Freeman’s final school years picture perfect

Jaime Freeman made sure to find time in his latter years at King David High School Linksfield to enjoy his passion for wildlife photography.

Freeman, who completed matric last year, won awards for his photography, including the Youth in Africa category of the 2022 Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards for a picture he took of a lioness in a tree, drooling from the mouth after eating a rotten impala carcass which she had stolen from a leopard just moments before.

He also won the title of the 2023 Young South African Photographer of the Year for capturing a shot of an interesting and unique encounter between a giant African Bush Elephant and a tiny bush cricket, sitting on the elephant’s tusk.

“I’ve had a love for wildlife for as long as I can remember,” Freeman says. “I’ve always enjoyed spending time outside in nature, so in 2020, when I picked up a camera for the first time, it only made sense for me to start exploring the world of nature photography. I’ve been shooting ever since.”

In March 2022, Freeman was presented with the opportunity to spend a weekend in the world-renowned Sabi Sands Game Reserve. “It had always been a dream of mine to visit this reserve, so I knew I couldn’t miss this chance to go. Over the couple of days that I spent in the reserve, Sabi Sands spoiled me with countless incredible sightings and photographic opportunities. I took thousands of photos on that trip, and I would consider many of those to be some of the favourite images in my catalogue to this day,” he says.

His image of the lioness in a tree wasn’t only recognised in the Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Awards, it was also printed and displayed in Kenya’s Nairobi National Museum in Kenya, resulting in Freeman following in the footsteps of the likes of award-winning artist and author Joy Adamson.

“I also received a cash prize, as well as an incredible trophy in the form of a beautiful stone sculpture of an elephant which was handcrafted for me by a famous artist in Kenya,” Freeman says.

As for his photograph of the elephant and cricket, which he captured on the final day of his Sabi Sands trip, recognition as the 2023 Young South African Photographer of the Year for the picture meant he received many amazing prizes, credit, and much exposure.

“It was and still is an honour to have won these two incredible awards,” Freeman says. “I’m so grateful to everyone involved who made it possible.”

While Freeman loves photographing all wildlife, including hippopotami and buffalo bulls, “I seem to have a special place in my heart for capturing birds”, he says. His photos include a gorgeous white-fronted bee-eater bird perched on a not so beautiful piece of elephant dung.