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Witnessing the suffering of animals is not for the faint hearted!

A Cheetah hunts in Kenya, Africa

On our various trips to Africa we’d witnessed a few occasions where animals have been suffering. It’s never easy, and always raises a tear to your eye. But is a useful reminder of the fragility of the earth we live in, and that even the seemingly most powerful of animals are vulnerable.

  • We have witnessed a safari vehicle get in-between an elephant mother and her calf – the mother reared up and trumpeted, signalling that she was about to charge the vehicle to get to her baby. The calf was crying – I have never heard a noise like it. It was heart breaking, and a firm reminder that they are the true bosses of the bush!
  • We have seen two cheetah kills. The first was a grown cub of  one of the cheetahs which featured on the BBC Big Cat Diary. We watched her catch and kill a deer right before our eyes. The second, was a mother cheetah and two cubs catching and killing a baby foal. The mother used it as an opportunity to teach the cubs how to hunt. They kept letting the foal escape and then catching it again. It was gruesome, but a true reminder of the circle of life. 
  • We saw an elephant in South Africa who only had half a trunk. We think he must have lost the other half to a crocodile attack. It’s helplessness was saddening and alarming. There was nothing we could do but watch and pray that it survived another day. We revisited the environment a few times after the first sighting to check up on it – but we never saw him again. I still think about that ellie to this day. I hope he’s alive, stronger and surviving.
  • We have also seen other wounded elephants – for example a maimed elephant was abandoned by her herd in Samburu National Park, Kenya and we found her wandering the bush alone, hopping along on her three good feet.
  • And of course, the orphan elephants in the DSWT centre in Nairobi –I witnessed the most profound and emotional suffering I have ever seen in an animal. What angers me most is that this suffering is ‘natural’. It’s not Mother Nature’s circle of life.  We / humans caused it. It’s our fault. We’re monsters!

Tender moments with African wildlife

I Have Seen Tomorrow

Continuing my reflection of our times in Africa, I wanted to share with you some of our more tender moments experienced with the wildlife and the environment. It’s moments like these that draw you back to Africa time and time again…

a) In Kenya, our guide provided us with breakfast in the bush in true ‘Out of Africa’ style. We emerged cautiously from the vehicle into the open bush. Whilst we were taking in our surroundings our guide set up a folding table, covered it with a Maasai blanket and produced, seemingly out of no-where, the most incredible breakfast feast.  We sat in deckchairs in the middle of the Kenyan grasslands eating wonderful food, sipping tea and watching a heard of about 20 elephants walk right by us. They paused to eat from the acacia trees as if to join us in our breakfast. It brought tears to my eyes.

b) In the heat of the midday sun, a lioness who had been feasting on a wildebeest carcass came to shelter in the shadow of our LandRover.  She was an arm’s length away from us and just gazed into our eyes. Her mouth and fur was blood stained, and she was so close that we could see ourselves reflected in her eyes and hear her gentle panting .

c) Africa as a whole has this incredible smell – it’s exotic and herby and it fills your senses the second you step foot off the plane. It’s hard to describe, but once you have inhaled it, it’ll never leave you. It’s alluring and never fails to excite you.

Photos from our Kenya safaris are available in our TarajiBlue Kenyan photo gallery.

 

Recalling our favourite encounters with African wildlife

Considering my next move

When on safari, you spend half your time desperately hoping to see animals, but when they get close (and I mean really close), panic takes over and you’d give anything to lock your windows and close your eyes….but your adrenaline kicks in and you have to live the moment. Here’s some our 3 favourite heart stopping moments from Africa…

a)    On our last night in South Africa we were sitting outside our tent in the pitch black watching a lightning storm rage over the African bush. We sat in silence, watching, listening, when we heard scuffling to our right. Switching the torch on we illuminated a honeybager, who’d snuck right up the steps to our tent and was cheekily trying to shuffle by us to get to our bins to eat our scraps. Honeybadgers are nocturnal and elusive creatures. In our three previous trips to Africa we’d never seen one. They are also very ferocious and fearless, so you can only imagine how fast my heart was pounding! The tourchlight scared him off – but he returned twice that night at around 3am with his lady friend, waking us by overturning our bins. We found out the next morning that their set was right under our tent!

