As I lived with the lions in Botswana Bashny.Net

26-year-old Nicholas Frederick Bonnen RUSSIA - freelance photographer and publisher. He was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is an ardent lover of travel, books and photos. Last year, Russia went to Botswana commissioned by the popular Danish financial newspaper Børsen. This results in a fascinating report from the memorable photos that you see below, and which almost cost Rossen right hand. That's what the photographer tells of his close encounter with the lions in Botswana.


1. What made you go to Botswana and make this report?
I first learned about these guys from our mutual friend from South Africa.


2. I was immediately touched by their story. I knew they could not afford to hire a publisher, so I decided to take advantage of his connections in the Danish newspaper Børsen and volunteer to tell the world their story. The newspaper immediately agreed.



3. How do you lived in the wild? How long will this project lasted?
I spent 12 days in a tent in the camp Modisa, 30 km from the Kalahari Game Reserve, 280 km south of Mauna, the nearest town nearby. During the day it was 35 degrees heat, at night the temperature dropped to -10. And not a soul for miles around.

4. The only thing that could be heard at night - it's the roar of lions. This country the size of France, and the population in Copenhagen. One of the most remote, but at the same time, unspoiled by man places I have ever visited.

5. MODISA project was launched in 2011 and Mikkel Legartom Valentin Gruner. Now they live in a safari hut 30 km west of the Kalahari Game Reserve. They want "to become leaders in the preservation of the ecosystem of the Kalahari" with three main goals: to pacify the existing conflicts with a man, research, and the invocation of public opinion.

6. What are the difficulties, as a photographer, you are facing?
The only thing that did not need to worry about this coverage. It is just perfect at sunset, and (especially) at dawn. But to overcome the fear was quite difficult. Photograph lioness Sirga weighing 90 kg (and now all 130) - this is not a joke, and yet she was still a teenager! At any moment you could expect that it may inadvertently hurt you or even kill.

7. It is also difficult to photograph, because they are curious - they want everything to smell. Involuntarily begins to tremble and pray. And yet, looking at how the lioness constantly jumping on the kids and brought down them on the ground in a game, I always thought that if she did the same with me, the camera - it's the last thing that would bother me. So I often go out "in the field" as often as possible to take pictures of her and the children.

8. Were you scared to be so close to the lions? It seems that Valentin and Mikkel have earned the trust of these animals, but what about you?
I can not describe how exciting it is when the three of you, unarmed, are face to face with six large lions, and not a soul around.

9. And yet we never approached the adult male is closer than 5 meters for one simple reason: we remember that lions are very brave. But the strangest thing here was just what the lions were afraid of Valentine and Mikkel, so that each time they approached them, the lions roared and ran away so that the heel sparkled. This is something unimaginable. But I'm sure he would like to relive it.

10. What did you have the equipment?
Funny, I had a Canon DSLR camera and Leica SLR, but most of all I was photographing the lions just on his tiny Canon S100. That's all. Sometimes the camera - not the most important.

11. What do you think about the project MODISA? Their interference with the Lions will benefit animals?
I'll leave it to the experts to decide. After my reporting they were invited to a conference in Copenhagen on September 26, so I'm looking forward to the reaction of the public. To be honest, I do not think these guys are doing something incredible, because they are doing it all his life. They are fully dedicated themselves to living in harmony with the Kalahari

12. If tomorrow you could jump on a plane and fly anywhere, where would you choose?
In Antarctica and the South Pole - the only continent which has never set my foot.

13. What story do you want to highlight, as a photographer?
I would like to meet with Fidel Castro's tete-a-tete. This is my dream.



What advice can you give novice photojournalists?
I just kinda guy with pen and camera. My mom - one of the most popular and well-known portrait photographers in my country. She first picked up a camera in 35 years, and now she is 65 and is a leader in its genre. Never too late to learn. And yet: the lighting - all, ask Rembrandt.

And what have you happened to his hand?
I've been collecting firewood, she tried to disrupt the branch of a tree and broke his arm - double spiral fracture. By the way, it is very painful and embarrassing at the same time. I got to the hospital just two days, and I had to finish the interview using only his left hand. Photo: Nicholas of Russia with a broken arm.

What projects in the future?
Now I am doing a report about his good friend - Georgian oligarch with whom I recently spent six days in Tbilisi, accompanied by his small army of bodyguards with AK-47. This is definitely one of the most stressful of my trips. But it's probably one of the most generous and hospitable people I have ever met. I'm also going to Chile in December and in New York in January, so if someone has a really good story for the photographer - I'm all ears.
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