What you have to do is get into the heart. And how do you get into the heart? With stories. Jane Goodall

Do you have a story to tell? I’ve created a list of key ingredients that help build a visual story.  My interest is wildlife, but these points can be used for any subject. What’s your passion?

Wildlife photography competitions are more than showcases of artistic talent. They serve as powerful platforms for conservation storytelling. When images earn recognition and find a wider audience they amplify the message behind them: the urgent need to protect our planet's wildlife and wild places.

I’m thrilled and honoured to share that my image of a matriarch and her family has been selected as a Highly Honored Finalist in the Wildlife Category of Nature’s Best Photography International Awards. The image will be featured on the back cover of Nature’s Best’s Winter Special 30thAnniversary Edition available this December.

Life is best lived at a walking pace and best understood at a sprint. Zambian Proverb

“We should be kind to animals because it makes better humans of us all,” Jane Goodall.

“Want to meet our latest rescue?” Sophie asked. She cupped her hands, and a tiny striped face followed a by wriggling body slipped out of the folds in her shirt. A baby genet!

I love that my kids pick up my phone now and before they use it to play games and zone out, they are struck by the beauty of the Lion and are awed by nature! This somehow restores some balance for me.

If we are in conflict with nature, then we are in conflict with ourselves. Rohan Donovan

Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid.  Frederick Buechner

Our natural world can be a resilient engine of regeneration. We just need to give her some space, so that she can show us what she can do. Enric Sala

Celebrating World Elephant Day Part 2

Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction – Rachel Carson

I’m travelling this week and away from my computer and image archive. Harold Kushner’s “A Prayer for the World” feels like an appropriate repost. Peace is possible when we choose kindness, respect, and generosity.

Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. Mr. Rogers

Feeling safe, being seen, loved and supported in early development is the best gift we can give a youngster. Elephants know all about this. Allomothers, or nannies abound in elephant society. They are the “other mothers” in a young calf’s life.

Moments of beauty begin to braid your days. John O’Donohue

This week’s inspiration comes from two writing friends who remind me that finding beauty is essential in our lives. 

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Two experiences reminded me recently that the fight for the protection of elephants and the health of our planet is ongoing. One reminded me of past trauma, the other foreshadowed more horror in the near future.

The pastoralist Samburu people of Northern Kenya believe elephants were once people. Their oral tradition tells the story of how they became the ancestors of the elephant.

Where will we go for healing when wildlife and wild places no longer exist? Katie Rowe Co-Founder Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

Cuteness may be hard to describe, but you know it when you see it. 

I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one-hundred percent! Dr. Seuss

Meet the waterbuck. They wear their hearts on their nose. They also have a special superpower! Read this week’s story to to learn more.