The story behind the photo 5/10
his somewhat empty image tells the tale of pace, the speed of man trying desperately to capture the speed of a cheetah. Set in the beautiful Masai Mara we were lucky enough to watch 4 cheetah stalk and hunt a young antelope. The distance they covered during the stalk was amazing, striding quickly and purposely, constantly eying up the herd. It lasted for at least 20 minutes but once the mother had her eye on the prize it was over in just 2. The young could not keep up once she took off, neither could many of the trucks of tourists watching. A collection of 4x4's from all the nearby lodges desperately trying to get their guests to the front, desperately hoping their guests would be able to watch the action from the best vantage point. Photographing a speeding cheetah from a speeding truck will give us memories to look back on fondly but no award winning shots. So instead I wanted to capture what was left in the wake when man tried to keep up with beast. A ghostly dust trail on a well beaten track.
The key to being an intrepid traveller is to embrace the journey. Sometimes It may involve driving in extreme heat on corrugated roads, flying in a four seater plane that shakes with the breeze or silently cruising down a hippo and crocodile infested river in a dug out canoe. It is at the point where back ache, nausea or fear sets in that Andy & Michelle would stop and photograph the scene. This photograph has frozen that moment in time so they would never forget the journey that got them to their destination.