Soulful Gaze — Into the Wild | The Story

Some photographs begin with an idea, but become something else entirely.

I had hoped to make a portrait of this young zebra in Addo National Park. She stayed very close to her mother, though, always keeping her between herself and me. Whenever I tried to move closer, her mother would quietly come between us.

So I waited.

The rain had softened the landscape, and a fine mist hung in the air. Slowly, she began to relax. After a while, she ventured a little way from her mother, taking those first tentative steps into the open.

Then she stopped and looked back.

Not because she was afraid, but simply to make sure her mother was still there and that she had not wandered too far.

That small moment touched me more than I expected.

My young son Neo was beside me that day, and I couldn't help thinking of the times he would wander off to play, only to turn around and check that Dad was still close by.

The gesture was almost identical.

Two young lives, beginning to explore the world, but still needing the quiet reassurance that someone they trusted was nearby.

I lifted my camera and waited for her to look back once more.

Then I pressed the shutter.

The rain droplets caught in her mane, the delicate pattern of her wet stripes, and that fleeting expression came together in a moment that felt far more intimate than the portrait I had originally imagined.

I called the photograph Soulful Gaze.

Sometimes, wildlife gives us more than a glimpse into the natural world. Sometimes, it reminds us of ourselves.