“Thank you. I bow in gratitude for the gift of you that you have shared. The Wednesday morning emails became balm for my anxious soul. You continue to inspire me.”
My Maasai guide, Kupai, and I came across a mother elephant and her tiny newborn out on a game drive on the Maasai Mara last month. The little calf was full of personality and confidence. When we approached it flared its ears and raced towards us in a mock charge…
Read MoreThe gates opened for the next feeding at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, but the orphans were nowhere in sight. The region is experiencing a devastating drought, the keepers and their young charges were forced to walk further out into the bush to find enough to eat. Finally, the first group of orphans arrived. They raced across the compound for their bottles.
Read MoreKaribu – welcome to our school, said Terri, a Montessori teacher at the mobile preschool in the Sarara Valley, Northern Kenya. Her classroom is a large, screened tent with a wide awning shading the door. This school is unique, it moves with the people.
Read MoreThe Maasai woman pressed a handful of necklaces against my window when we pulled up to the Musiara gate exiting the Mara Game Reserve. A young girl nudged her aside with a handful of colourful shukas (Maasai shawls). Their eyes said it all - buy my crafts.
Read MoreTears of overwhelm and joy pricked my eyes when I read the email on September 9, 2021. Congratulations! We are contacting you today because your image has been selected as a Highly Honored finalist in the final round of Judging for the 2021 Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards.
Read More“If we do not do something to prevent it, Africa’s animals, and the places in which they live, will be lost to our world, and her children forever.” – Nelson Mandela
Read More“I’d love to get down low” I whispered. “If we find a good spot you can get out” Pilipili replied. Get out? My heart rate rose a few more levels. Although the bull elephants appeared peaceful and benign, at six tons Big Tusker Tim could flip our truck with one casual swing of his trunk or step on me and it would be all over.
Read MoreMy aim in wildlife photography is to create images that evoke a response in the viewer. When we have an emotional reaction to a photograph our brains tell us a story. The heart informs the mind. Not everyone has the same response, that’s the beauty of art.
Read MoreLast week a tiny elephant calf fell in a well in Northern Kenya. The region is currently experiencing a devastating drought. The local Samburu people dig wells for their livestock in riverbeds during the dry season. They bring their animals to drink during the day and elephants take advantage of the wells at night. Unfortunately, sometimes a calf falls in and the elephants are unable to help it out.
Read MoreDid you know the first Saturday in September is International Vulture Awareness Day? Nature’s garbage collectors, vultures are found in many countries. They are the most threatened group of raptors in the world. All African vultures are under pressure, several are facing extinction. Some populations have fallen as much as 97% in the last few years.
Read More“Cheetahs are my favourite animal,” said the British guest sitting opposite me at the dinner table. “I’d do anything to have one as a pet.” I paused, stunned, my fork halfway to my mouth. Incredulous, I responded, “You want a cheetah as a house pet?”
Read MoreI didn’t know about “The Big 5” list before my first safari in 2010. It’s an old term used by trophy hunters in Africa. Five large animals were considered the most dangerous and consequently the most prized: elephant, rhino, leopard, Cape buffalo, and lion. Trophy Hunters slaughtered them by the thousands. As Jane Goodall says, “there are no words” for people who get pleasure from senselessly killing big game.
Read MorePhotographing animals in the wild involves an interesting dance between slow and fast; patiently waiting for a shot while simultaneously staying ready for that fraction of a second when it all comes together. The drivers and spotters on a game drive do their best to set up photographic shots, but wild animals have a mind of their own.
Read MoreI chose to visit Sarara Camp in Northern Kenya, after reading photographer Ami Vitale’s National Geographic story about the launch of the sanctuary in 2017. Reteti is the first community owned and run elephant sanctuary in Africa and the first elephant orphanage to employ women as keepers. Not only are they saving elephants, Reteti is creating employment for women and modeling new roles for young girls.
Read MoreI can’t imagine ever running out of stories, but I confess, I long to fill up my basket of travel tales with more adventures. There’s a voice that echoes in my head “safari, safari, safari.” I want to breathe in the air, the smells of the Kenyan landscape. I long to go to sleep listening to the rumble of elephants or the roar of lions outside my tent.
Read MoreCan you tell a leopard from its spots? Seeing either a leopard or cheetah on the African savanna is always a special treat. Both leopards and cheetahs have long tails with white tips.
Read MoreThis week’s Heartfelt Story—The Grace of Elephants and What they Can Teach Us About Love—is a podcast interview, with Monica Rodgers. I made an instant connection with Monica in a Seth Godin Creatives Workshop in 2020. Monica hosts a popular weekly podcast called “The Revelation Project.” She believes “what gets revealed, gets healed.”
Read MoreThe world is at a tipping point due to the destructive behaviour of humans. I believe we would do well to ask ourselves as we consider important decisions about the future of our planet, “What would the elephants do?” When I think of the answer, I relive my encounter with the elephants of Amboseli in January 2020.
Read MoreA spotted cat with long legs like a miniature cheetah slipped by like an elusive ghost. A serval! After dozens of game drives this was my first sighting of this graceful little feline. The serval emerged and crossed the road giving me full view of its lanky body and short tail before disappearing again into the grass on the far side of the road.
Read MoreWhat if The Heartfelt Story this week was one picture? No accompanying story, rather an invitation to contemplate a picture in silence at a pace that is slow to middlin.
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