Shannon Wild invited us to her beautiful home in the bush and we did our thing with gin and tonic, local Zwakala lager and a gently smouldering fire! It was a true honour to sit opposite this woman of wildlife and chat to her about her illustrious career behind the lens. She needs no introduction - her phenomenal photography and cinematography speaks for itself, but what we can say is that this Aussie in Africa leads with her heart and integrity in all that she does. She is humble and one of the hardest working people we've met. And don't call her an Influencer! Brett talks about his 3.5-second glimpse of the black leopard in Kenya while Shannon shares about her months spent pursuing the real Black Panther in India for her National Geographic documentary. 

Dave McLerran joins us too, all the way from Texas, where we believe he ran away from the President in favour of a quiet life in Africa. Too bad, though, because he has joined Shannon and her husband Russell MacLaughlin in their fast-paced world of wildlife filmmaking! Dave made the big decision to leave his high stress life in the US and pursue his passion for wildlife photography instead. He first met Shannon when he waved at Shannon from a tourist vehicle in India where he too was looking for a glimpse of the rare black panther of Kabini. Now, based in Hoedspruit, he makes sure we are all well fed with Texan slow-smoked meat and he is acing his new life behind the lens in the African bushveld! 

Welcome to Campfire Conversations, Shannon and Dave!

Do yourself a favour (if you haven't already) and buy Shannon Wild's jewellery for conservation (Instagram @shannonwildjewellwery); follow her on @shannon__wild and find Dave at @davemacphoto.