How to take a photo of predatory animals "point blank"

How do I manage to get so close to formidable African predators? It is clear that most often I use telephoto lenses, but some portraits of animals are made on a wide-angle lens, and even with a flash ... So how have they still not eaten me?

At the request of readers, I’ll reveal this secret ...

So, to be able to work with wide-angle lenses, I designed a mobile platform for radio control. The design is so simple that it takes several hours to build it and does not require any special skills. Since I could, then anyone can certainly, since working with my hands is not my thing :)

To begin with, we go to a store of radio-controlled toys and buy the largest crawler - a radio-controlled 4x4 off-road vehicle. I used Nanda Racing SPIRIT 1/8 Rock Crawler worth 20,000 rubles. We remove the case, but do not throw it away! He later come in handy. It is very important to consider when buying an RC model so that its speed does not exceed 5-10 km / h and it has maximum stability.

I made a platform for the camera from a children's metal constructor for labor lessons No. 3 (332 elements). As a child, I loved playing in such a way that I quickly built an excellent mount for the DSLR. Only buy our domestic, not Chinese. Chinese has a very thin metal that bends easily.

I screwed the “head” from the tripod to the assembled platform. Next, you can mount the camera.

The case from the modelka had to be cut a little, pasted with a protective color fabric. New body mounts will be needed so that they can cover the camera. As it turned out, wild animals are insanely curious and will definitely try to taste your camera :) Later, I also pasted the case with some African thorns so that the lions would not try to eat my Canon anymore.

If your camera has WiFi control, you can work at a distance of 10-20 meters. If you need to remove the camera to a more serious distance, then buy CamRanger - a very useful gadget that works with NIKON and CANON.

For the entire design, including the CamRanger, it took me about 25,000 rubles. Which camera you put there - it's up to you. I put Canon 5D Mark III or PENTAX K1. 20mm f1.8 lens.