Collected Moments of Survival

  At the Edge of Appearance Charcoal on Paper 70cm x 30cm Sometimes an image makes me look twice. And then again. This is one of those images. There isn't much to see at first. One eye. Part of a muzzle. A few strong lines of the zebra's markings. And yet there is no doubt what I am looking at. The rest of the animal is almost absent from the frame, but somehow I don't need to see it. My mind fills in what is missing. Perhaps that is what keeps drawing me back to this image. The more I look, the more I see. The lines become less like markings and more like a kind of visual landscape of their own. They lead my eye towards the eye of the animal, and suddenly I am aware of that gaze again. It is unmistakable. Even with so little of the animal revealed, there is a presence that feels complete. I think this is one of the things that fascinates me about photography. We often think that seeing more means understanding more. But sometimes the opposite is true. When something is onl...

Breath of the Earth Charcoal on paper 70cm x 90cm As a photographer, I have always been fascinated by dust. There is something about the way it changes an image — softening the landscape, catching the light, creating atmosphere where there was none a moment before. Some of my favourite photographs have happened because of dust. An animal appears through it and, for a few seconds, seems almost to emerge from mist. I had walked past this particular dust bowl many times. I knew it was there. I knew what the animals used it for. But I had never really stopped to think about what it might offer photographically. Then one day, a zebra dropped to the ground. Almost immediately, dust began to rise around it. I turned the lens towards it. Of course, I knew why the zebra was doing what it was doing. There was nothing unusual about the behaviour itself. But suddenly the ordinary became something else. The dust lifted around the animal, catching the light and softening the edges of its body. For a...

The Gaze That Does Not Yield Charcoal on Paper 70cm x 90cm There was something different about the zebras that day. I had spent time watching them at the water, and what struck me was how intently they observed their surroundings. I was hidden from sight, so they could not see me. But they could see the camera. It was such a small change. A round glass disc where there had not been one before. Everything else was exactly as it usually was when they came to drink. The landscape was familiar. The water was where it should be. Nothing obvious had changed. And yet they noticed. Again and again, I watched them stop and look. Not dramatically. There was no sudden panic. Just an alertness that seemed almost disproportionate to the tiny alteration in their surroundings. They were watching the camera lens. And I began to wonder how much more closely they must observe the world than we do. We move through familiar places and very quickly stop seeing them. We know the road, the room, the view fro...

  Fragments I There is something curious that happens when you spend long enough in wild places. At first, like most people, you arrive with expectation. You hope to see something. You look constantly toward the horizon, scanning the landscape for movement, for activity, for that moment of discovery that justifies the journey. But nature rarely works on our timetable. Over time I have learned that finding what you seek is not always about searching harder. More often, it requires the exact opposite. It requires stillness. Working on my recent encounters with Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra has reminded me of this lesson repeatedly. In the harsh and often unforgiving environment in which they survive, nothing happens quickly. Water is never assumed. Shelter is scarce. Movement is deliberate. Energy is conserved. And so, in order to truly observe them, one has to begin surrendering one’s own sense of urgency. Waiting becomes part of the process. I have spent long periods simply sitting qu...

There are animals that impress us at first sight, and there are animals that reveal themselves slowly over time. The Hartmann's mountain zebra belongs firmly in the second category. At first glance, a zebra appears to be one of Africa's most familiar animals. Its striking black and white stripes make it instantly recognisable, even to people who have never set foot on the continent. Yet familiarity can be deceptive. The more time one spends with Hartmann's mountain zebras, the more apparent it becomes that there is far more to them than their distinctive appearance. For me, the Hartmann's mountain zebra became a subject not because it was dramatic or rare, but because it seemed to embody something far deeper: endurance. Over many years of observing these animals in Namibia, I came to realise that their lives are shaped by an environment that offers very little in the way of comfort. Unlike many of Africa's more celebrated wildlife species, Hartmann's zebras inha...

Baby's in Charge Charcoal on Paper Available as Limited Edition Prints Size A5 - A1 Awarded 3rd Prize in The Golden Turtle 2015 (Russia) Prints can be ordered from christine@christinelamberth.co.za This is a repost of a story previously published with the photographs I took as inspiration for my drawing. Hope you enjoy taking a little trip back down memory lane. It is our last day in the Etosha National Park today and we decide to only visit our favourite waterholes. After a quick visit to Blesbokfontein waterhole where we are lucky enough to get a black rhino out in the open we head off to Rietfontein, an active waterhole where we are guaranteed some action. By now I even have a favourite spot to park to get the best shots on offer and we wait. We are not disappointed as wave after wave of elephants pass us by. Finally, the big herd arrives. Today, instead of going around the back of the waterhole they pass close by as there is a group of rambunctious young males spl...

Lion Cubs waiting for their mother to return from hunting.  When you've acquired a taste for dust, The scent of our first rain, You're hooked for life on Africa And you'll not be right again Till you can watch the setting moon And hear the jackals bark And know that they're around you, Waiting in the dark. When you long to see the elephants. Or hear the coucal's song, When the moonrise sets your blood on fire, You've been away too long Its time to cut the traces loose And let your heart go free Beyond that far horizon, Where your spirit yearns to be. Africa is waiting - come! Since you've touched the open sky And learned to love the rustling grass, The wild fish-eagles cry. You'll always hunger for the bush, For the lion's rasping roar, To camp at last beneath the stars And to be at peace once more. C. Emily Dibb Original art available. Marsh Babies Size  79cm x 156cm Beautifully framed in a white wood frame Can ...