So this is one of those moments in life that you will alwlays remember. We had positioned our vehicle to catch a group of elephants walking towards us. In the conservancy of Amboseli you are allowed to get out of the vehicle and get low for better photos. The main group of elephants as they approached veered off to the side. Here is what was in my head next. Hey one with a baby is still coming straight to me! Wish I had better light, snap snap of the shutter. Wow, she is still coming cool! Zoom out she is getting really close! Hummmm, she is still coming with baby. Wow, she is really looking hard at me! Still coming, maybe she wants my purple hat for her baby.... a couple more slow steps forward. I just keep looking at her, dang wish I had better light, I'll take what I can get! Then she finally stops for what seems like 2 minutes, but it was probably 30 seconds. We are really making eye contact. If she comes closer I'm wiggling my butt under the vehicle as I was down on the ground in front of it. I hear Bryan our very wise, at 25 years old, Maasai guide say, it is ok just don't move. There went the wiggle under the vehicle thought. Then after what seemed like a long staring contest she and baby turned and caught up with the rest of the family.
It was so awesome to have such a close encounter with a huge elephant and her baby. Maybe she was actually showing her little one what people look like outside the vehicles. Bryan said she was just curious about me and came to have a look! It was an adrenaline rush. Probably the best since my first base jump back in the mid 80'S! Now if I had only had better light....

So this is one of those moments in life that you will alwlays remember. We had positioned our vehicle to catch a group of elephants walking towards us. In the conservancy of Amboseli you are allowed to get out of the vehicle and get low for better photos. The main group of elephants as they approached veered off to the side. Here is what was in my head next. Hey one with a baby is still coming straight to me! Wish I had better light, snap snap of the shutter. Wow, she is still coming cool! Zoom out she is getting really close! Hummmm, she is still coming with baby. Wow, she is really looking hard at me! Still coming, maybe she wants my purple hat for her baby.... a couple more slow steps forward. I just keep looking at her, dang wish I had better light, I'll take what I can get! Then she finally stops for what seems like 2 minutes, but it was probably 30 seconds. We are really making eye contact. If she comes closer I'm wiggling my butt under the vehicle as I was down on the ground in front of it. I hear Bryan our very wise, at 25 years old, Maasai guide say, it is ok just don't move. There went the wiggle under the vehicle thought. Then after what seemed like a long staring contest she and baby turned and caught up with the rest of the family.
It was so awesome to have such a close encounter with a huge elephant and her baby. Maybe she was actually showing her little one what people look like outside the vehicles. Bryan said she was just curious about me and came to have a look! It was an adrenaline rush. Probably the best since my first base jump back in the mid 80'S! Now if I had only had better light....

So this is one of those moments in life that you will alwlays remember. We had positioned our vehicle to catch a group of elephants walking towards us. In the conservancy of Amboseli you are allowed to get out of the vehicle and get low for better photos. The main group of elephants as they approached veered off to the side. Here is what was in my head next. Hey one with a baby is still coming straight to me! Wish I had better light, snap snap of the shutter. Wow, she is still coming cool! Zoom out she is getting really close! Hummmm, she is still coming with baby. Wow, she is really looking hard at me! Still coming, maybe she wants my purple hat for her baby.... a couple more slow steps forward. I just keep looking at her, dang wish I had better light, I'll take what I can get! Then she finally stops for what seems like 2 minutes, but it was probably 30 seconds. We are really making eye contact. If she comes closer I'm wiggling my butt under the vehicle as I was down on the ground in front of it. I hear Bryan our very wise, at 25 years old, Maasai guide say, it is ok just don't move. There went the wiggle under the vehicle thought. Then after what seemed like a long staring contest she and baby turned and caught up with the rest of the family.
It was so awesome to have such a close encounter with a huge elephant and her baby. Maybe she was actually showing her little one what people look like outside the vehicles. Bryan said she was just curious about me and came to have a look! It was an adrenaline rush. Probably the best since my first base jump back in the mid 80'S! Now if I had only had better light....