20 years ago, the champion sport shooter swapped her rifle for a camera. Her sights are now set on the wonders of the underwater world… And on Africa, which she has explored relentlessly since her first steps on the continent in 2006.
Sonia and her husband Florian came together in a spirit of sport, sharing a taste for performance and challenge, but it’s their shared passion for nature that makes them a truly well-matched pair of champions!
More images by Sonia Rousseau on Etendues-Sauvages.com
Since 1996, with a first stay in New Caledonia, they have never stopped exploring the remarkable waters of the Pacific, from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus, Polynesian realms of pelagic fauna, by way of Uepi in the Solomon Islands, where the diving satisfies lovers of “big” marine life, but not only that: “for macro photography, it’s paradise,” Sonia enthuses, “you find pygmy seahorses, crocodilefish, and an incredible diversity of nudibranchs in every shape and the most improbable colours.”
It’s in these aquatic worlds, so teeming with life, that the elite markswoman found an outlet for an eye honed by years of shooting training. But there’s no question of taking aim to shoot — Sonia is devoted to nature, which she respects above all else.
Her lens now captures the finest the world has to offer, beneath the ocean’s surface as much as on land… “Since our first steps on this continent in 2006, Africa has won us over! As has the expertise of Etendues Sauvages,” she recalls, remembering her first contact with the agency: “At the time, we wanted to go to Botswana. We searched online, and only one tour operator offered a visit to the Makgadikgadi region. So we got in touch with the agency to find out more… The conviction and enthusiasm of the person we spoke with won us over in the end… it was Etendues Sauvages.”
Since then, the couple has made the agency a habit, valuing its pioneering itineraries, its attentiveness, and the passion that leads to genuinely constructive exchanges. “They never get our wishes wrong, and they’ve introduced us to real finds like the Tok Tokkie Trail in Namibia, a two-night walking trail sleeping under the stars in the desert.”
On Namibia, Sonia also recalls the legendary landscapes seen from a hot-air balloon basket and the intense emotion she felt, but it’s in Kenya, at Kicheche Bush Camp, that she has her habits. “I had considered Tanzania, but Laurent recommended this small Kenyan camp, which matched exactly what I was looking for: intimate, with only 6 tents, and perfectly suited to wildlife photography enthusiasts. I became fond of the big cats,” she smiles, “and I love finding, year after year, the animals I’ve come to recognise, like Scarface, the scarred lion, or Fig, the female leopard.”
Attentive, professional guides track down cheetahs and other rare felines for us: “the landscapes in the area we explored aren’t spectacular, but the wildlife is exceptional and always there to be found.”
Future plans? “Florian would like to tour the Pacific islands and dive in Tonga or Cocos Island to see humpback whales and concentrations of hammerhead sharks. A project we’ll likely carry out one day. Otherwise, Africa, again and always… Among our waking dreams are Uganda, for mountain gorilla tracking, and Zimbabwe.”
For now, Sonia has a date with Scarface and Fig and her Kenyan emotions, which she’ll return to in late November.
Find Sonia’s images on her Instagram account @soniaplongeur
Or her diving images from the Solomon Islands on Etendues Sauvages.
