How fortunate we were to fulfill this dream just one week before the COVID-19 pandemic reached our doorstep after our return from Africa. This journey launched my career as a wildlife fine art photographer and set me on an entirely new path.
Marisa and I shared this adventure with a couple of friends who love nature just as much as we do. I still remember the excitement and screams inside our jeep when we saw giraffes for the very first time, barely an hour after entering Kruger National Park. It is an incredible feeling to witness such magnificent and powerful creatures in their natural environment, without fences. The park is highly accessible and allows self-drive safaris, which was one of the reasons it attracted us so much.
Some moments from this trip will remain engraved in my memory forever...
The first happened barely 30 minutes after entering Kruger National Park. We had consumed every piece of information possible about safaris to make sure we were well prepared. We knew very well that you should never allow yourself to become surrounded by elephants, especially when they are accompanied by their young. They are extremely protective of their calves, and it is important to always keep an escape route in case tensions rise. But theory does not always meet reality.
We were filled with awe when the first elephant emerged from the bush directly in front of our vehicle. We turned off the engine and simply enjoyed the moment. But barely a minute later, several more elephants appeared behind us, then beside us… and suddenly we were trapped with elephants surrounding the vehicle from every direction. We quickly realized that in Africa, you cannot control everything. By remaining calm, we soon understood that the elephants had no bad intentions, and fear quickly gave way to gratitude for experiencing such a powerful moment so early into our journey.
Another unforgettable moment also involved elephants. We still had not seen any big cats, and our route brought us to a river where a group of elephants was cooling off. Our vehicle was stopped on a narrow dirt road, with the bush only a few feet away. While we were observing the herd, a lion suddenly roared. It sent chills through our entire bodies. The roar was so powerful that we had no idea whether the lion was near our vehicle or near the elephants. I would often lean half of my body out of the vehicle to photograph, but I remember pulling myself back inside at lightning speed. It was absolutely incredible.
Then an extraordinary scene unfolded before our eyes: another roar echoed through the air, and the elephant herd immediately formed a defensive circle, protecting the smallest and weakest members in the center. What a beautiful demonstration of unity and protection nature showed us in that moment.
And the most intense moment of this trip was our encounter with this magnificent leopard. Since the beginning of the safari, we had been searching for images of big cats, but after four days of spending twelve hours a day in the bush, we were still empty-handed. By the fifth day, our wives were exhausted, so my friend Alex and I decided to continue on our own.
We received a notification that a leopard had been spotted roughly four hours away from our lodge. We had already accumulated dozens of photographs of elephants, giraffes, zebras, and many other animals, yet still no lions or leopards. So we decided to take the chance.
Four hours of driving, without any guarantee the leopard would still be there… and then, after only a few minutes of searching the area, there he was. That legendary encounter had finally happened.
I invite you to click on the image to discover the rest of the story behind this photograph, which remains one of the most powerful images I have ever captured in my life.
After our safari, we headed toward Cape Town... a breathtaking coastal city with a truly unique charm. Its cliffside roads are absolutely thrilling. Spending an evening there, watching the golden light paint the horizon, the ocean, and the mountains surrounding those winding roads, is an unforgettable experience.
Yet within this beautiful city lies a heartbreaking and striking reality: inequality… on an unimaginable scale.
Behind the immaculate streets, you can feel the weight of history and the harsh reality of inequalities affecting much of the country. As you travel through different neighborhoods, the contrast is overwhelming: luxurious hillside estates overlook townships where families live in revolting conditions. It is disturbing, it is real, and it is something every visitor should witness and confront.
We lived through an experience I will never forget: experiencing both extremes within the same day. One morning, we visited a township. Homes stretching for miles that inspired deep sadness… Fishermen fighting birds in hopes of earning a few cents after selling their catch. Elderly people forced into exhausting physical labor just to survive.
Then later that afternoon, we visited a luxurious vineyard. I still remember the disgust we felt witnessing such abundance existing beside such overwhelming poverty. Our expensive meal was not enjoyable at all because our minds were consumed by the injustice surrounding us. It was not a pleasant feeling; we felt guilty for having access to so much wealth that we so often take for granted.
But in the end, it is often the most uncomfortable experiences that shape and transform us.
Photographing the beauty of nature around the world is an incredible profession. Yet there are still aspects of my work that I do not particularly enjoy: the endless hours spent in front of a computer thinking about keywords or building marketing campaigns. It is a necessary evil if you want people to discover your work, and from time to time I catch myself complaining about these tasks that I dislike so much. But when I photographed that group of fishermen, I told myself that I never wanted to complain about my work again. They work unbelievably hard for so little. While my income as a photographer is far from guaranteed, those moments made me realize just how fortunate I truly am.
Africa taught me that traveling is not simply checking destinations off a list.
It is about being transformed by what you encounter. South Africa forced me to witness both its magnificence and its contradictions, to embrace wonder and discomfort at the same time… and I must admit, it is addictive.
Barely back in Quebec, I was already dreaming of a second trip to Africa. Time will tell whether that next adventure will lead me to Kenya or Namibia… two destinations still sitting at the very top of my bucket list.
