Bugs, elephants, rhinos: The Perfect Picture S02E08

With the final episode of Canon’s reality TV series, The Perfect Picture, looming, only four contestants remain to battle it out for R150 000 in cash and R100 000 worth of Canon photographic equipment.

In the last episode, we said goodbye to Zahirah Marty who had some difficulties during the nude shoot. Ivan Roux, Jonathan Boyton-Lee, and Lasizwe hit the challenge on the head, with Ivan awarded the highest score.

This week promised something ‘wild’, but who will outshoot the rest? Both Ivan and Lasizwe have had ups and downs during the competition. Will Jonathan and Nomvelo Makhanya break out and overtake the leaders? All was revealed in this episode.

Challenge 1: Take a macro photo of wildlife

Meeting the shutterbugs in the bush, host Maps Maponyane announced that this would be the last set of challenges before the finale. Maps told the contestants that their first challenge was to capture the Little Five – yes, you read that right. They would need to take a close-up shot of creepy-crawlies (insects, spiders, snakes, or any small wildlife they found in the field).

To teach the contestants how to take the perfect wildlife and macro photos, Maps introduced the guest judge of the week, Prelena Owen. For her, the shot needed to show creativity and originality. She advised contestants to focus on composition, perspective, and how well they relate their story. For this, the contestants had to learn how to use 35 mm and 100 mm macro lenses and focus on keeping their apertures wide open.

With the masterclass over, each contestant received a field guide and 30 minutes to take the perfect picture. Heading to the trees, Nomvelo quickly realised that these lenses didn’t work the same way as the previous ones. You need to get as close to the subject as possible for the shot to be in focus. Overall, the contestants looked like headless chickens running around trying to find anything that moved to take a picture of.

With the final images locked in, Maps gave the contestants some stressful news. They would not be getting their scores before starting the elimination challenge and no advantages would be rewarded going forward.

Challenge 2: A conservation experience of a lifetime

As the new day dawned, the contestants found themselves at Mongena Game Lodge. Prelena introduced the concept of conservation photography, which needs to tell a story about conversation issues and the plight of animals. This type of emotional photography is so important as it brings awareness about the dangers and problems wildlife species face.

The challenge started once an elephant was tranquilised so that a vet could check on its wellbeing and place a new tracker collar on it. The movement research from the collar will be used to help the other elephants in the reserve.

With the lens of their choice and just 30 minutes, contestants had to capture the operation: meaning that both the elephant and the conservationist had to appear on the image. The photo needed to evoke emotion and create awareness around wildlife conservation. It also had to inspire people and make them think twice about how they treat the animals we share our planet with.

Just when the contestants thought the challenge was over, they got the news that a rhino had been darted nearby to chip its ear. This gave the contestants another shot to take the perfect picture. After this, it was back to the studio to edit their final photo submission and find out who would be in the finale and who would be going home.

Prelena joined our resident judges, Neo Ntsoma and Hilary O'Leary, to critique the images. But first, the scores from the first challenge. Jonathan won the wildlife challenge for a beautifully captured butterfly. The judges felt he captured the insect in precise detail and great focus. Following him, was Lasizwe in second, Nomvelo in third, and Ivan in last place.

While the judges loved all of the conservation images, they ranked Jonathan the highest and the winner of the episode. They praised his image for his futuristic take on conservation, telling a story of where conservation is headed. In second place was Lasizwe, with Nomvelo in third. Ivan was eliminated from the competition as it was remarked that while his perspective was nice, the image lacked emotion.

Next week on The Perfect Picture, the finalists (Lasizwe, Jonathan Boyton-Lee, and Nomvelo Makhanya) travel to Lesotho and race against time to put all the skills they’ve learnt during the season to the test.

Don’t miss the finale! Tune in on Sunday to eTV at 17:00 or catch repeat episodes on Saturdays at 17:30 on eReality.

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And if you missed the show’s first broadcast on eTV, watch the full episode on YouTube: youtube.com/@perfectpicturesouthafrica