A Natural Eye Photography

A year and a half ago, during a day inside Ngorongoro Crater, we came across a meadow that seemed right out of a Camille Pissarro painting. Instead of pedestrians walking a Parisian boulevard, at least fifty pairs of African crowned cranes were taking a dignified stroll around the grass. Surreal turned bizarre when a hyena charged an ostrich, sending the cranes into flight. It was a moment that propelled other moments. There were cheetahs in the shade, which sent the water buffaloes on the move. With the background sounds of wildebeests grunting and monkeys fighting amongst themselves, we watched the rhythmic gate of giraffe necks advancing through the acacias, we spotted a hippo out of water, and to our comic surprise, watched lions walk towards us and take a nap under the shade of our vehicles. Roll the visual dice in Tanzania, and you will not be let down.

There was the moment, far out from Ndutu on the Serengeti plains, at sunset, with the sky positioning itself to drop a curtain of yellow behind black storm clouds, when a lone elephant walked into our end-of-day view.

And back at our base at Ndarakwai, we were celebrated guests at the local school, and were serenaded by the sweet songs of the children. As guests at the nearby Maasai village, we experienced the dark reality inside a Maasai home, a small fire dancing shadows against the earthen home, and we watched as children brought goats back inside the village walls at sunset. Back in our own tent cabins, canvas walls rolled up, listening to the wind blowing through the leaves, watching a monkey troupe swing between the trees, waiting for the sweet voice announcing that your shower was ready, you realized this was bliss. A perfect immersion into Africa.

This will be my third trip to Tanzania. I was asked by Renie Haiduk and Dan Anthony to be a photo leader on their Africa Photo Adventures in 2010 and 2011. They have decided to take 2013 off from the adventure, but you should check out their website, as the spirit on this adventure, and the essence itself comes right from their relationship with Peter Jones and Ndarakwai Ranch in Tanzania. And speaking of Peter, he is the guy you want to be with in the Serengeti. In his early twenties he was hired by the Leakey's to come to the Olduvai Gorge and help them on their archeological digs of early humans. (Peter's stories, which we will hear at the Gorge, are profound, and historically important.) Peter's love for Africa led to Ndarakwai, his 11,000 acre preserve for 65 mammal species, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and 350 species of birds, and within site of Mount Kilimanjaro. Over the decades Peter has been sought out by photographers, such as Herb Ritts and Nick Brandt, and film crews from around the world, to provide them with the best access to great wildlife and beautiful landscapes. And the great news is that Peter will be joining us on the trip to the Serengeti. Whether you have a question about the Cheetah's life history, or the desire to hear captivating stories gathered from years in the bush, Peter is at the heart of our adventure.