The Line Between Wonder and Respect

I Actually Did This… 👀

I never imagined one of my photography adventures would take me here. What started as an unforgettable experience in Botswana turned into a moment I still think about. This video only shows part of the story.

There are some photography experiences you plan for, and then there are the ones you find yourself in thinking, I cannot believe I am actually doing this.

During my trip to Africa, one of those moments started with a set of stairs leading underground.

We were heading into a hide positioned beside a watering hole. Instead of photographing wildlife from above or at a distance, we would be down at their level, looking out through openings just above the ground.

I had never photographed wildlife quite like this before.

Video

Once inside, the perspective was incredible.

There was something completely different about watching elephants from that low vantage point. I wasn't looking down at them from a vehicle. I was sitting quietly behind an opening while these enormous animals moved around the watering hole just outside.

And then a baby elephant came close.

Very close.

For a photographer, it was one of those moments when everything in you says, get the shot.

I wanted a close-up without relying on my zoom, so I carefully extended my lens through the opening.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one paying attention to how close I was getting.

Mama was watching too.

And she had a very effective way of letting me know that I had gotten close enough.

She sprayed water and mud directly toward us.

Message received. 😂

It happened quickly, but it has stayed with me—not because I came home with a dramatic story about an elephant throwing mud at me, but because of what the moment represented.

I had traveled thousands of miles for the opportunity to photograph wildlife in its own environment. I wanted to get close. I wanted photographs that felt intimate and allowed someone viewing them later to experience some small part of what I had experienced.

But there is still a boundary.

That baby was hers.

I may have had a camera in my hands and an incredible photographic opportunity in front of me, but Mama didn't care about any of that. She was simply paying attention to her baby and making sure I understood where the line was.

I understood.

The Photograph That Stayed With Me

Interestingly, one of my favorite photographs from that experience isn't a sweeping portrait of an entire elephant.

It's closer.

Feet planted in wet earth. A trunk reaching down. Mud and water splashing around an animal whose full size you can't even see.

Maybe that's part of why I love this photograph so much.

You don't need to see the entire elephant to understand its presence.

And now, whenever I look at it, I don't just see the photograph.

I remember walking down those stairs. I remember sitting underground at eye level with elephants. I remember that baby coming closer. I remember extending my lens.

And I definitely remember Mama reminding me that sometimes the photographer doesn't get to decide what's close enough.

Some photographs preserve what something looked like.

The ones that mean the most to me preserve what it felt like to be there.

Fine Art Photography by Tyeshia Barnes | Picture Perfect Things

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The Line Between Wonder and Respect

I Actually Did This… 👀

The Photograph That Stayed With Me

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