The Moment of Contemplation
This raw footage captures the scene just moments before the award-winning photograph was taken. Watch Totti's gestures and calls as you witness the true story of yearning and communication that culminates in the quiet, powerful contemplation captured in the final image.
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Into the Wild — Contemplation | Kibale National Park, Uganda
Close your eyes. Now open them. You are here.
The rainforest felt ancient.
For hours we had climbed through dense forest, scrambling over fallen trees, pushing through tangled vines and thorny undergrowth. Every step echoed with unseen life, yet the chimpanzees remained hidden high in the canopy.
Time was running out.
I had a flight to catch later that day, and after hours of searching I hadn't lifted my camera once. The assignment was slipping away.
The Hunt
Without warning, the forest exploded.
Chimpanzees crashed from the trees around us with deafening thuds. Rangers shouted. Screams echoed through the forest as the troop launched a coordinated hunt. Then, as suddenly as it began, silence returned.
It was over.
Face to Face
I asked the ranger if I could move away from the group for a few minutes. Sitting alone on a fallen mahogany tree, I took a drink of water.
Then I felt it.
That unmistakable sensation of being watched.
Only a few metres away sat a huge male chimpanzee. His powerful frame barely moved, but his intense hazel eyes never left me. For a moment I forgot the camera altogether.
Later I learned his name was Totti, the alpha male.
But I wasn't the object of his attention.
High above us, a female watched from the canopy. He called to her, displayed his strength and waited. She ignored him.
Contemplation
Then everything changed.
Totti slowly lay back on the forest floor. He folded his arms behind his head and gazed upwards in complete silence.
In that instant, he no longer looked like the dominant male of the forest.
He looked heartbreakingly human.
Years of experience took over. I checked the composition, steadied my breathing and gently pressed the shutter.
One frame.
One unforgettable moment.
I called the photograph Contemplation.
It became the winner of the Animal Portraits category at Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017.
But the real reward wasn't the award.
It was discovering that somewhere deep within an ancient Ugandan rainforest, there exists a look of longing that needs no translation.
Kibale National Park, Uganda
Collector Stories
Reflections from collectors who have welcomed Peter Delaney's artwork into their homes around the world.
After some delay, I finally had 'Bonds of Love' framed and placed on my bedroom wall, a gift from my husband for our 50th wedding anniversary. He passed away not long after, and two years on, this photograph continues to comfort me. It is the first thing I see every morning, and it gladdens my heart.
This is not a photograph hanging on a wall. It is a window into something vast and unhurried.
To have one of Peter Delaney's images in your home is your connection to a world few of us will ever experience, and a connection to nature and the earth that is truly rare.
Queen of the Mara has occupied a central place in our living room since 2020. It helped us feel connected to the world at a time when we... weren't.
Each print carries its own story, creating a lasting connection between the collector and Africa's wild places.
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