الفيلة في سيرينجيتي

The amount of wildlife in the Serengeti caught me completely by surprise. My wife and I went to Tanzania on a photo tour, and the whole experience blew me away.

I’d been on a couple of bear tours where sightings were infrequent. Here, there was so much to photograph. The elephants especially held my attention: a calf beside its mother, an adult walking through grass, the folds around an eye. Those are the moments I brought home in these photographs.

Staying Inside the Park

We stayed right inside the park so we could photograph in the early morning and late in the day, avoiding the busiest tourist periods where possible. Less time travelling in and out meant more time watching animals.

The lower sun brings out the contours of an elephant’s face and body. Having time to wait also lets me work beyond the first photograph, watching how the animals move and how the composition changes. I’ve written more about choosing a season in my guide to the best time to visit the Serengeti.

Mothers and Calves

The calf in this photograph fits beneath its mother’s head and shoulder. Their closeness and the difference in scale are enough to hold my attention.

Elephant families usually centre on related females and their young, led by an experienced matriarch. ElephantVoices’ research into their social behaviour shows how much these relationships matter. A photograph catches only a brief moment within them.

When photographing a pair like this, I watch for a clear view of the calf. Overlapping legs and trunks can hide the smaller animal. Sometimes waiting makes all the difference.

I made a lot of elephant photographs on this fantastic tour. My elephant photography collection includes the images available as fine art prints, and I’m adding more as I work through the photographs from our trip.

Texture in Black and White

Elephant skin gives me plenty to work with: broad ears, deep folds and finer lines around the eyes. Side light brings out those textures, while black and white keeps my attention on shape and tone.

All five elephant photographs here are monochrome. I keep the processing restrained so the eye stays visible and the folds retain detail. Too much contrast can lose the subtlety that makes the skin interesting in the first place.

Leaving Room for the Serengeti

A close portrait shows the animal’s details; a wider view shows where it lives. In this walking elephant photograph, the grass and scattered trees are part of the picture. I want enough room around the feet and trunk for the movement to feel natural.

The photograph below takes that wider view further. Two adults and a calf occupy the foreground, with the plain and sky stretching behind them. It brings back the scale of the place as much as the animals themselves.

Elephants also shape their surroundings by feeding on vegetation and spreading seeds in their dung. Save the Elephants explains their ecological role. The landscape is more than a backdrop.

Their movements are separate from the famous migration of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles. If you’re planning to photograph that too, my article on when the wildebeest migration takes place in Tanzania covers the seasonal pattern and my experience. For elephants, local knowledge of food, water and recent sightings is more useful than a migration calendar.

Giving Wildlife Space

A longer lens and patience can help me photograph an elephant without crowding it. Follow the guide’s instructions, leave the animals’ route clear, and never position a vehicle between adults and calves. Getting closer isn’t worth disturbing them.

Seeing so much wildlife made me appreciate what needs protecting. Poaching, habitat loss and conflict with people remain serious pressures. The Frankfurt Zoological Society’s work in the Serengeti includes both protecting the park and working with neighbouring communities.

The elephants are one part of what I photographed in Tanzania. My Serengeti photography collection brings them together with other wildlife and views from a place that amazed me.

A Giraffe and Four Zebras

This photograph reminds me how much there was to see beyond the elephants. A giraffe stands above four zebras among the trees. The stripes draw my eye across the foreground before the giraffe carries it upward.

Different animals sharing the same landscape: that is what stays with me from our time in the Serengeti.

You’ll find these photographs alongside animals from my other travels in the wildlife photography collection. I invite you to have a look and find a fine art print you’d enjoy living with.