Monday, March 06, 2006

Wildlife Gallery: 'Embrace'

Most people wake up in the morning with a yearning for... peanut butter sandwiches? Or maybe, a game of pool? Well something like that anyway...

Well I woke up today with a yearning for an elephant encounter - yes it happens now and again. Its been 6 months since my last meeting with wild elephants, and the sentimentality that surfaces at not being in their company is something akin to homesickness (sad but true). There's just something about looking into the eye of a wild elephant... hard to describe really, although I've definitely tried in the past, and you're sure to be subjected to one or two of these attempts in some future field journal...

Anyway here's a favourite shot from the archives. A young male and his older sister - embracing, head to head and trunk to trunk, as only elephants do...


By the way, in case you're interested, I should mention that many of my older photos like the one above are part of the library of, and were taken while working for, a wonderful photographic company called Studio Times.

It was a chance encounter that led to my rediscovery of the island of Sri Lanka, and meeting a remarkable man who was to become, in effect, my mentor. He taught me the craft of wildlife photography, and on a deeper level, the importance of going beyond just the camera lens to tell a story that needed to be told. (More about the man and his work coming soon).

If you'd like to check out more from Studio Times' awe-inspiring library and maybe order a print or two, browse their online galleries and drop them an email. Tell 'em Charith sent you!

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