CHARGING ELEPHANTS
We came across this herd of Elephants in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, East Africa. There were a few vehicles watching them when they started to charge, including us! The other vehicles moved off fairly quickly, but I instructed my driver to wait a bit to see what unfolded.
As it turned out, the non-aggressive charge was in-fact running to reunite with a younger calf on the other side of the track we were on as they had become separated. The younger Elephant was a long way off, so it took us a while to determine what was going on.
My heart pounding, adrenalin pumping, I hung out the roof of the 4WD with my finger on the shutter. Well, what an experience, there is nothing to compare with being in a close encounter with such a majestic animal as the Elephant. I really didn’t appreciate how large they are either until this, with only the vehicle separating us.
Closer… kiture…closer…kiture, kiture… I eventually decided to take cover back in the vehicle.
The following images were taken with the lens set at 100mm, so yes, that’s pretty close, although personally, closer the better I think. The images capture the real essence, the spirit of the animal the closer you are, and for me, that’s what its all about. The closer I am, the more I feel it. The more I feel it, the more it is portrayed in my images and altimately the more you will feel it through my images!
As ther famous photographer Robert Capa once said;
“If Your Pictures Aren’t Good Enough, You’re Not Close Enough”



Eden
These are amazing! Great stuff.
samclarkphotography
Hi Eden,
Thank you so much…it was definitely an amazing experience.
robe de cocktail
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this
write-up plus the rest of the website is also really
good.
samclarkphotography
Hi Kattie,
Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Sam