John Vosloo's remarkable legacy

The gifted and humble wildlife photographer quietly captured images that spoke volumes. By Don Pinnock

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When Colin Bell and I began plans for a book to be called The Last Elephants in 2017, an amazing photograph caught our eye. It showed the trunks of three elephants in Addo Elephant National Park surrounding a newborn, and it was taken by John Vosloo.

We were never in any doubt from that moment that we wanted it as our cover. We didn't know who he was but tracked him down. When we asked permission to use the photo we requested that he send more of his elephant photos. They simply blew us away. His sudden death shocked us. We have lost a brilliant photographer.

John Vosloo's life had two lodestars: the law and the living world he loved to witness through a lens. A Gqeberha-based attorney by trade and a conservation photographer by passion, Vosloo stood at that rare crossroads where professional discipline met an artist's patient attention.