b)    We have seen a safari vehicle get in-between an elephant mother and her calf – the mother reared up and trumpeted, signalling that she was about to charge the vehicle to get to her baby. The calf was crying – I have never heard a noise like it. It was heart breaking, and a firm reminder that they are the true bosses of the bush! Elephants are the one animals you should always keep the car engine running for – you never know when you’ll need a quick get-away. They are stunningly beautiful but incredibly dangerous.

c) In Kenya, we visited an animal rehabilitation centre and stepped into a pen with three adult cheetahs – we got to stroke (and hug) them! This was somewhat silly and is not to be recommended! The adrenaline got the better of us, and the zoo keeper  was only too keen to allow it. This kind of interaction should NEVER be attempted in the wild.

Photos from our Kenyan safaris are available in our TarajiBlue Kenya gallery.

A night of reflection

This Memory

I have recently been asked to assist a student by sharing some of our travel experiences to help her with a college project.  The result being that I have spent a good two hours this evening re-living some of my most favourite travel memories and experiences from my most beloved destination…Africa.  I cannot think of a nicer way to spend a snowy Saturday, housebound evening.

I will be sharing some of these reflections via our Taraji Blue blog over the weeks to come, in the hope of whisking us all away from this British Winter into a far more exotic and alluring destination.

I hope you enjoy the journey…watch this space.

And here’s a few photos you might not have seen

A macaw

Late in 2011 we spent some time at the South Lakes Wild Animal Park . They had a open weekend when it was free to visit, so along we went. We’ve been before and do appreciate the open layout of the park. Macaws fly free, lemurs roam in huge open areas alongside tourists and emus watch you from a distance, approaching you at their leisure.  It’s a good and reliable environment to test new photography equipment. It was, therefore, one of the locations chosen to test my new Canon 7D and our new 70-300mm Canon L lens.

I spent a lot of time with the Macaws which perched high in the trees towering above the park. That’s when I captured the shot above. I managed to frame the concealed macaw through a gap in the branches and chose my moment.

The image below is a close up of a lemur. It was as curious about me and I was of it. The mutual trust between human and animal allowed me to capture this portrait.

We do find that taking picture of animals in captivity is a good way to hone skills and practise ahead of any big photography trip we’re planning. Other test shots taken in captivity are available in our on-line ‘captive gallery’.

Close up of a lemur

BBC’s Frozen Planet – it’s dangerous stuff!

An abrupt rock peak rises into the snowy skies in the Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

We waited with bated breath until BBC’s Frozen Planet came out on blu-ray and we have now watched a couple of episodes, but I have had to lock it away for a wee while – it’s dangerous stuff! The credits had barely rolled for episode two and Ali and I were knee deep in Antarctic brochures that had conveniently landed on our doorstep that day 🙂

The footage is powerfully jaw dropping and immensely beautiful, it transports you to a simpler but more beautiful place…one which challenges the senses and sets your adrenaline going – how can you not be tempted?!

For us, it brings back memories of a very precious trip to Antarctica in 2006 and stirs a longing for the Arctic which is entirely the fault of  an opportunistic and half price trip to Greenland in 2010.  I have shared some of our favourite polar region photos in this blog today. Others are available in our Antarctic and Arctic photo galleries.

Above: A monochrome of a mountain in Lemaire Channel (AKA Kodak Channel) Antarctica.

Below: Icebergs in RØdefjord, Scoresbysund, Greenland.

An ice pipe organ unfolds as you turn the corner into this magnificently sculpted ice bay, repetitive pipes below, dappled fields above, in RØdefjord, Greenland

Frost, Glorious Frost

Holly and berries cast in frost and dew

Whilst most people might despair at the turn in the weather I was thrilled to see that Jack Frost had been dancing around. This is for two reasons:

a) It provided a great opportunity for some macro photography shots out in the field – frost patterns on flowers and leaves made great subjects, as did and the formation of water drops as the frosty morning gave way to a bright sunny afternoon.

b) It means winter is well and truly here – and I have some grand plans for winter photography this year…bring on the snow!

