The BeetleCam Project

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In 2009 we embarked on a project to get unique close-up, ground level photographs of African wildlife. To achieve this I built BeetleCam; a remote controlled buggy with a DSLR camera mounted on top. Matt and I travelled to Tanzania and used the buggy to get groundbreaking photographs of elephants and buffalo. However, we lost a camera and BeetleCam was almost destroyed in our only encounter with a lion.

We returned home and published “The Adventures of BeetleCam”. The story quickly went viral, appearing all over the web, in print and on television networks worldwide. However, we weren’t entirely satisfied… just imagine what we could get with a lion-proof BeetleCam!

Well, in 2011 I set to work creating two new BeetleCams; one with more advanced capabilities and one with an armoured shell. We returned to Africa to photograph the lions of the Masai Mara. BeetleCam received a battering but it survived and we came back with a portfolio of lion photographs that exceeded all our expectations! To view the results from our trip to Kenya, continue to “BeetleCam Project 2011“.

Zambia 2012-2013

I have now moved to Zambia where I will be spending a year primarily photographing the wildlife of South Luangwa National Park. I have a new generation of BeetleCam with me and so far it has been performing extremely well. My aim is to use BeetleCam to photograph new creatures such as leopards and African wild dogs. You can see the results of my first month in Zambia in my blog post “September in South Luangwa“. I am also regularly posting my latest BeetleCam photos on my Facebook page.

I will soon be releasing more photographs and videos showing footage of BeetleCam in action. If you want to be notified when this happens, please subscribe to my free email newsletter.

About Will Burrard-Lucas

I’m a professional wildlife photographer from the UK. Through my photographs I aim to inspire people to celebrate and conserve the natural wonders of our planet. When possible I work with my brother, Matt. Together we use teamwork and ingenuity to capture striking photographs of wild animals in their natural environments.