Meet Gabby Sykora, a 14-year-old wildlife conservationist on a mission Posted by Olerato Ramafsi on 15 February 2023 Gabby Sykora is a 14-year-old wildlife conservationist born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Having lived most of her life in the city, she tried to escape to the bush as frequently as possible. Her photography journey began at the tender age of 6 years old as she would eagerly snap at anything and everything when the opportunity arose. The images may not have been too well composed and were likely all blurry, but still, in her eyes, they were of award-winning quality. She kept at it and never gave up, always willing to take constructive criticism and learn something new. This is her story about wildlife conservation and The Young Wildlife Photographers (YWP) community of which she is a proud founder. ‘In 2020, when our lives dramatically changed with the rise of this dreadful pandemic that shook the world, my life took on many changes. I surprisingly loved it and thrived. It was in 2021 that we, as a family, decided for me to start homeschooling under Cambridge international. The flexibilities of this opened many great windows of opportunity for me, as I was now the keeper of my own time. As well as keeping up with school work, I completed my first and 2nd years as a SANParks Junior Honorary Ranger (a 5-year course in conservation within our National Parks, under the guidance of qualified Senior Honorary Rangers). I also completed the first grading of the Junior FGASA Course. FGASA means Field Guides Association of South Africa (SA). Having more flexibility also meant that we could now visit more of South Africa’s greatest game parks and wilderness areas in order to view and capture some of nature’s incredible moments. While growing into my teenage years, came the inevitable introduction to social media. At first a little daunting, but it soon became apparent that I did not want to advocate myself across social media platforms and rather look at what I can do to help improve the lives of others. I began my Instagram photography page intending to show some of my incredible bush experiences. Ultimately, what I would like to do is show the beauty of nature to the people that cannot experience it first-hand. I was shocked to find that Instagram was already a buzz with many aspiring photographers my age. I began chatting with many of these people, some who had merely liked my photography and others who were happy to guide me in improving my skills. These young photographers soon became good friends, all sharing one passion – photographing nature’s wonders. I have huge concerns about the preservation of our last remaining wilderness areas and the future of it all. It was then that the idea struck me. With the help of my mom, who always guides me in making decisions that not every thirteen-year-old young lady (at the time) faces, I drafted my plan. We all photograph nature, right? And so, I wanted to (or more like needed to) bring those young-like-minded photographers together because we can make a difference. I pitched the idea to my friend group. Some were in full support others said it was destined to fail. In May 2021, The Young Wildlife Photographers of SA group was born. Today we are proud to have an incredible 520 members and have young photographers still wishing to join on almost a daily basis. We are proud to say that our youngest member was only eight years old when he joined our group. With most 23 – 24-year old’s still being students, we engaged with them too. Our ages are therefore from 8 to 25 years. Photography is not a school subject in SA, members will invariably take up the hobby at different ages. Our range of ages within the YWP makes for a perfect balance. In August 2022, the Young Wildlife Photographers of Southern Africa expanded our community by introducing the Friends and Alumni of the Young Wildlife Photographers. This new addition to the YWP family is for those photographers who have aged out of the Young Wildlife Photographers group and those whose age precluded them from joining the YWP group. We’ve now got all our bases covered. The YWP are for getting to know one another, helping one another improve our photography skills and to support each other on our journeys through our photography and conservation efforts. Lasting bonds, friendships and even relationships have now formed. In response to your question of do I think the talent comes from the support we offer, here’s a few testimonies from some of our members: ‘I have learned so much and have made such great friends, whom I’ve never met but are so supportive for everyday life matters and I have learned so much through the features to take better photos and even just everyday wildlife knowledge! I really love this platform!’ – Janike Smith, YWP ‘YWP has really helped me in every way you can think of. In the beginning, I was obviously totally shy and didn’t really know anyone. But as soon as I started asking for opinions on my photos I started to get comfortable because everyone makes you feel so at home. And today I know so many of the YWP and it makes me so happy to be so comfortable with everyone! ‘My skills in photography really “upgraded” but wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for YWP! I have never felt shy to share any of my photos to ask for a thought or two, the people of YWP are so kind and genuinely helped me to be where I am today with my photography. Couldn’t have asked for better.Then not even speaking of our dearest Gabby!!! What an amazing, young and inspiring girl. Going out of her way to make things happen. Working hard to get Ywp where it is now! It truly is incredible to see how much everyone grows every day and seeing that it all started with this young, stunning girl!’ – Kayla Pieterse, YWP. “Since joining the group, everyone has been friendly and welcoming to me. All the tips and tricks everyone recommends on all the groups really help my photos from being normal to making them look like they came out of a movie or a magazine.I would recommend YWP to anyone who is interested in photography, whether it’s for fun or as a job.” Kai Nel, YWP Our growth has been quite rapid and I did not expect professionals within the industry to notice us and reach out. One day, Zaheer Ali sent me a message saying this seems like a very good idea and something he was hoping to initiate. Today we have a couple of professional photographic safari guides in the group who guide and encourage members daily, imparting on us their invaluable knowledge. Many of our members have received some high-profile awards within photography and we are extremely proud of each one. Skye Meaker is the grand title holder for the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 2018. He has been invited to speak at various events, most notably as a guest speaker in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2019. This is to name just a few. Cathan Moore who is currently 19 years old won the Benjamin Mkapa African Youth Photographer of the year award in 2021. Danielle Abrahams featured in the Top 100 Africa Geographic photo competition in 2021. Mark Heystek and Justin Ponder both hold the Birdlife South Africa Owlet award for 2021. This award recognizes the valuable contributions to the conservation of South Africa’s birds. I myself, was honoured to have been invited to be a guest speaker (on behalf of Beverly Joubert – Nat Geo Explorer) at the International Women’s Blaze Trails Symposium, honouring women and girls in science, exploration and conservation, in February 2022. In our wildlife photography community, we have many members who are very new to the hobby so one of our more experienced members, hosts a tips and tricks feature. Members have access to our You Tube channel featuring editing tutorials. These help members who want to achieve something specific with their images but do not know how to go on about it. The geographical range of our groups stretches through Southern Africa, with the bulk of our members being in South Africa after our interview with Dereck and Beverly, we’ve seen an increase in requests from other African countries too, so Africa is our focus.. The world is your playground and with today’s technology in cell phone cameras alone. You don’t need expensive equipment to tell a story through a photograph. Some of the most incredible wildlife photographers I know use their cell phones to tell stories about their trips. One can find the beauty of nature in the most common open spaces. Your garden is an ecosystem on its own, and merely sitting and looking at a flowering plant will allow you to snap away at its beauty alone. If you’re lucky enough, you may be able to capture a bee coming to suck at its pollen, or a bird simply landing on its stem. Create your opportunity, and be creative while doing so. How often does the bark of a tree make for an incredible image? Never let your limitations limit you! In closing, there are so many people who now stand in support of me and pursuing my ultimate goal, my parents and family, Luca – my boyfriend, who is as passionate about all of this as I am, the group admins and by no means least, the group members.’ You can check out some of the groups amazing photography below. Pictures: Supplied Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured. TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter ALSO READ: Uganda’s wildlife populations rise Related Posts Buildings, roads and homes flood as severe weather hits KZN 18 May 2023 Good news from the brink of extinction in Volcanoes National Park 11 May 2023 Photojournalist Graeme Green went to Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park to document the recently opened campus... read more Curiosity skilled the cat 5 May 2023 A member of The Explorer’s Club and founder of Curiosity Company, Francois Malherbe uses tracking... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
Good news from the brink of extinction in Volcanoes National Park 11 May 2023 Photojournalist Graeme Green went to Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park to document the recently opened campus... read more
Curiosity skilled the cat 5 May 2023 A member of The Explorer’s Club and founder of Curiosity Company, Francois Malherbe uses tracking... read more
