I am just diving into the Hive ecosystem and finding all kinds of wonderful communities. I am an avid photographer who is lucky enough to travel to some amazing wild places for work. I lead safaris in Africa and work as an expedition leader onboard very small expedition cruise ships (20-35 passenger ships). These trips focus a lot on Alaska, Antarctica, and Hawaii, although Galapagos is in the future.
These two images are a couple of my favorites from my last African safari I led in summer of last year. I was in Kenya's Masai Mara for the Great Migration... where over a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra and antelope move north from the Serengeti Plains to the lush savanna of the Mara. The predators are usually not far behind.
Most of the time it feels like lions are hardly aware that you are even there..even if your safari vehicle is only feet away from them. However, this lion looked right at me. I could feel the power behind this stare as I took this photo.
This is perhaps my favorite black and white photo to date. We waited for around two hours for this massive herd of wildebeest to work up the courage to cross the crocodile infested Mara river. It is the ultimate apex of the Great Migration. Wildebeests risk getting trampled, getting picked off by hiding lions, and of course the goliath crocodiles that feast on the unlucky.
Just as we were about to turn and head back to camp the dust started to fly. The dusty river bank was about forty feet high on either side of the river. As more and more wildebeests found their way down, the dust gathered into a cloud of mist. The light finding its way through the dust cloud drew lines across an already magical scene.
It all ended when a 15 foot crocodile snagged a young wildebeest.
My entry to the monomad challenge.
-Dai Mar Tamarack