Halleujah! (M) (2022) Photography by Preeti & Prashant Chacko

Mother-child interactions are very high on our list of moments to photograph in the wild. One cloudy April morning in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, our guide got word of a giraffe mother with a two-week-old calf. We left our cheetah sighting and headed straight for them with rising excitement. The lush, wind-swept savannah grass and soft billowy clouds in the sky made for a perfect setting for the kind of imagery that we like to create.

We spent a good deal of time with them, watching the calf’s antics, keenly exploring its surrounds and steadily moving further and further away from its mother. Our guide told us to be prepared for when the calf would return to its mother, as that usually results in something memorable to photograph. The calf returned but what transpired was beyond what we expected. At the very moment of the reunion, three ox-peckers took off, almost like singing ‘Hallelujah!’ at the reunion.

While photographing this scene, we positioned ourselves in a way that we were fairly low down compared to the giraffes, enabling a nice low angle which always enhances this kind of shot because it keeps the horizon line low in the frame. We chose to crop the image vertically to accentuate the vertical lines of the mother giraffe, while keeping in mind a visual balance between the band of cloud and the band of grass. In processing and choice of paper, we aimed for a softer and mildly contrasting fine-art feel, to capture the dreamy, wind-blown and optimistic feel of the moment.

Overall Winner at "The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year 2022"
Gold Winner at "Tokyo International Foto Awards 2022"
Honorable mentions in Monochrome Photography Awards and ND Awards

This is the "Medium" size. Other 3 sizes are available.

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