Yoga for Elephants

Samburu, Kenya. August 2010

Samburu N.P can give you the best Elephants show around. Young clumsy babies are everywhere, big happy families are moving gently in the thick bush showing no signs of stress, that is, if you can read the signs well. Of all those, young Elephants never fail to amuse. They look as if they can barely control their directions or manage to walk without stepping on their own trunk. One thing about a young Elephant, as amusing as this sweet baby can be, it always have a BIG worried mom somewhere within site.

As I was watching this young Eli displaying its yoga abilities, I remembered an old story. A French photographer was working in Samburu N.P some years ago and was following Elephants much of his time. One morning he was watching a baby Elephant for such a long time that when they got use to each other and felt comfortable enough, the small calf came closer to the car. The photographer was happily organizing himself for close up shooting, little did he care about the mother. But as it turned, she didn't like the situation. She came rushing in, causing great damaged to his vehicle and equipment. He was left with the cloth to his body, his camera and his great new photographs. Every now and then it's good to be reminded of our place in all this…

The Nomads of Morocco

Atlas, Morocco. May 2010

In a country occupied by many different empires during the history and with such a big variety of landscapes and geographical conditions, people live where they can. Being strong meant that you could keep yourself in the fertile areas of this big country but then had to protect yourself from invasions of the inhabitants of the less fertile areas. The weaker you were the closest to the Sahara you found yourself as a place to live.

In Morocco, as many other African countries, identity is more by the ethnic group you come from then from the fact you live in Morocco.

There are the Arab Moroccans and the Berbers and even these are divided into different ethnic groups one can recognize by the different languages.

There is white and there is black.

There are farmers and there are nomads. Those that live in the most difficult areas, having no land of their own and hardly any property.

During 2010 I was guiding quite a lot in Morocco and met Aisha's family quite a lot. I started to stop with my groups to visit her. Most cases her husband wasn't around and she felt quite comfortable with the people sitting in her tent, playing with her kids. On my second visit she marked on her belly and explained she was pregnant. 2 month later she wasn't and there was no baby around. The Moroccan guide working with me said the woman in these areas never rest, one baby goes out, second being conceived.

Aisha and her kids seemed to be very happy to have their photos taken and watch it with us on the camera screen, never once did I hear her asking for those photos but I have organized a small photo album to give on my last tour before the winter started. Not much for a family that has almost nothing but something that I thought they would be happy to have. The morning of that last tour up the Atlas mountain was very cold and I started to have my doubts about spending the winter so high. Although everyone kept telling me that they normally stay around even in winter, we didn't find Aisha and her family that day. They might have moved to the lower part of the Atlas for the long cold winter, or found shelter in one of the caves in the area. Whatever it was, that wasn't their first winter to survive in such harsh conditions. Thinking of them while sitting in my small hut back at home in the mild winters we have in Israel, I thought how these people redefine for me the meaning of have or don't have. And how having too much takes down your appreciation to what you have.

The Rocks of My Childhood

Faran Vady, Israel. February 2011

As a kid I have joined kid's activities, involving nature walks and studies. It very much paved my way on. Environmental Studying High School, Guiding kids on nature tours during my army service, then finding my way to Africa.

Last weekend, I had an invitation from one of the kids I use to hike with, to relive the adventure almost 30 years after we started these hikes. The invitation was for a hike in the southern part of Israel, the dry desert of Israel, the Negev. I have hikes in the Negev during the past few years several times but there was something different in this hike. We both lived in other places in the world since we last hiked together in this area, and changed a lot the way we hike. No more running, heavy duty carrying and counting k'm. Just a calm walk, quiet and pleasant. More exploring than running through an area.

Taking this photo it was suppose to show me as a silhouette on the desert's impressive rocks. But looking at it I thought it looks more like me image was curved out from the rocks. That set me thinking of the rocks of my childhood, and the place they took in building my personality and my path in life.

