Field Research Photography — Eric Guzzetta Photography

FIELD RESEARCH PHOTOGRAPHY - KIBALE NATIONAL PARK - UGANDA

The Kibale Chimpanzee Project

Upon Completing A BSc In Zoology With The University Of Vermont, I Was Hired As A Research Photographer By The Kibale Chimpanzee Project In Western Uganda. I Spent 7 Months Living With And Photographing The Brilliant Wildlife Of Kibale National Park While Discovering A New Love Of Field Work And Wildlife Photography.

Dialing In

The First Several Months In Camp Were Spent In Solitude. As The Sole Researcher In Camp With No Phone Service And Rare Electricity I Was Truly Left With My Own Thoughts. I Had Never Been To Africa, So The First Few Days Recovering From Jet Lag And Adjusting To My Malaria Medication Were Truly Spent In Angst And A Dazed Confusion. After A Troubled First Night Of Insomnia I Was Alerted To The Sound Of What Seemed Like Thunder. Adjusting My Eyes As I Stumbled Outside I Gazed Up At The Tin Roof Above. I Was Shocked And Amazed To See A Congress Of Olive Baboons Wrestling Above. Bouncing Haphazardly Side To Side, Truly Having A Morning. I Ran To Grab My Camera Bag When I Noticed That I Had Mistakenly Left My Back Door Open. I Was Greeted By A Large Male Baboon Stuffing His Cheeks With Chicken Eggs Gifted To Me From A Local The Day Prior. I Had Been Robbed After An Unwarranted Wake Up Call And I Hadn’t Even Have A Morning Cup Of Coffee. I Couldn’t Have Been Happier.

The Equipment

A Novice, I Had Very Little Idea What Physical Difficulties Laid Ahead In My New Position. A Field Research Photographer Handles Quite A Bit Of Gear On A Daily Basis. I Would Be Remiss If I Entered The Forest Without My 70 Lb Pack Loaded With 2 Canon EOS 7D Mark II Camera Bodies, A 40D Body (For Video), 3 Large Lenses, GPS Unit, GoPro, Battery Packs, Lens Wipes, Laptop, 4 Liters Water, Duel Parallel Laser Photogrammetry Lasers, Headlamp, Flashlight, Tripod, Monopod, Microphone, Repair Kit, Notepads, And Of Coarse My Trusty Panga (Machete) To Get Myself Out Of Jams.

The Field

Each Day Began The Same. A Cacophony Of Black And White Colobus Monkey Vocalizations Would Get Me Out Of Bed Around 4:30 AM. After Boiling A Pot Of Coffee, Chasing Rats Out Of The Kitchen While Brushing My Teeth And Packing Up My Gear Bag For The Day I’d Head For The Forest. I’d Then Wait At The Forest’s Edge For Local Field Assistants (FA) To Arrive And Greet Them One After Another In The Red Glow Of Our Headlamps. Once Situated, We’d Begin To Hike.

The Hike To The Nesting Location Could Be Anywhere From 5 Minutes To 2 Hours. We Moved Swiftly Through The Damp Forest In Darkness To Ensure We Reached The Chimps Before They Woke. We Travelled On Existing Trails For As Long As We Could Until Forced To Pull Out The Pangas And Bushwhack Our Way Through The Dense Vegetation. Once In Position I’d Find A Nice Open Area (Out Of Range Of Falling Chimp Feces) And Pull Out My Thermos. In My Opinion There Truly Is No More Relaxing Moment Than Enjoying A Hot Cup Of Coffee While Listening To Chimpanzees Rise From Their Nests In The Dim Light Of Sunrise. The Canopy Would Shake And One-By-One The Chimps Would Climb Down. From Then On, We Were Tethered To Every Move They Made.

I Would Typically Pick One Individual And Follow Them For The Entirety Of The Day. I Photographed Any Growth Developments, Subsisting Wounds, Unusual Behaviors, Copulation And Grooming Events; Really Anything That May Be Of Relevance To On-Going Research I Documented.

I Quickly Became Obsessed And Memorized The Names And Familial Relationships Of Every Chimp I Came In Contact With. This Obsession Is Evident In My Photography. Instead Of Capturing Group Shots I Would Focus Primarily On Profiles, highlighting Idiosyncrasies Within Each Individual. I Really Wanted To Know Them On A Personal Level.

The Chimps Were Starting To Feel Less Like A Study Subject And More Like Crazy Cousins. Every Day Spent With Them I Learned Something New. On Days I Was Unable To Make It Into The Forest I Was Sure To Check In With The FAs To See If I Missed Any Group Drama.

Spending 7 Months With The Same Daily Routine Could Seem A Bit Monotonous To Some. But Every Day Has Its Own Unique Adventures. Some Of My Favorite Events In The Forest Were A Result Of Extremely Sluggish Mornings. On One Occasion We Had Been Sitting Under A Large Fig Tree For Hours While A Large Group Of Chimps Fed In The Canopy Out Of View. Without An Opportunity To Take Photographs I Made A Little Nest For Myself On The Forest Floor And Pulled Out A Book. Half Eaten Figs Would Occasionally Come Tumbling Down So I Had To Have My Wits At Least Somewhat About Me. I Found Myself Nodding Off When I Felt A Chilling Silence. The Chimps Had Stopped Chattering And The Canopy Was Still. A FA Leaned In Close And Whispered In My Ear “We Might See Something Interesting Here, Get Out Your Camera”. I Quickly Packed My Book Away And Pulled Out My Camera. In A Stealthy Movement The Higher Ranking Males Made Their Way Down The Fig Tree. Moving In A Single File Line They Moved Down The Path. From A Distance I Could Hear Rustling Of Leaves. A Small Group Of Red Colobus Monkeys Were Feeding In A Smaller Fig Tree Just Down The Trail.

In Unison The Combative Males Erupted. Tuber, One Of The Larger Males, Charged Up The Tree With Great Force. He Then Waded Out On A Flimsy Branch And Jumped Into The Canopy Of A Neighboring Tree Harboring A Young Colobus. In One Motion He Snagged The Monkey And Slid Down The Tree. Two More Chimps Followed Suit And Collected A Total Of Three Victims. This Was A Hunting Encounter And It Was Simply Wild.