We have a saying in the Netherlands, “Wie’t kleine niet eert, is’t grote niet weert”. It means something like ‘if you don’t honor the small, you’re not worthy of the great’. It is what I say to myself if I pick up a penny that someone dropped.
But I think it’s also true for nature and photography. You don’t always have to go for the big and the dramatic – the elephants, lions, and the like. If you just step outside and pay attention to the smallest details, you may find even greater beauty!
This morning, according to the news, a herd of eight elephants on the loose near Pretoria are being led back into the game reserve they escaped from. I can’t imagine the sight of a herd of elephants trudging to the suburbs…
We met this bull on a recent visit to Pilanesberg National Park. In the bushes on either side of the road there the herd with several baby elephants was foraging. The aggressive bull would not let any car come close, let alone pass. We didn’t even attempt to get nearer. Elephants are said to be ‘gentle giants’, but to me they are the most scary animals one can encounter on a safari!
Is the morning cold and grey where you are? Do you have a bad-hair-day? Are you struggling to find the inspiration to start the new week? I know how you feel.
My antidote today is this beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller. There is my color and warmth – and who cares about hair if you’ve got colors like that! So let’s get this week started…
This morning we waited for the sun to rise on a hill overlooking Pretoria. It didn’t happen. It’s still cold and grey outside. Luckily, this is a tradition, and three years ago we were here too, so I give you an old photo. Meanwhile we trust that the rising of the sun – even though it happened behind the clouds – marks a new day and new life. Happy Easter!
“Where do we go from here?
Why is the path unclear,
When we know home is near?
Understand we’ll go hand in hand
But we walk alone in fear.
Where do we go from here?”
(Joss Whedon)
This is our world. It is cruel. It is harsh. It is unfair. It hurts, while others are smiling with their bellies full. And it’s not just this cheetah. Humans are even worse. The cheetah does what he must do. Humans have a choice.
What do we do with that choice? Still there is inequality. There is pain inflicted on the innocent. And so little mercy for those who are seeking a better place in life. Because we benefit from the way things are. Because we don’t know where to start to change them.
And still. There is beauty in this world. There is beauty in this bloody cheetah. It gives me hope. There must be something to redeem the world. (Or Someone to redeem us…)
This must be one of the most magical moments I’ve experienced during a game drive: two Southern yellow-billed hornbills at dawn, bowing their heads synchronously toward the rising sun.
Two elephants wrangling in the pink light of the setting sun. Taken from a boat on the Chobe river in Botswana. Such a romantic scene!
A newborn giraffe seems a fitting picture for this new website. In the past years, photography has become an important part of my life. In my free time, I love hiking, safaris and enjoying nature through photography. When I’m outside, the greatest and smallest creatures leave me in awesome wonder, and I feel connected to the divine. In this blog I aspire to share something of this experience.
Like this blog, the giraffe in the picture had just been born – a part of the umbilical cord is still visible. The baby was following its mother into the bush of the Pilanesberg National Park. I just love the fluffiness of its fur; it looks just like a cuddly toy giraffe…
Awesome wonder 