Painful Dance

Arusha N.P, Tanzania. December 2010

It does look like a well choreographed dance- Necking. 2 mail Giraffs, bouncing around, pushing, hitting neck to neck in their fights. A Giraff head is quite heavy and the swing of the long neck looks almost unnatural. It accelerates the movement and the hit of the neck is very powerful.  Sometimes you can hear the sound from a distance and as much as it is beautiful to watch, it never seem to be a pleasure to take part in it

These 2 males were in Arusha N.P. We stood by them for a long time wondering whether what we are watching was a proper necking. They were very gentle with each other, very nicely rubbing each another's neck as it was for the attention rather than a fight. We left them dancing and went around the park. When returning an hour later it started to warm up a bit and sound more like a fight. As we were on the way to catch our flight out of Tanzania, we didn't have the chance to see the end of it and congratulate the winner…

A World of Sands

Sahara, Morocco. 2010

Sahara. Ask anyone what comes in his mind when he hears the word and most of the people will picture sand dunes, Huge ones. Truth about the Sahara is more in what the Tuareg call it. The thousands deserts. Sand dunes are just a part of it, but a great part indeed.

Every time I have a group coming down to the Sahara, we spend a night in a nice camp planted in the middle of the sand dunes. It is a way to get all the luxury services tourists want and still feel that you are out there. In the evening we can sit out under a canopy of endless sky, it's beautiful. The morning in the Sahara is my favorite morning of the tour. I get up early before the sun does. Some clients join for a walk to see the sunrise, other prefer to sleep on, but I am going for a hunt. The great hunt of photos. About half an hour after the sun is up, it shines on the dunes in a angle that brings up all the beauty of it. It can last for long or just stay there for half an hour, depends on the weather, wind and season. But it's there. I was once walking for my morning hunt with one of the clients. He was an engineer in some big hi-teck company and never spent a night out in nature before. Sahara was a revelation for him. But when he saw me looking with my camera to the same direction, selecting the right angel to frame the right photo, he couldn’t understand it. He kept asking what was I looking for. I found that I can hardly answer that question so I finally said- Perfection. 2 days later he looked at all the sand photos on my computer and said he never saw it there, when it was unframed.

I have thousands of photos of sand dunes from my morning hunts in the Sahara, selecting those 6 wasn't easy. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder.

A weekend around and across the Sea of Galilee

Sea of Galilee, Israel. January 2011

Every year we paddle around the Sea of Galilee and when the current in the Jordan River allows us, we go upstream. This year, during the night in between the 2 days of the trip, the famous eastern wind came for a visit, and never left. As it was too strong, we have decided to go across the lake rather than complete the way around, and so we did. We took a lift on the wind, all the way across.  

The King's Pride

Masai Mara, November 2001

I can only hope for any one of you, that you ever had the chance to hear a Lion roaring in nature a close distance. And if it happened at night time, you will surely remember it forever. If you are sitting in the right spot, downwind and quite close, you don't just hear the sound but you feel it in every part of your body.

I don't know why, but the average person who knows Lions from nature movies of various productions, will still believe that the MGM Lion is roaring. It is indeed an impressive movement but it is more yawning than roaring. Lion roaring, like the one in this photo, is taking all the air it can in the shortest time and so spends a lot of energy while doing so. All his muscles are there to assist. If he is strong, the advertisement will work every night, quite frequent and the other Lions will be able to hear the sound from a great distance. (Depends on the wind but in good conditions about 6 km')

Lion's roaring is the greatest sound that the savannah can offer you at night. Escorted by Hyenas that will often join, Jackals calling their partners or Zebras barking to each other, it is a perfect symphony.

Sounds travel better at night and so most of these sounds will be heard at night. But a cloudy day or an early morning tour can sometimes surprise you. The pride of the area of which I lived in Mara had 2 big beautiful dominant males. I had followed these Lions 5 years day and night and knew where they were most of the time. 2 years after I got to know their pride, at night, we were watching one male with 3 females when another big male appeared from the darkness. Everyone was excited, but it was a surprising excitement. One would expect the whole pride to chase this stranger away, but they welcomed him like a long lost family member. Maina, a good friend that use to join our tours as the armed policeman, said that when they have started, they were 3 males and that might be the 3^rd one who was always with a bit more nomadic character. The third Lion stayed around and we had to leave. The next morning we found him lying around with 2 females leaning on his back. But the big world called him to leave. He sat proud, roared his goodbye and walked away. I never saw him again.