OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 50
The Gray House connection
David’s work sees him regularly
crossing paths with other ODs, and
he has a close working relationship
with one in particular, Garth Jenman
(1987G). Although they themselves
were several years apart at school,
they got to know each other well
as their sons progressed through
Bishops together. Like their fathers,
Liam (2022) and Dane (2023) Rogers
and Callum (2023) and Ross (2025)
Jenman are all Gray House boys.
With Garth running Jenman
African Safaris as well as Hideaways
Africa, he found that he and David
had “a lot of synergies”. They have
worked together on several projects,
including a memorable trip around
Zimbabwe to Garth’s various lodges
to promote it in both the local and
international markets.
in October 2020, when Covid was
taking a heavy toll on the travel
industry. “We were licking our
wounds,” says Garth. “There were
no tourists; it was dead-quiet. Dave
did the photography for all of the
camps. We had no income at all
– but at least we could continue
marketing. We were very grateful.”
Today, business is booming – and
Garth has recently branched out into
luxury villas in South Africa, including
the Cape Point Hideaway pictured
above. David’s photographs of the
villa, taken in January 2025, are used
Visit hideawaysafrica.com to see
more of David’s shots.
amazing local guides I’d befriended
during my journalism days.”
Jenni has a background in lodge
management and publishing,
and is a 50% partner in David
Rogers Travel. “I get to do a lot
of the fun stuff while she runs
the business. It was with Jenni
that I worked on the Safari in Style
series for Africa Geographic,
a set of books on lodges and
destinations in Zambia, East
Africa, Indian Ocean Islands
and South Africa. After that,
we started running the photo
workshops and tours.”
Quite a niche market, I suggest.
“Yes, I’d take groups of around
four or five people. We would
have a professional guide, while
I concentrated on the photography.”
This was at the time that digital
photography started taking off.
How did he manage the shift
from celluloid to digital? Was it
a revelation, or was it something
he needed to adapt to?
“It wasn’t a difficult shift, really,”
David explains. “I shot with both
for a while, but the digital just got
better and better.”
I am reminded of the last shot
I took with my old Pentax 35mm
camera many years ago (before
it was stolen): a rare shot of
a Ground Hornbill up in a tree
in Kruger. I remember patiently
but urgently checking all the
settings, because I knew I only
had one shot left on the reel,
and then having to wait days
until the end of the trip to get
back to a place where I could
develop the shot to see whether
it came out alright.
“I had the same experience with
underwater photography,” David
responds, “and you only had your
36 shots. And you either come up
with something beautiful or, often,
nothing at all.”
48 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
Garth Jenman on
(David’s) camera,
October 2020.
