Dreaming of Africa

I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Where are you dreaming of traveling to?  I have many places on my list.  It may be a little while yet, but the first place I will head back to internationally will definitely be Borneo, to continue coverage of the orangutans and biodiversity of Gunung Palung National Park.  But many other places are also calling, and the wonders of East Africa are certainly among them.  I have many fond memories of my safaris there, and hope to go back soon.  In the mean time, we have been working on expanding my Limited Edition collection in my fine art gallery, and I’m excited to announce the addition of the image below.

The Vulture Tree

One hot, hazy afternoon in the Serengeti in 2018, we were driving around in our vehicle, but it wasn’t exactly the time of day when I expected to make an outstanding wildlife image.  But then we spotted this lone Ruppel’s vulture, perched in this old dead tree, which was a beautiful piece of sculpture in itself.  The vulture had its wings spread partially, in a posture that likely was helping get some airflow over his body to help it cool off.  I carefully directed our driver to get us into a position where the branches formed the best framing around the vulture.  The hazy afternoon light added the atmosphere and the slightly ocher color palette.  The resulting image ended up being one of my Limited Edition prints.

A Few Other Favorites from Africa

Here are a few other favorites from Africa that are in my Limited Edition Collection:

A herd of wildebeest cross the Mara River during their annual migration.  Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

A wildebeest makes a wild leap as the herd of thousands surge across the Mara River during their annual migration.  Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

BaoThe sun rises behind a baobab tree on the African savanna.  Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

Newsletter #6

Dear Friends,

It’s been an eventful spring and I feel like I’ve barely had my feet on the ground.  As I write this I’m on a plane headed back toward one of my favorite parts of the world – the mega-diversity country of Indonesia for two full months of filming and photography.  I’ll be pursuing birds-of-paradise once again in Papua, working on underwater coverage in Raja Ampat, and then heading to Borneo to continue documenting orangutans at Gunung Palung, especially the female Walimah, who has just had a baby.  So exciting times ahead, and I’ll share images and stories as I can here and on social media.

Back in May I had the opportunity to co-lead another wildlife safari to Tanzania with my good friend and former professor Eldon Greij, for the Hope College Alumni Global Travel Program.  Every safari leads to amazing wildlife encounters, but I’d like to share a few images from a truly extraordinary day that we experienced.

Featured Image: Mortal Enemies - Lions and Buffalo

May 20, 2019 - Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.  It seemed that everywhere we looked, we saw lions hunting.  Out of five prides of lions known to reside in this 15 kilometer wide caldera, we saw four of them feeding on fresh kills that day, and in one case, we saw the hunt from start to finish.  The attack began with two lionesses.  The first grabbed the buffalo by the neck while the second tried to attack from behind.  It seemed to be a stalemate for six minutes.  Then reinforcements showed up in the form of the two males and other females from the pride.  I captured this image of the first male to arrive leaping onto the buffalo’s back.  It didn’t take long after that for the buffalo to fall.  Lions have to eat.

Witnessing lions making a kill was extraordinary, but at another point in the day, we saw that the lions do not always have it their way.  We came upon a lion hunt that appeared to have gone awry.  Lions were pursuing a herd of buffalo, but instead of isolating a buffalo to attack, a young male lion found himself surrounded by a herd of very angry buffalo who lashed out at him.  For several minutes, we witnessed the incredible power of the buffalo, as they hooked the helpless lion with their horns and tossed him repeatedly into the air.  It was very apparent why buffalo are considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.  We thought the lion was going to be killed on the spot, but after about ten minutes of this, the buffalo abandoned him and he staggered to the bushes.  It was hard to imagine he would live for long.

At times these scenes were not pleasant to watch, I will admit.  Nature can be harsh.  But it was real, and it was amazing to witness the cycle of life in a place that is still wild.  We need places like that on earth, and it is good for us to visit them.  As Tennyson wrote, on this day, we truly witnessed “Nature red in tooth and claw”. 

We also witnessed a lot of beauty that day.  I’ll leave you with a tender moment between a mother and baby zebra as we headed for the crater exit late in the afternoon.  After all the death, it was refreshing to focus on new life as this unforgettable day came to a close.

Gallery Update:

Thanks to all of your interest in my photographs and stories, I have reached a milestone of 1 Million followers on Instagram.  I’d like to show my appreciation by offering a selection of your favorite images from my Instagram feed as discounted prints. Soon you can own one or more of the images you enjoyed on Instagram to hang on your wall.  The updates to the website will be completed soon.

Thanks for reading and all the best,  Tim