre, City Centre

The raw smell of the earth and a lingering sense of primeval energy draw me back to the Africa of my birth. There remain some wildernesses on our planet that are especially captivating. A jewel in the desert, Botswana’s Okavango Delta is perhaps the finest of them all.

I was in the small town of Maun in Botswana, gathering photographs for my books Untamed, Spirit of the Wild and Living Africa. Light is delicate and fickle when photographing from the air, so the helicopter was booked for an early morning shoot to maximise the chances of good visibility.

I arrived at the offices of pilot Peter Perlstein for a briefing and a cup of coffee, but I already knew when I walked in that we couldn’t fly that day. Local farmers had been burning grass to prepare the soil for the planting of new crops and smoke had spread into the wilder areas of the Okavango Delta, hampering visibility. There were dark and heavy clouds in the air.

Only three days remained before I was committed to fly back home to England, so I knew we would just have to wait it out. Peter is among the most experienced of helicopter pilots, a specialist in working with photographers and film makers such as the BBC Natural History Unit.

The next two mornings came and went while visibility continued to deteriorate. There was no point in attempting to fly then because, even if I’d had the most spectacular sightings, the photographs would have looked flat and indistinct.

I had almost given up when the day of my long-haul flight home came. I knew it was my last chance to get aerial wildlife images. Miraculously, the light improved slightly and we decided to take a chance and fly. But the air traffic control centre was not due to open for another couple for hours, by which time the light may have become too harsh. So we prepared everything, went to the helicopter and waited for permission to take off.

We removed the door from the helicopter, as it was essential to get sharp pictures. The thick glass on aircraft adds a layer which has the effect of softening the image. Peter was in the front of the helicopter and I took up the entire back seat, but leaned out from the opposite side of him to give the helicopter as much balance as possible.

We took off as soon as Air Traffic Control allowed us to and headed for the Delta. The clouds momentarily parted to let the morning light in and we found the zebras moving in the swamp. The encounter was brief. The diaphanous light faded quickly; the weather closed in behind us. The picture shows how the strong herd instinct protects each individual against predators.  After we landed, I managed to catch my flight home in the nick of time.

SEARCH AND LICENSE IMAGES FOR PUBLICATION

EXPLORE FINE ART PRINTS

Like Steve on Facebook to stand a chance of winning a signed copy of Elephant!

The London Festival of Photography is now running, with numerous talks, exhibitions and workshops, inclduing Steve Bloom’s Beneath the Surface: South Africa in the 1970′s is at London’s Guardian Gallery from 1-28 June.

This exhibition has received the kind support of The Guardian and Observer. Hear Steve Bloom talk about photography during the apartheid era on Monday June 11th. Other Festival highlights include Jodi Bieber’s talk on 7th June.

Watch the BBC Audio Slideshow Film , read Steve’s account in The Observer and see a slide show in The Guardian.

Dates: 01 June to 28 June 2012
Venue: Guardian Gallery (Kings Place)
Address: Guardian News & Media, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU
Map: View
Opening Times: 10am-6pm, 7 days per week. OPEN bank holidays 4 & 5 June.
Price: FREE

An exhibition of Steve Bloom’s photographs from the mid 1970’s, capturing a critical moment in the history of apartheid-era South Africa. Some of these images are being shown for the first time, while others have not been seen since they were first exhibited internationally three decades ago.

DON’T MISS THE TALK IN LONDON ON MONDAY 11 JUNE