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DAZ 🌿 WILDLIFE FILMMAKER

@dazmental

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Professional Wildlife Filmmaker 🌿
Warner Bros. Discovery • Nat Geo Wild • Love Nature
📍Cape Town
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WARNER BROS. DISCOVERYJust taking a moment to let this all land.Today, my story is being featured by Discovery Channel — a platform that shaped so much of who I am and sparked the early curiosity that’s carried me into this life of storytelling in the wild.When @heidimrtn from @discovery x @warnerbros first reached out to say I’d been shortlisted for an upcoming passion project, I honestly wasn’t sure it was real.From filming my interview on the beach in Cape Town, to uploading it from my favourite bar in Sea Point… to seeing those Discovery and Warner Bros logos at the bottom of the emails — interested in this little story from southern Africa — it’s surreal.Whether you’ve been here since the early days or just joined the mission — thank you. Your support means more than you know.Big love to Alex ( @piefordicus )and the @cutmedia crew — Director @antoine_couturier and DoP @jasonhearndop — for flying all the way out from Scotland and making the whole shoot feel natural and true to me. And to the @too_wildproductions family for opening the doors at @amaya_lodge_timbavati — filming this piece at your lodge made it all the more meaningful.I’ll keep showing up, camera in hand— to share these moments from the wild with whoever’s out there watching 🫶And if you’re reading this — just a quiet reminder that there’s something inside you the world needs. When you find purpose and responsibility in your passion, the rest tends to follow. All it takes is belief. by @dazmental

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WHAT IT MEANSFour years deep into a life I chose. A life I felt was calling me long before I could name it.There’s always been this quiet pull inside me — like a treasure chest buried somewhere just out of reach. I never knew exactly what was inside it, but I knew I had to find the keys. And over time, piece by piece, they came.As a kid, it started with curiosity — the outdoors, the wild, the unknown. Then came swimming, which taught me discipline. Music, which showed me creativity and entrepreneurship (but also reminded me what doesn’t align). A degree in Berlin, where I tried to connect conservation with culture. Volunteering in the bush. Picking up a camera for the first time.Each moment was a key. And eventually, one of them turned the final lock.Nearly five years in, and I’ve built a life around wildlife — a career that feeds my curiosity, grounds me in purpose, and keeps calling me back even when it’s hard.If you feel that thing inside you — whatever it is — follow it. You don’t need to know where it leads right now. Just trust that if you keep moving, the keys will come. And one day, that treasure you’ve always felt will open itself to you. by @dazmental

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a year ago

LION LOVEA quiet yet powerful moment—an intimate exchange between a dominant male and a lioness, a courtship crucial to the survival of their pride. This connection is more than just instinct; it’s the foundation of a thriving lion population, ensuring strong genetics are passed down to future generations.Lion prides experience constant shifts—cubs face high mortality rates, and dominant males are often challenged, leading to new bloodlines. The more successful matings between strong, healthy individuals, the greater the chance of sustaining a stable and resilient pride. And in turn, these prides play a critical role in the ecosystem, keeping prey populations balanced and maintaining the delicate structure of the wild.Apex predators like lions are the keystones of their environment. In places where they’ve been eradicated, entire ecosystems have collapsed, proving just how vital they are. Moments like these may seem small, but they represent the heartbeat of the wilderness—the cycle of life continuing, ensuring the wild remains just that: wild.📍 South Luangwa National Park, Zambia#LionLove #WildlifeFilmmaking #BigCats #AfricanWildlife #ApexPredator #WildlifeConservation #SouthLuangwa #SafariLife #NaturePhotography #LionKing #PredatorEcology #DazMental by @dazmental

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THE FUTURE OF THE PRIDEIt begins with a snarl.For lions, courtship is rarely gentle. It’s a period of patience, persistence, and countless brief encounters that strengthen the bond between a mating pair.Here in the River Pride, moments like these carry the promise of what may lie ahead. New cubs, new generations, and a stronger future for one of the valley’s most iconic prides.Every pride’s story starts somewhere. More often than not, it starts like this.📩 info@lioncamp.com🌍 www.lioncamp.com#LionCampZambia#SouthLuangwa#ZambiaWildlife#SafariExperience#WildlifePhotography by @dazmental

