Collected Moments of Survival

  The Quiet Council Collected Moments of Survival There is a particular stillness that settles over the Auob River at dawn. Not silence—but a presence. A sense that something ancient is unfolding just beyond the reach of sound. It was there, in the dry riverbed of the Auob River , that I came across them—four giraffe standing together in quiet formation. Not scattered, not feeding, not moving on. Simply… gathered. A council. This work, The Quiet Council , is my attempt to capture that moment. A fleeting alignment of grace, awareness, and survival. The Giraffe of the Kgalagadi The giraffe found in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park are the Angolan giraffe ( Giraffa giraffa angolensis ), a subspecies uniquely adapted to the arid conditions of this stark and beautiful landscape. They were reintroduced to the park in the late 1990s , after having disappeared from the region decades earlier. Since then, they have not only survived—they have quietly reclaimed their place. Today, they are...

So I’ll jump right in and admit that my preconception of an African wilderness certainly skewed my idea of what to expect in the Selous National Park in the south of Tanzania. On arrival however, I am in for a bit of a surprise. Heavily wooded hills that are impenetrable is not what I expected in the Selous. The early morning rays shimmer across the varied landscape and the soft Equator light gently plays on blades of grass that are dancing tantalisingly inviting a landscape orgy. Resolutely, we move forward, we are here to capture the many animal wonders of the Selous. Each morning we pass the Impala herds as they graze in the cooler part of the day. Their pelts glow bright orange and are smooth and clean.   In the nursery herds the young skip and hop and play while in the peripheral bachelor herds there is a constant interlocking of horns that reminds us that the rutting season is not far off. Unexpectedly coming out of the forest a small Elephant herd will b...