32 5 October 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Photo Insight
B
rentStirtonis no
strangertotheWorld
PressPhotoAwards,
withhisachievements
nowrackingupdoublefiguresat
theprestigiousevent.
Thisyear,thisimage,takenfrom
hisAkashingaserieswasnamed
winneroftheEnvironment,Singles
categoryandwasalsoshortlisted
fortheoverallWorldPressPhoto
oftheYearprize.Notcontentwith
that,healsowonthe1stPrizein
theNature,Storiescategoryfor
a differentsetofimages.Later,
Akashingaalsotooksecondplace
intheDocumentarycategoryofthe
SonyWorldPhotographyAwards.
TheShonadialectwordAkashinga
translatesas‘TheBraveOnes’,and
documentsa female-onlyranger
force.It is anarmofthenon-
profit InternationalAnti-Poaching
Foundation,whichis responsiblefor
themanagementofthePhundundu
WildlifeAreainZimbabwe.
Measuring 115 squaremiles,the
zoneis a notoriousformertrophy-
huntingareaintheZambeziValley
ecosystem.Theaimoftheforceis to
workwith,ratherthanagainst,local
populationsforthelong-termbenefits
ofboththeircommunitiesandthe
environment– thezoneborders
almost 30 differentlocalcommunities.
ThewomenofAkashingacome
fromdisadvantagedbackgrounds,withtheirworkintheforce
empoweringthem,offeringjobs
andhelpinglocalpeopletobenefit
directlyfromthepreservationof
wildlife.Theserieswasfeatured
intheJune 2019 issueofNational
Geographic, a publicationwhich
Brentis alsonostrangerto.
I caughtupwithBrentatthe
unveilingoftheWorldPressPhoto
exhibition,whichwasshown
earlierthisyearatDeNieuweKirk,
Amsterdam,Netherlands.Despite
winningmoreawardsthanwe
haveroomtolisthere,heremains
friendly,humbleandgenerous
withhistime.
Althoughtherestoftheseriesis
alsofantastic,thispowerfulimage
is a clearstand-outfromtherest.
Brentsubmittedthefullessay,with
WorldPressPhotopickingoutthis
imagefortheEnvironment,Singles
category.Eachyear,Brentsubmits
photostothecompetitionbecause
hesaysit’sgooddiscipline.He
explains,‘Itreallyforcesyoutolook
atyourworkandsay,OK,whatdid
I dothisyearthatis worthlooking
at?AndI think,OK,wellthesetwo- thesemightbeinteresting.World
Pressis reallysubjective– I think
thisyeartheygotit right,but
occasionallytherearechoices
thatarea mystery(tomeatleast).’
Bretthasbeenworkingin
conservationfora longtime,soit
AmyDaviesdiscoversmoreaboutthis
strikingimage,whichwasnominated
forWorldPressPhotooftheYear 2019
Brent Stirton
One of the world’s most prolific and highly decorated
photojournalists, South African photographer Brent Stirton
has won 12 World Press Photo Awards, as well as Wildlife
Photojournalist of the Year three years in a row. In 2018,
he was also awarded our ‘Power of Photography’ Award
at the Amateur Photographer Awards.Akashinga
The Brave Ones
© BRENT STIRTON/GETT Y IMAGES
By Brent Stirton
wasn’t too problematic to fi nd this
fascinating group through his
extensive networks. He says, ‘There’s
been lots of female ranger groups
that have started up – a lot of that
has been a fundraising mechanism,
so it’s tokenistic and not really the
real thing. In the Congo, in Burundi,
there are some very serious ladies but
there are not that many and they’re
not a separate unit by themselves.
‘This is the only unit I’ve seen
that are only women and are self-
contained and are also vegetarians,
which I think is kind of interesting.
When I looked at this group I was
sceptical at fi rst, then I saw their
training and spent some time with
them and they do exactly the same
thing as the men.’
Always mindful of how his subjects
feel, Brent tells me that he speaks toPetronella
Chigumbera (30),
a member of
the all-female
anti-poaching unit,
Akashinga. Here,
she participates
in stealth-and-
concealment
training© STUART WEBER