AH, THE MARA

FINDING THE MAGIC

ever since i arrived, i was looking for that "feeling" that was africa...or better yet, "afrika". the exotic wild and beautiful place that i remembered from when i was here in february. but i wasn't feeling it. was it because i had moved here lock, stock and barrel, and the magic was gone? like you visit universal studios and the hollywood magic bites you so you move to hollywood and it's not there? or disneyworld in orlando? cappice? i was concerned. where was the africa i remembered? 

well, i suspected the flame would be rekindled in the Maasai Mara and i was right. last week i spent 6 nites in the Mara, 400,000 acres of pristine high plains and wilderness. 3 nites at elephant pepper camp with friends calum and soph, and 3 nites at Encounter Mara camp to shoot a promotional vid. i met the greatest couple there, eche (a spaniard from the canary islands) and nina (a kenyan-born croatian speaks 6 languages). hopefully after seeing these pics you'll share my love for the mara. 

it is so magical. a vast, open expanse of scenic wonder. relentless beauty. everyone loves the pics, and i finally sorted the complicated blog template to write captions (there is an "add caption" button. duh.) so let's get to it. (i hope this page/blog didn't take too long to load.)

the "ellies" or the elephant part of the elephant pepper camp.

world famous photographer jonathan scott shooting the same lioness i was.

this lioness had a cub hidden in the shrub.

zebra never get old. and the "tommies", the Thompson gazelle.

lion brothers sleeping 20 out of every 24 hours. "what, me worry?" their paws are enormous.

this pride had lots of cubs.

check out the musculature in the mom's shoulder. massively powerful for dragging down prey.

there were 12 lions in this pride. they could care less about the game trucks. just don't get out.

elephant pepper mess tent.

love giraffe. the prettier part of the camel family.

the "piggies" or warthogs are also fun and peppy.

masai giraffe. (not the Rothchild pattern)

saya, calum and soph. great family. great hosts. they are opening Lewa House safari lodge next year. 

river full of hippos behind.

so many hippos in this river that feeds lake victoria, then feeds the nile up to the Med sea.

more piggies. the babies are hard to shoot. so cute.

some zebra are so dark, it looks like white stripes on a black zebra.

great furnishings at elephant pepper. the tones and textures were so rich. 

loved shooting the mess tent. these colors and tones.

another angle of lounge tent.

the chairs circle the campfire at night. look safari-esque yet??

the hammock by the honeymoon tent. 

my cabin at elephant pepper. ah, a large bed!

my bathroom, no running water, no big deal. if it looks like a ralph lauren catalog, well, i tried!

the lanterns actually had a light inside, solar powered all night.

good overview of lounge and mess tent.

terrific view at every meal.

lots of rain meant dramatic skies.

lots of ellies. i think they are becoming my fave.

more dark skies. this year's "short rains" made up for last year's dry ones.

mom and cubs.

calum has been guiding and driving for years and has never been stuck in the mud. 

he let me drive and i got stuck in 30 minutes. the mud is called "black cotton" and 

appears like an oil slick. so slippery. and soft. yuck. anyway, calum got us out. hey, 

if you get out yourself (and don't need help) you're not "stuck". his perfect record 

remains in tack. i guess mine does too. thx calum. 

(not good getting stuck with a car full of clients)

again, i loved all these tones. 

more hang out tents.

cool leather book and engraving.

art directed this cool indiana jones type map. skulls are always winner props. 

masai guard at EPC.

the masai blankets are called shukas.

out of africa.

nice bar cabinet. a gin and tonic felt proper. 

more long lens of dining table.

a warm inviting space.

g

sundowner time at the end of the day.

i was able to talk calum and soph to join me on some game drives. good fun. 

honeymoon tent interior at elephant pepper.

honeymoon tent exterior.

lots of lions, folks.

an old cape bull. if those horns could talk.

these mud flaps gave me some ideas about changing my prado for the bush. 

prado will get a safari makeover soon.

my tent at encounter mara tent. ah, these beds! and surrounded by wilderness! 

pillow view.

campfire and masai guard at encounter mara.

game drive vehicles at encounter mara. surprisingly spry in the mud.

a toyota pickup with a whole seating rig popped in the pickup bed. of course i want one.

eche and nina agree to go out with me. camp managers are slammed at month's end, 

but i needed them as models for the vid. we had a blast.

this hyena was circling a giraffe, looking for her young calf hidden somewhere.

the mama giraffe.

can you find the lion? unbelievably well camouflaged. 

find the lion. if you're a ditzy zebra from 40 meters, not so easy to spot these guys. 

mirima. our spotter.

river crossings were always exciting. got some fun river footage. 

watch the upcoming video.

eche has an MBA. they met at a hotel school in switzerland. 

he gave up a career at the hyatt for the bush.

nina was informative and fun. a great couple and very helpful with my shoot.

moses. intelligent and studied. and oh yeah, he freelances with the BBC.

mirima had such a great look.

find the hippo.

classic vulture shot.

our hero beauty shot of the wine pour. lots of set dressing, inching things back and forth. 

(thanks, joshua and eche!)

the masai staff at encounter mara. very helpful, and we had a team building experience shooting the vid.

pessy. our night guard.

even with his eyes closed, pessy looks amazing. 

the dapple lighting gives this a surreal impressionistic feel. got lucky here.

more honeymoon tent exterior.

pessy. intense. (touch up by s.a..)

elephant pepper full dress dinner.

classic sundowner shot. quite the trip.

NEW DIRECTION

so i came to nairobi to direct commercials, but i love the bush so much, i think i will launch slingshot prods in january and shoot up market promotional vids for the 80+ safari lodges in the mara, plus uganda, tanzania, zimbabwe, botswana, and northern kenya as well. i became a wilderness photographer on this trip, and enough fun elements at the camps to give things the ralph lauren look and feel. hoping the encounter mara video comes out amazing. and i'll cut something together for elephant pepper as well. and shoot lewa house later this month. all in all, an amazing week and i can't wait to get back in the bush. the beauty and feel is so incredible. moving from downtown LA to the bush? why not? i'll keep a flat in NBO but would love to be shooting regularly in the mara or wherever. i have an editorial assistant now, lorella, a kenyan gal i'm training to use final cut, and she will be a big help. hey, i hired my first person! anyway, gotta jump. hope you caught the flavor of the mara. and that it's not too many pics!

felt like this excursion to the bush could be a life changer. the politics of shooting a detergent commercial, or a week in the bush creating beauty shots and working for myself? hmmmm. just look at the pictures again. then let me know what you would do!

time to start cutting...

lala salama (sleep in peace),

ddm