So, I’ve been spending some time in our photography archives recently, reviewing images taken many years ago that have been since banished to the depths of my hard drive. My hope was that I might previously have overlooked some gems which, ten years on and with a different eye, I might choose to resurrect and share here on Taraji Blue.
Thankfully my effort was not wasted…
Our photos from years gone by are such a departure from what we normally do – but rediscovering the SLR film images from 10 years ago is inspiring me to capture and portray techniques typically lost to DSLRS. I have spent so long chasing the dream of pixel perfect, sharp images that I have often forgotten what it’s like to be artistic with my images.
This year’s Wild Photos conference taught me that a good picture isn’t always a technically perfect one – sometimes it’s a sense of place/environment or a sense of the moment which is more enthralling. People don’t just want to observe our travels and images – they want to feel a sense of what is it like to be there… What it’s like to stare a male bull elephant in the face from ground level or what it’s like to see a lion chase for the first time. Or what emotions flow though your veins when you see a rhino for the first time…knowing that their time on this earth is numbered. Only by feeling these emotions or connecting to the wild and rugged environment will they ever develop a passion for supporting and preserving the environments and animals we hold so dear to our hearts. That’s why we’ve decided to share some images which are far from perfect, but to me, they convey a real sense of being there. And that’s what matters 🙂
To see more images from our archives please visit our Kenya gallery online – and let us know what you think of this ‘retro’ approach to wildlife photography.
