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An Alumni of the prestigious Kearsney College in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, Kwazulu Natal, Rudi Hulshof is based in the famous Timbavati Private Game Reserve, adjacent to the world renowned Kruger National Park, where he occupies the position of Reserve and General Manager of Karan's Camp. An amateur shutterbug, yet award winning and often published wildlife photographer, Rudi has used his 14 years of game lodge experience to fine tune an ever evolving passion, Nature and Wildlife Photography. Starting as a guide in 1998 in the Waterberg area of South Africa, Rudi quickly moved through the training ranks to attain the highest guiding qualification available by the end of 2000. From here, doors opened to various game reserves, including: the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Manyeleti, Welgevonden, and the Kruger National Park, before settling in the Timbavati Game Reserve. Guiding has always been a passion, that, in conjunction with Photography, has kept Rudi motivated, and thus an inspiration to all of his guests, and peers alike. Rudi has been described as a mentor to some of today’s most talented young up and coming, as well as established Wildlife Photographers, providing the motivation and tutorship in their Guiding and Photographic development. Few people are fortunate enough to live in the African wilderness, and Rudi has never taken this for granted, realising his potential to lead professional, informative, and educational tours to unlock the wonders of not only the big 5, ( Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Rhinos and Cape Buffalo )but also a myriad of lesser recognised members of both the animal and plant kingdoms. Years of observing, and absorbing behaviour of wild animals has enhanced Rudi’s abilities as a Wildlife Photographer, the thousands of hours spent analysing behaviour has entrenched an almost magical ability to position himself, and his guests in a position to capture the anticipated image, long before it materialises. This understanding of behaviour has further ably assisted Rudi in capturing Award Winning Wildlife images. Internationally recognised and published, some of Rudi’s proudest photographic achievements include having won awards for 2 consecutive years in Africa’s most prestigious Wildlife Photographic competition: the Getaway Fujifilm Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Added to this Rudi has featured prominently in what is these days called the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year, considered the premier showcase of International Wildlife photography. Print publications include Promotional material for different Lodges and Travel companies, featured both in local and international magazines, as well as advertising campaigns and billboard exposure. A featured contributor to publishing companies, Rudi’s images also make appearances on various wildlife calendars. First published in 2001, in Getaway Magazine, Rudi’s preferred medium for capturing images was, and to a degree still is, the Purist method: Slide Film rather than Digital. It took Rudi until 2007 to convert to Digital, but his Camera box still contains a trusty Minolta Maxxum 9, considered by many photographers as the finest 35mm Film SLR camera ever created. Most of Rudi’s Published images are from the slides he has taken, predominantly using Fujifilm Velvia 50/100. Subsequently thousands of Rudi’s images have yet to be unveiled. These are now in the process of being scanned using a Nikon Coolscan 5000ED dedicated 35mm film scanner, and will be posted onto this profile in the near future. Although the value of Digital far outweighs that of Film, To shoot a roll of film was to take a leap of faith. The digital evolution has eliminated a lot of uncertainty from the process, and that's probably a net gain -- especially if you're an amateur shutterbug. Unfortunately, some other, wonderful elements have disappeared as well: mystery, poetry and the element of chance. © Copyright Rudi Hulshof Photography. Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights Subsist In This Material - All Rights Reserved - These images or any part of these images may not be used, reproduced, copied or dissimilated in any manner without prior written permission from the author of this work. These images are the sole Property of the author, Rudi Hulshof.