Robert Irwin is determined to raise conservation awareness with his powerful wildlife images

JUST like his father before him, Robert Irwin hopes to make a difference with his powerful wildlife images.

The 12-year-old son of late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin is a passionate photographer and carries his full kit with him around the world.

In Africa with his sister Bindi and mother Terri, he has provided News Corp Australia exclusively with a photo essay of his favourite images, from Kruger National Park to being on set of Ten’s reality show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

“It has been great here in Africa as I’ve been able to get some awesome photos of the beautiful animals,” he said.

“For me photography is so special, because it doesn’t matter where you are and you can capture a moment in time that really lasts forever. I hope that through my photography, like taking pics of the Black Rhino, the Lions and Leopards, hopefully I can empower others. It is such a great thing to get into because photography brings you to amazing places. Here, the landscape and wildlife is just breathtaking so wherever you go you can capture life and have a good time.”

His mum Terri said looking at her son reminds her of her late husband, who died a decade ago in an accident involving a stingray.

“It is really weird how his passions are exactly like his dads,” she said. “And he couldn’t have cognitively noticed that when he was two but Steve had dinosaur posters up and was always talking about modern animals and their relationship to prehistory animals. Robert has always been interested in palaeontology and Steve was a mad keen photographer as well.”

She added: “It is great that some of the camera equipment takes a little while to save for so we don’t really do house work anymore, Robert does it $2 a chore.”

Robert studies with a teacher while travelling and is two years ahead of his peers, currently in year 9.

Bindi, 17, is equally as proud of her younger brother’s photography.

“Robert’s photography work is phenomenal. That is something that neither mum nor I have been able to master.”

I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! photographer Nigel Wright has covered everything from war zones to politics and was impressed by Robert’s shots.

“He thoroughly knew what he was doing,” he said. “He was right across all of the equipment. The thing that impressed me is that he shot singularly. Although his camera had a motor drive, he didn’t use it. He shot single frames, which means you are using your eye with the photo and that is someone who can really take a picture. It is impressive. He could easily be a professional wildlife photographer and I could see him making wildlife documentaries like his dad. He has the eye for it and the knowledge and determination. He’s got really good hand eye co-ordination and that is really what it is all about.”

ROBERT IRWIN’S IMAGES

“While on a trip to Balule game reserve, my family and I had the amazing opportunity to photograph many incredible animals including this rare species. This photograph shows a male Black Rhino coming down to a waterhole to drink in the heat of the day, one of only about 5,000 left in the wild and approximately 18 in the 3.5 million hectare property. My family and I work with and support the Ol Pejeta Black Rhino Conservation Project to save these spectacular creatures.

My family and I were out on safari and managed to spot a rare animal … a cheetah. It was lying under a tree having just devoured a young impala. I found it very interesting that he walked away from the kill very quickly after eating. The reason why was to avoid confrontation with other large predators drawn to the site by the smell of the carcass. I was so lucky to see the fastest land animal on the planet and witness such interesting behaviour. He then started to lick the blood off his fur as I photographed him, which made for a great picture. Wildlife Warriors have been partners with Cheetah Outreach in South Africa for a long time. We support the work they are doing with Anatolian Shepherds that protect livestock from predators, limiting the conflict between predators and farmers.

On safari we had been tracking the footprints of one of Africa’s most breathtaking predators, a leopard. It took us hours but we finally found the young female lying under a bush. These animals are one of my very favourite African species, so I quickly started taking photos of the cat looking off into the distance when the movement of the camera took her eye and she looked right into the lens. It was a moment I will never forget.

We were on safari and discovered a massive herd of elephants. There were animals of many different sizes from little baby’s barely a year old, to a wise, old matriarch. This photo captures the moment that the leader of the herd stops to feed on the leaves of the highest branches of the highest tree. It is fascinating to see what an elephant’s trunk, made up of 150,000 individual muscles, is able to do. They delicately can pick of fresh leaves on tall branches and push of trees twice their height. It was a privilege to be in the presence of such a powerful and immense being.

While on another game drive through the beautiful African wilderness, we unfortunately did not see much wildlife. As we were heading back we came around a bend and they’re in front of us was an amazing sight. A small female leopard was lying on the bank of a waterhole; she lazed around for quite a while before walking down to the water to have a drink. I took out my camera and had a wonderful time photographing the stunning feline.

On a morning game drive safari, my family and I where on a wildlife expedition looking for some of Africa’s unique animal species. We came a across a large herd of impala with many different sizes and ages, but the most amazing thing about them was that the males where rutting. The impala where battling for the right to a female during breeding season. The two biggest males started the violent display and I managed to capture the moment when their deadly horns came together.

This image conveys a uniquely beautiful bond between some of the most powerful predators on the planet. While my family and I where on an afternoon safari, we found a large pride of lions getting ready for a night of hunting as they woke up from sleeping all day. One of the smaller males approached the biggest male of the pride and started to nudge up against him and rub heads. The friendship between these colossal animals within the pride is absolutely beautiful. It was great to have the ability to convey these animals, not as killing machines, but instead, loving, affectionate creatures.

In this image, two gorgeous hyenas are displaying a beautiful connection between a mother and cub. We found a hyena den while on safari and before we even knew it, two cubs and a mother hyena emerged from their lair. They playfully rolled around in the dust before the mother said goodbye to both of the cubs, before going hunting that night. As she came up to the cub and gave her a farewell nudge I took this photograph.

As we went on yet another game drive through the reserve we stopped at a waterhole to see two massive male white rhinos. They were sitting in the body of water during the heat of the day to cool off. It is always amazing to see how animals adapt to extreme temperatures and this was a great example of that behaviour. When looking closely you can see the small birds on their back, they are oxpeckers and they catch insects that land on large animals in Africa, it is a win win for both animals as the birds get a great source of food and the rhinos coincidently have pest control!

The lions featured in this photograph are a young male and lioness displaying a loving bond. The young male has a lot to learn about life in the pride and hunting and has not yet developed a full mane.

This photograph portrays a huge lioness eating an impala. On a safari through the game reserve in the early evening, we watched a group of lioness stalking through bush land. They found a small herd of impala, we parked the car just in front of the herd and all of a sudden we heard a massive explosion and the impala bolted towards us. We heard a loud shriek, then complete silence, just in front of us we saw the pride tear apart the impala and in a matter of minutes the whole impala was gone, bones and all. We were so lucky to be there at just the right time, it was an impressive display of just how powerful these amazing big cats can be.

This photos captures the moment when the cheetah ran towards us on the set of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! It was great that some of the celebrities got to experience this beautiful animal.

This shows the cheetah coming towards set photographer Nigel Wright on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! wanting to nibble his toes! The show is a lot of fun, but it is often the behind the scenes mayhem that is the most fun of all.”

I’M A CELEBRITY ... GET ME OUT OF HERE!, Sunday, Network Ten, 6.30PM

* The journalist is in South Africa as a guest of Channel Ten covering I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!