Hi, I’m Carole
Carole Deschuymere’s first trip to South Africa in 2003 marked a turning point in her life. The magical appeal of that fascinating nature, the wild animals in their natural habitat kept haunting her.
Africa became her second home. She captured her experiences of each trip in pictures. With her photos she won prizes and organized expos.
It was written in the stars of the African firmament: now Carole organizes her own unique wildlife-safaris to share her love for Africa and her passion for photography with others.
“I never knew what I really wanted in my life” says Carole. “There was never a real click with the world around me. Also during the photography course that I followed a year at the Academy in Ghent, I felt that I couldn’t express my artistic creativity. I was on a different wavelength. When I went to Tanzania with my mother in 2006, I suddenly knew with great certainty where I felt at home. That feeling was so strong that I said: Mama, I’m staying here!
In Oostduinkerke I had my own business, you are bound by obligations and you cannot leave everything behind you from one day to the next. I was craving after the next trip…
In 2010 I traveled to Botswana, where I joined a South African guide who would be my ‘boyfriend’ for 5 years. On later trips I went into the bush with him. We camped for weeks in the wild.
He taught me all about fauna and flora. How to interpret the behavior of animals and how to anticipate it, how people should behave towards animals in the wild… That’s how I learned how to spot animals in the right place at the right time.
There, in nature and among the animals, I felt like the king of the world. It was fantastic and I worked myself to death, taking pictures as much as possible! Only I was disappointed with the results. That’s why I decided to continue my training and I learned to edit photos on my own, because I wanted better photos!
My efforts have paid off: my photos were getting better and better… And I was contacted by Africa Geographic. I had won a competition and they asked me if I wanted to accompany photography trips. I also worked with a Belgian company. On those trips I discovered that I love to teach people photography and editing pictures. When I noticed they were making progress, I was so delighted. So now I am at a stage in my life were I decided it is time to move on from my clothing shop to doing photography and photography trips fulltime.
The photography is wonderful, especially when you have great subjects to photograph, but the trips I design are much more than that. I try to give people an experience they will never forget. Being submerged in nature, living among wildlife, with no people around, going back to basics, that makes you feel more alive than ever before…
Because that’s what it’s all about in the end: a photography safari should be a unique and unforgettable experience for everyone, also for those who don’t take photographs.”