Titans

2024

To work with elephants is always one of the most surreal experiences – they always make me stop in my tracks, in total awe of their enormity, but also of their remarkable gentleness. I love watching them plod along, going about their daily business and interacting with their family. They deserve our utmost respect, after all, they were here long before us humans.

It is always a challenge to photograph them, indeed my last elephant release was back in 2022. I have tried a couple of times since, and have had this idea sketched out for a while – it just takes time with these beasts, there is no rushing an elephant, but I am not complaining – there are worse places to be than in the distant company of an elephant living his life. I came close once in 2023, but his head didn’t quite lift high enough, meaning the tusks blocked his friend’s face, so I tried again, and again.

It all came together, finally, in October 2024. I thought ‘Titans’ was the perfect title – they possess strength, intellect and importance in abundance.