How Chris Fallows is funding conservation through fine art

It’s a foggy morning in South Africa and Chris Fallows – one of the world’s most renowned wildlife photographers – is doing what he does best: quietly observing nature. A couple of red-wing starlings flit around a flowering aloe tree and his dogs may have caught wind of a nearby baboon.

This scene may sound exotic, but for Chris – whose first memory is of being chased up a tree by a warthog – it’s simply home. His father was an amateur photographer and Chris spent his childhood immersed in nature, regularly visiting southern Africa’s national parks with his family. These trips not only nurtured Chris’s lifelong love of wildlife, but also imprinted upon him the power of photography to help people relive special moments. 

‘I’m a deeply passionate naturalist, as is my wife Monique,’ Chris says. ‘As I’ve gotten to know more about the animals, especially their complexities and the problems they face, I think it’s grown even stronger. I’ve always wanted to help animals and frowned upon anything that damages the environment or is cruel to nature. And as you get older, you realise you have less time to effect change, so the desire to do so becomes even greater.’

We’re willing to bet you’ve seen one of Chris’s images before. The first person to capture South Africa’s breaching great white shark phenomenon, he took what is arguably the world’s most famous shark photograph, Air Jaws, and has spent over 3500 days documenting these apex predators alongside Monique.

Together, they came to know South Africa’s great white sharks as individuals, relating to them as they would a crowd of people in a room. They watched as juvenile sharks grew into adults with unique personalities. Some were shy, some goofy, and some – like humans – were utterly incompetent. 

After decades of documenting these creatures, Chris and Monique noticed something alarming. They’d become accustomed to observing over 250 different great white sharks each year, but by 2018 they were seeing…zero.

‘I was privileged to be the person to discover the famous flying great whites, but we also took the last ever photo of them,’ Chris says. ‘It really was a wake up call for me. I realised I needed to do something with my work and tell this story. I mean, these animals appeared in hundreds of documentaries. They were probably the most iconic marine wildlife phenomenon on the planet for nearly 20 years.’

When he began photographing the flying sharks, Chris’s style was heavily focused on capturing raw, split-second moments of power. As his appreciation of the natural world evolved, however, he moved away from high-speed action to bring in elements of mood and artistry. The composition element has become stronger though it’s tough, he says, to get all the different aspects to align; cracked earth, a moody sky and animals walking in the same direction. He tries to showcase the essence of each species he works with as artistically as possible. And in doing so, he hopes to inspire people around the globe and ultimately aid in the animal’s conservation.

‘What’s driven us from the get-go is to try and find ways to make a difference,’ Chris says. ‘One of those is to reach as many people as you can through the power of imagery. Another is to use whatever sales I make through my art to buy land, because we've realised that protecting habitat is the single most important thing we can do to conserve ecosystems. We cannot buy chunks of the ocean, but we can buy land.’

The bulk of Chris and Monique’s income goes towards purchasing land for conservation efforts or supporting NGOs. They don’t have kids and Chris describes nature as their child and church. Their goal is to create unbroken wildlife corridors; by securing habitat, they hope to mitigate the effects of climate change by giving animals vast distances over which they can freely move.
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Chris hopes to pass on his love of wildlife, and the importance of conserving these ecosystems, to those accompanying him to Tanzania in November this year. He has planned the itinerary to have three very different components showcasing some of the country’s finest photographic opportunities and safari camps. It’s an experience designed for those who care deeply about wildlife, photography and the impact of their adventures.

Travellers will first experience Dunia, a luxury camp overlooking the Serengeti’s grasslands. The first and only African safari camp run entirely by women, Dunia lies in the migration path and sees huge numbers of wildebeest journeying south. The women running the camp are role models within their community and seen as pioneers bent on breaking societal norms. 

‘I hope our guests enjoy dancing because the ladies love it,’ Chris says. ‘It’s a wonderful experience. The chefs and guides are amazing. And being guided by a woman is different to being guided by a man. There’s a lovely sense of softness and empathy.’

From Dunia, travellers will journey to Usango, a former hunting area set in Ruaha National Park. Once heavily overgrazed by more than 100,000 cattle, the area has been revitalised and is seeing large numbers of animals return.

‘Usango is really in its infancy,’ Chris says. It’s a chance to experience what it’s like to be at the birth of one of Africa’s great wildlife places. To see the conservation efforts playing out right in front of you, with habitats recovering and vast herds of animals moving into the areas. It's incredibly unique and it should give anybody who experiences it this amazing hope that we can achieve great things when we have dedicated people and governments combining to look after wildlife habitat.’

Chris’s favourite camp – Namiri Plains – is the expedition’s final stop. Located on the eastern side of the Serengeti, in Big Cat Country, the camp is surrounded by open grasslands interspersed with rocky outcrops known as koppies. 

‘The cats will often sit on these koppies and look for prey from a high vantage point,’ Chris explains. ‘I’ve been very privileged to go to a hell of a lot of places and from a photographic point of view, I think it offers the highest yield of exceptional photographic opportunities anywhere in Africa, arguably the world. I don’t like to make promises, but the number of cats is generally extremely high, the lighting is great and I just love the landscapes in which we’ll photograph.’

Photography is a big part of this trip, given Chris’s expertise. But Chris hopes that the primary motivation for those joining is to have an unforgettable wildlife experience, whether it’s with cheetahs, lions and leopards or herds of elephants and wildebeests. 

‘We’ll have a great time sitting around the fire at night and talking about what we saw during the day,’ he says. ‘But we’ll also discuss ways in which we can all make a difference to ensure these places are here not only for our generation, but for the generations to come. That’s what this expedition is all about.’

From foggy mornings in South Africa to golden evenings on the Serengeti, Chris’s journey is one of purpose, artistry and protection. This November, you’re invited to join him for Tanzania: Big Cats and The Great Migration.