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THE CLEAR PATHPeople often ask me how I got into wildlife filmmaking.The truth is, there was never a clear path.When I started, I searched everywhere for opportunities to learn this craft in the African bush. I never found a straightforward answer, and every filmmaker I met seemed to have their own unconventional story of how they got in.Too Wild was built to change that.The biggest challenge in this industry has always been access. Access to wildlife, access to equipment, access to mentorship, and ultimately access to the footage needed to build a showreel that opens doors.What David and Lauren have created is the opportunity I wish existed when I was starting out. Big Five country. World-class equipment. Experienced mentors. Real wildlife filmmaking from day one.If you’ve ever asked me how to break into this industry, this is the closest thing I’ve seen to an answer.August intake is coming up soon. Use my discount code: MENTAL when you apply! by @dazmental

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9 days ago

THE RHYTHM OF LUANGWAWhat makes South Luangwa so iconic is movement. Wildlife constantly shifts between the escarpment, the floodplains, and the river systems, following water, food, and opportunity through the seasons.As the dry months deepen, the valley begins to concentrate life. Elephants, buffalo, hippos, lions, leopards, wild dogs, Thornicroft’s giraffes, Crawshay’s zebras, and endless birdlife all gather around the remaining water sources, creating extraordinary density and interaction between species.It’s this rhythm, abundance, and raw connectivity that make Luangwa one of Africa’s richest wildlife experiences.📩 info@lioncamp.com🌍 www.lioncamp.com#LionCampZambia#SouthLuangwa#ZambiaWildlife#SafariExperience by @dazmental

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SIBLINGS OF THE VALLEYBefore territories, independence, and separate paths, there was Chisomo and Taonga.Two siblings growing up side by side, exploring the valley together, learning its lessons one day at a time. The bond would never last forever, but these early years are some of the most important in a young leopard’s life.A reminder that even the most solitary cats do not start out alone.📩 info@lioncamp.com🌍 www.lioncamp.com#LionCampZambia#SouthLuangwa#ZambiaWildlife#SafariExperience#WildlifePhotography by @dazmental

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14 days ago

HER EYES SAY IT ALLThe beauty of a lioness begins with structure.Strong cheekbones, a broad nose, and perfectly balanced features create the unmistakable shape of a predator. But it is the eyes that bring everything together.Focused, intelligent, and endlessly expressive, they reveal both softness and strength in the same glance.A face shaped by millions of years of evolution, yet impossible not to admire.📩 info@lioncamp.com🌍 www.lioncamp.com#LionCampZambia#SouthLuangwa#ZambiaWildlife#SafariExperience#WildlifePhotography by @dazmental

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RIVER TENSIONA crocodile shifted mid-crossing and the entire elephant herd erupted into chaos. South Luangwa always delivers the most interesting inter-species interactions 🐘🐊 by @dazmental

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a month ago

Happy birthday to one of my heroes! @dazmental 🎂 🎈 I’ve traveled a lot, met people from all over the world, worked in crazy environments, and experienced so many different ways of living… but your mind genuinely amazed me from the beginning. Your discipline, your loyalty, your passion, your way of showing up for people, the way you work harder than anyone even when life gets hard, it says a lot about who you are.You’re the kind of person people can trust. As a friend, as a partner, as a teammate. And that’s rare.What I admire most about you is not just your ambition and passion, but your heart. The small details you notice. The way you care quietly. The way you make people around you feel supported and safe without needing attention for it.I think somewhere along the way, life made me very guarded. Strong, independent, always moving, always focused on the next mission. But you softened something in me in the healthiest way possible, and I’ll always be grateful for that.Thank you for the laughs, the adventures, the patience, the conversations, the chaos, and for reminding me that good humans still exist.I wish I could be there to celebrate you today, but I hope this year brings you everything you deserve and more.Happy birthday, Daz 🤍 by @dazmental

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“There’s nothing there.”That is actually what someone said to me when I told them I was going to Namibia.And they were right. That is exactly the point.Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries on earth. Nothing is in the way. No clutter, no noise, just endless landscapes that stretch further than your eyes can process. Ancient dunes built grain by grain over millions of years. Open roads where oryx appear out of nowhere in the distance like they materialised from the heat. Scavengers working the roadsides. Creatures living inside environments that look like they should support nothing at all.The emptiness is not an absence of things. It is just space for nature to exist without interruption.And hidden inside all of that nothingness is so much more than most people expect.Go find out for yourself.@rentals.voetspore by @dazmental

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CLOSE ENCOUNTER 🐾Sometimes nature unfolds in ways you could never predict.And sometimes it happens just metres from the vehicle.One of those encounters you never really forget. Captured on the Sony A7R IV paired with the 200-600 G.Follow @Dazmental for more raw moments from the wild.#Dazmental #SonyAlpha #A7RIV #WildlifePhotography #Lions SafariLife BigCats by @dazmental

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