You know how to spot a leopard? asked Kupai, as we bumped down the track in the Toyota Land Cruiser. “Look for a tail hanging in a tree!” I replied triumphantly, feeling the flush of pleasure of showing the teacher she’d learned something about finding leopards.

“Wildcat!” Kupai and I exclaimed in unison. We’d only rolled a few yards down the road from the lodge on our first game drive when we spotted the resident warthog, aka Pumba, snuffling at something on the road. I scrambled for my camera to capture the small grey cat strolling ahead of the curious warthog.

Do you think animals can feel love? I sure do! With Valentine’s Day this week, let’s talk about love. One of my goals in photography is to make images that touch people’s hearts. Watching African wildlife’s interactions is a reminder that these animals are sentient beings who care about each other.

This week, I’m busy preparing an online presentation for an Ontario Camera Club about Visual Story Telling. So, in the spirit of sharing with more than one audience, here are some of my pointers for photographers and storytellers.

This week I’m turning my story telling over to David Kupai Senchura, my Maasai guide extraordinaire on the Mara Game Reserve. We set our goal one morning to visit the Musiara Marsh Pride of lions.

If you come across a herd of Cape Buffalo on a game drive, you will usually see red or yellow-billed oxpeckers perched their bodies. The birds provide a valuable service - they eat insects and ticks. The symbiotic relationship between the oxpecker and the hooved host is known as mutualism.

Welcome to Sarara Camp, there’s a giraffe in the bathroom! Robert Lemayian, my Samburu guide and I laughed out loud when we encountered a reticulated giraffe munching the shrubs beside the outdoor bathroom as he gave me a tour of my accommodations.

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…

The 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.

Karibu – 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.

The 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.

Tears 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.

“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

“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.

My 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.

Last 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.

Did 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.

“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?”

I 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.

Photographing 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.