In celebration of this turn in the weather I thought I’d share the picture above – I hope you like it.

New Gallery Now Available: Movement

A rabbit runs

You know me – I am never happy unless the next project is on the go, and with my love for macro photography becoming a constant obsession I have started to wonder what the ‘next big challenge’ is.  I have settled upon the theme of movement.

As noted in a previous blog post it’s been a popular theme in a lot of competitions recently, and it is something that seems relatively easy, but takes considerable skill. With my new Canon 7D I decided it was just the challenge I needed, so I swotted up on my camera manual to learn about the settings available to me, set my camera to TV (shutter priority) mode and off I went.

A steady hand, favourable light and bountiful wildlife at local wetlands proved just the right mixture of education and inspiration. When focussing on waders, geese and swans I was utterly surprised to see a rabbit hop out of the river bank and dash across a low stone wall. I barely had time to register its presence, let alone steal a shot. So I was quite happy with the above result.

After years and years of attempting pin-sharp shots, it’s not easy to forget what you have learnt to try and capture movement. It requires you to re-think settings, composition and focus. But it’s fun!

The image above was taken with a Canon L 100-400mm lens at 400mm, f5.6, ISO 250, exposure bias +1/3 EV.

Several more movement images are available in our dedicated online gallery. I hope you enjoy them and welcome your feedback.

TarajiBlue Wishes Everyone A Very Happy Christmas!

Christmas decorations in Beijing

Happy Christmas from TarajiBlue. We hope Santa stuffs your stocking full of photography treats 🙂

We hope you all have a well deserved break and enjoy the festive period with your nearest and dearest.

See you in 2012 for more photography and travels.

‘Into the Arctic’ New Documentary from TarajiBlue

 
 
 

Into The Arctic from Alistair Knock on Vimeo.

In 2010 we were fortunate enough to seize an opportunistic half price holiday to the Arctic with Gap Adventures. What we  witnessed in Spitsbergen and Greenland was at once life enhancing and bewildering. The memories we have are re-lived by us regularly and they continue to fuel our wanderlust for the polar regions. The sense of place and isolation was immense, as was the beauty that surrounded us.

Greenland was a  particular surprise. It’s huge – everything is magnified … size, colour, shape and form, it’s like no where I have ever seen before. Icebergs tower majestically, blue skies meet glass -like lagoons and oceans.

We were so fortunate with the weather, everyday the sun kissed the snow capped mountaintops surrounding us, creating incredibly beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Bare-armed we drank cold beers on the boat’s deck with new friends in the afternoon sun, watching icebergs and glaciers pass us by. Every minute in this wonderful environment became a legend that will stay with us forever… We cried, laughed and celebrated with friends onboard at morning, noon and midnight.

Sleep was brief, for the excitement of the environment and the promise of the next day could not come soon enough. When we did finally drift off to the ebb and flow of the gentle tide, we were awoken by announcements that the Northern Lights were dancing overhead.

I said it was a life-enhancing experience, but I would go as far to say it was also life changing. When you see what we saw, you cannot help but change your perceptions on the world. It alters your very soul.

This is why, for the last 14 months, TarajiBlue have been working on a documentary of the Arctic. Featuring footage shot entirely on location, and with an original and exclusive score from Alistair Knock, it’s been a labour of love and one that we are eager to share – not only with fellow passengers of the MS Expedition, but also with friends we know, and friends we are yet to make.  We hope, that by sharing this footage, we can share the incredible beauty of the Arctic and help the world to realise why we must protect this most precious and fragile resource for future generations.

Our documentary is called ‘Into the Arctic’ and it is freely available to view on Vimeo. We would really love to hear your feedback – please do let us know what you think, both of the feature and of the Arctic itself.