“Wherever you are, be all there”- Jim Elliot
I consider myself to be a photographer. Not a great one but someone who gets joy from taking photographs and for me, that’s the definition of a photographer. And the basic rule of photography is to come prepared. This means full memory cards, charged batteries and your camera at hand so that when the action begins, you’re ready to strike. So recently, when I had one of my most special sightings of the Mashaba female leopard when she was still being seen with both of her cubs and I ran out of battery life, I was taught a very valuable lesson.
The Mashaba female with her young male and female cub taken a few months ago. Here she used to hide the cubs in amongst rocky crevices to keep them safe.
As photographers, we tend to always have our noses firmly glued to our cameras and keep one eye resolutely peering through our viewfinder. And in a way, we add a physical and emotional barrier to whatever it is that we’re viewing. As you work to get the settings right or frame up the picture just so, your mind is slightly distracted and the ‘work’ in that situation distances you from what it is that you’re photographing. Your eyes are also only taking in what is actually going on in your narrowed field of vision and as a result you don’t also see what may be happening on the periphery. And this is definitely one of the reasons why photographers are typically better able to watch sightings that other people may find too difficult to watch, eg a lion killing a buffalo.
One of the cubs plays with a branch as the evening sets in around them. Play is a hugely important part of the cub’s development and is one of the reasons these animals are such fun to spend time with.
So when that awful red flashing light warning me that my battery was running low eventually gave way and my camera went dead, I suddenly woke up to what I had been missing out on. I put down my camera, picked up my binoculars and allowed myself to become completely absorbed in the scene unfolding in front of me. I watched as these two little joyous cubs played just meters from my vehicle. I saw the unfiltered expressions on their faces as they stalked one another and watched the look of pride they had when they grabbed a ball of elephant dung in their jaws and carried it as if it was their latest kill. I really paid attention to the noises they made as they begged their mother for milk and as she grumpily reprimanded them because there was no shutter sound to distract me. Time slowed down because now my attention was focused purely on them and I sensed no frustration because I wasn’t worrying about settings or light or getting grumpy with myself when I missed ‘the shot’.
The Mashaba female and one of her cubs allo-grooming. Due to the typically solitary nature of leopards, it is always special to share in moments such as this.
Now don’t get me wrong, I still love taking photographs and do not plan to stop any time soon. I get great joy from trying to capture the moment so that I can share it with you (which is why I even took a short video of the sighting on my phone so that you too can re-live that moment). However, it was a poignant reminder that out here it’s not always about what you can capture with your camera but also what you can capture with your mind, because if I’m being honest with myself, it is this sighting that has really been burnt to my memory. I know that more than in any other sighting, I’ll be able to conjure up the exact expressions I saw on those cubs faces for many years to come because I was taught on that day what Jim Elliot so succinctly captures in his phrase; “Wherever you are, be all there”.
So I encourage you to sit back and just watch this four minute, completely raw and unedited footage of these youngsters at play. I hope you too enjoy the pleasure of being all there.
Written, Photographed and Filmed by Amy Attenborough
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Amy, we have all done it. The important thing is not making mistakes but learning from them.
PS Really good pictures though
Awesome story, Amy! And so true that sometimes we miss out on the experience by trying to capture it. I always told my kids to “take a picture with your mind” to try to hold onto those special moments:-)
xoxo
Finally, someone who gets it. Each time I return to Londolozi, 4th visit next year, I use my camera less & just try to be in the moment. The shutter clicking of other cameras drive me crazy. Spending time just being in the here & now is a treasure. Thanks Amy for sharing.
” it’s not always about what you can capture with your camera but also what you can capture with your mind”
nicely said Amy!
Awesome video Amy. Love it. So sad to know that there is only one cub left.
Amy,
I love the way you described what it is like to be a photographer on safari. I am so sure i have felt this exact way. Each time I say i am going to spend more time just observing or at least just video taping. I think it is so funny the sound of someone’s camera clicking away in your video. Great job!
Great video and beautiful images Amy! Thank you for a wonderful blog and so true, sometimes it’s good to put down the camera and just take in the moment.
This is so well written and so true. I remember thinking I should put the camera down more and enjoy being at Londolozi, seeing all of those animals in the wild for the first time. I will try to photograph less and observe more next time around. You’re pictures are quite beautiful though!
Amy you will never forget what you saw, so take that as a privilege that not many get to have the pleasure of seeing, let alone have camera’s with batteries, lenses etc! Mistakes are what make us stronger! Wonderful pictures thank you 🙂
Amy,
thanks for sharing such an insightful blog, loved reading it. the video of adorable cubs is incredible to watch…
I put my camera down almost a year ago and replaced it with my binoculars, and like you say, the sightings tend to be burnt into the mind rather than the memory cards.
One of my biggest regrets was strangely, a sighting similar to this – mother leopard and her cub playing on a branch at eye-level, clean background, would have made amazing photos (or at least better than my iPhone got!!!), but i still remember the sighting like it was yesterday, camera or no camera!
I’d like to offer another perspective. I have, too, heard that you lose something behind the camera lens. For me, I have the opposite experience. When I am looking at my pictures a flood of senses return – I can feel thr temperature, the angle of the sun, the smells, my reactions to what I was seeing. I can literally relive those moments every time, no matter how long ago. It’s as if the photo takes the pressure off my visual needs and let’s my other senses get their day in the sun, too.
Superb commentary, Amy. We don’t always capture the best memories in “hard copy”. We had the same beautiful opportunity at Londolozi in July 2013 to observe young cubs playing while Mom watched. We have beautiful photos but even better memories. We plan to return to Londolozi with our kids and grandkids, and the lesson will be to watch and learn, while taking a few photos. Bravo and thanks for sharing.
Amy, I truly loved this opportunity to sit, watch and be with you in the bush, in the moment. I would even offer the suggestion that you consider posting “Video of the week” in addition to the photos for all of us poor people stuck in the urban jungle and dreaming of their next Londolozi visit!
Amy, I truly loved this opportunity to sit, watch and be with you in the bush, in the moment. I would even offer the suggestion that you consider posting “Video of the week” in addition to the photos for all of us poor people stuck in the urban jungle and dreaming of their next Londolozi visit!