Guess what? I have an African name! On the final day of safari, Peter, one of our drivers, dubbed me “Mama Twiga.” Twiga is the Swahili word for giraffe, and Mama is, as in many languages, mama. If I decide to chuck it all here in the States and move to Tanzania, I can open a tour company named Mama Twiga’s Adventures. Maybe Peter will come work with me.
Getting great giraffe shots was at the very tip top of my safari wish list. In fact, I had a very specific wish list of giraffe photos: silhouetted with an acacia tree, splayed to take a drink, ambling in groups across iconic African landscapes. As the safari went along I was thrilled to see (but not necessarily have an opportunity to shoot) giraffes each day. However I wasn’t catching my dream shots and didn’t think I was capturing any particularly special images.
But after I got home, I found that I had captured some interesting giraffe images even if they didn’t meet my preconceived notions. For example, I have many shots of giraffes eating, but I find this one special because not only was this giraffe caught with its mouth full, there are also bits of the leaves flying through the air.
By the way, a group of giraffes is aptly called a tower.
I’m not sure how giraffes think they can hide, but this kind of thing happened all the time:
Check out this little guy:
Later he gave us a better look:
I’m not sure what this giraffe was about, but it is very amusing:
I do have a few shots that came close to my preconceived notions:
Interestingly enough, one of my favorite giraffe images turned out to be one of the infamous rear-end shots. Check out the birdies!
Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Evolution is so creative. That’s how we got giraffes.” On the contrary—the fact that something as wonderful and quizzical and awesome as the giraffe exists is a great gift of God.
