Geg du Toit
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Greg du Toit
Greg du Toit is a professional wildlife photographer and 8th generation African. Born in South Africa in 1977, he has lived and worked in four different African countries. From a young age, he has engaged the wilds of Africa, and there was never any doubt as to what he would do with his life. It was therefore no surprise that after completing his tertiary education in Nature Conservation, he went to live permanently in the African bush.
The first few years of his career were spent in Timbavati Game Reserve (South Africa), where he served an apprenticeship as a Wilderness Trails Guide. It was during these years that he set aside devoted time to study every aspect of the African bush, from identifying wild flowers and dung beetles through to stalking big game on foot. These skills later proved invaluable as he focused his attention on photography. Since those early days, he spent more than a decade living in and photographing some of Africa’s wildest, remotest and largest ecosystems.
His photographic works of art are raw and timeless, conveying intimate interactions with the natural world. This intimacy, as a signature theme, has brought him international acclaim, whereby he has recently been invited to exhibit his work in a solo exhibition hosted by National Geographic in London. The exhibit will take place later this year and will represent African cultures, landscapes and wildlife. Greg also recently received honors in two of the most prestigious wildlife competitions in the world. His image titled 'Crossing Frenzy' is currently part of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in London's Natural History Museum. Another image titled 'Maasai Enigma' features in a special Collector's Edition of the Nature's Best publication which runs in association with the Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C. More locally, he clinched the grand prize in Getaway Magazine’s ‘Getaway Gallery’ competition for 2009.
His photography and writing is however, much more than a career; it is a way for him to channel his passion for Africa and to share the beauty and awe of Africa’s wild places with others, hopefully contributing to their continued existence.
While in Kenya, he also undertook to photograph nomadic free ranging lion, which eke out a precarious existence beyond formal park or reserve boundaries. Setting up hides and spending countless hours sweating it out on the floor of the Rift Valley (and being bitten by Tsetse flies), he was finally able to capture images of these wild and elusive creatures. A fun and behind the scenes story titled 'A Waiting Game' appeared in the June 2009 issue of the BBC Wildlife magazine. He was also interviewed about this story on NBC's Today Show (click here) as well as on BBC World Service (click here). This story received wide media coverage the world over!
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