Mens Journal

In Plain Sight

SINCE MAN FIRST BEGANphotographing beast getting

a shot like this meant standing still for as long as possible

in a makeshift encampment called a hide — essentially a

hole dugin thegroundwithopenair-slots topoint a cam-

era through — battling heat insects and tedium. Those

hardships are a thing of the past at a South African pri-

vategamereservecalledZimangawherehideshavegot-

ten a 21st-century upgrade. “You’re behind glass in office

chairs with tripods set up. There’s a kitchen bathroom

bunk beds air-conditioning and WiFi. And the animals

have no idea” says Australian photographer Alison

Langevad who was the first to test the new hide when she

stayed for two nights in April. The hide which costs $1

per person for a four-night stay sits only 13 feet away from

the edge of a watering hole that attracts big game like rhi-

nos and elephants. From inside LED floodlights can be

flicked on for the perfect exposure. But they also startle

the animals as Langevad learned after scaring off a thirsty

leopard on the first night. These five water buffalo re-

mained still just long enough to get the shot. “It’s like wait-

ing for Christmas when you’re a kid” she says. “You keep

looking up and thinking ‘Maybe now.’ Then something

just appears out of the darkness.”—SHAWN McCREESH

photograph byALISON LANGEVAD SEPTEMBER 2016 19 MEN’S JOURNAL