The Mara River Leap

A handful of you were with me that day in August 2018 when I captured the image below.  For those who weren’t, I hope that some day you have a chance to witness this spectacle yourself!  In the mean time, please enjoy this brief account of how the image came together.

The Mara River Leap

There are certain iconic wildlife spectacles around the world that I think probably all wildlife photographers and wildlife enthusiasts would like to see in their lifetimes.  The Serengeti wildebeest migration was certainly one of those for me, and in particular, the crossing of the Mara River was something I wanted to witness for myself.  It was August 2018 when I had the opportunity.  We were hanging back, waiting as the animals massed on the crest of the bank.  Then suddenly they surged.  It was chaos.  They poured down the cliffs and into the river. I knew that the challenge was to extract a moment from this wild scene.  I was shooting as fast as I could, but looking for patterns.  I saw a little ledge part way down the bank that some animals were launching from, becoming briefly separated from the background, and I framed just that section of the scene for a time.  Soon, it was all over.  Thousands of wildebeest had crossed the river in a matter of minutes.  The dust still hung in the air, but I knew that this time, I had been in the right place at the right time, and captured something special.

New Monthly Giveaway
 Starting this week, I have decided to give back by having a monthly drawing for my newsletter subscribers.  Every month we will choose something different to give away.  This month it is an authentic signed 8x10 print of the Red Bird-of-Paradise.  Next month it could be a signed book, poster, or print.  You don't have to do anything, you're automatically entered.  Just letting you know!

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This newsletter represents an official “soft launch” of my new line of Limited Edition Prints, including The Mara River Leap, exclusively for you, my newsletter subscribers.  We will be ready to launch the new Limited Editions Gallery on my website next week, featuring the first set of 16 prints I am offering, including several Birds-of-Paradise and other wildlife and landscape images that are highlights of my long career in the field.  In the mean time, please email us at studio@timlaman.com if you are interested in receiving a private link to the website so you can have a few days to check it out before it becomes publicly available. Click the button below to learn more about my Limited Editions.

About Tim Laman's New Limited Editions

Thanks for your support, and stay safe everyone!
Tim