This happened two days ago, near Lake Amboseli.

In the early evening light, a huge herd of elephants - some two hundred, more than i'd ever seen together - came softly toward me through the feathery grass. As they glided by me, heading in the direction of the setting sun, the sound - an incredibly gentle, soft shuffle that completely belied their four-ton weight - was almost as sublime, as magical as the sight. I tried to find a frame to capture the magnificent sight, but no angle - high or low or panoramic - came close to distilling the experience of these elephants. To try to capture with my camera the sheer beauty, poetry, and scale of the vision before me was, well, pointless. So I just sat back, and let the long, gentle flow of elephants drift past me. A moment never to be photographed, but always remembered

- Introduction, On This Earth, A Shadow Falls by Nick Brandt

I went to see the exhibit with the same title as the book today amidst the pouring rain. I almost missed the exhibit and got there half an hour before closing. The images in the collection were spectacular, sublime really! Nick Brandt is not only an excellent photographer but a gifted one as well. The images were both serene and full of emotion, poetic really. I actually felt like I was viewing this wonderful creatures myself, in person, like I was transported to that place and time. Simply amazing. Of course, I couldn't afford any of the prints but how could I leave empty handed? So got myself the next best thing, the coffee table book.

I walked away inspired although with a slightly heavy heart. It's hard to comprehend the magnificence of something unless you've witnessed it yourself. You can only imagine it but never really comprehend. I've heard it said that an animal bred in captivity will never have that something special that its brothers in the wild have. Something I hope to see for myself someday.

Sadly, some of the elephants and other animals he has photographed over the years have died from poaching. I guess some, if not most, of us never really spare it a thought but someday, these magnificent animals in the wild will only be seen on books and videos if we don't stop the killing or the encroaching of the land they need to roam free.

"From 2008, the poaching of animals, especially elephants, has dramatically escalated across much of Africa. There has been a massive increase in demand from China and the Far East; ivory prices have soared from $200 a kilo in 2004 to more than $5,000 today......

The killing is not limited to elephants. There are just 20,000 lions left today across the African continent, a 90% drop in the last 20 years. Most of them poisoned due to conflict with the fast-growing population. But increasingly, it is also for body parts, again for the Asian market, now that tigers are too hard to procure. And giraffes, zebras, and many other plains game in the region are being killed still more rapidly for bush meat.

- Nick Brandt

Check out www.biglifeafrica.org for more information.

Happy weekend blipland.