The Eye of Tarangire

Tarangire does not always make you look. We were driving through in the 4x4 when a herd came onto the road right in front of us. One of the cows passed so close to the vehicle that I could no longer fit the whole animal in the frame. What was left is this: an eye, and the skin around it.

She had her calf with her and stayed completely calm. No ears up, no hesitation, she simply kept walking. That is exactly why this frame exists. An elephant that feels uneasy does not hold her head that still.

Black and white came later, in the edit. In colour it stayed a grey animal against a grey brown background and the attention had nowhere to go. Strip the colour and everything that does not matter falls away, leaving what I was actually shooting: the cracks in the hide, the lashes, and one eye that could not care less about the car.