It all started with a leather wrapped African Elephant that sits on my desk...

As I prepare for a return visit to Tanzania, I cannot help but recall that photography has given me a reason to spread my wings and see more of this world than I ever dreamt of seeing.

It has allowed me to pursue a dream that spawned out of a conversation that will forever remain with me.

If I rewind life back to that conversation; It was a conversation I had with my mom. We sat there at her kitchen table and talked about this leather crafted mini statue of an African elephant she had given me. We talked about how great it would be to someday see them in the wilds of Africa.

While I never actually thought it would happen, it was fun to fantasize about it during a conversation that lasted deep into the night… little did I know that it would be the last conversation I would ever have with her…

After her passing, life, as it always does was a priority over a pipe dream of flying half way around the world… my two kids were growing up, commuting back and forth to my white-collar job consumed me, and travel always seemed to be on the back burner.

Fast forward a couple years, a series of life events colliding, my life’s priorities changed and the opportunity to lead photo tours emerged.

My first trip I wanted to attempt to do, Tanzania. There was an African elephant I had to see to fulfill a dream that I discussed with my mom 6 years prior.

I decided that if I set up that trip, and could actually sell it, I would lead photo tours for a living. By some stroke of luck, and maybe by some divine intervention from my mom I managed to get the minimum number of people I needed to go to Tanzania.

I remember seeing my first African Elephant in the wild, a dozen of them, the young touching each other with their trunks, and the elders standing around like massive statues against ominous skies… I remember the first few clicks of the shutter and then I was frozen, I couldn’t photograph them… I was compelled to watch and enjoy the moment…

It was during that moment that I promised myself I would pursue adventures around the world and witness things I knew I had no idea even existed! But I wanted to take people with me and hopefully help them fulfill a passion of travel and exploration.

It has been over ten years since my mom has passed, over four years since my first photo tour to Tanzania, and Ive now been on countless trips with hundreds of people to see some of the worlds wonderful locations, people and wildlife.

We all have different reasons why we travel and we all return home with personal memories of the locations we visit… Each of you that has travelled with me have your own reasons why you travel, and I have mine.

What continues to drive me is still the pursuit of the next location, the next vista, the next animal to check off my list… then come home and share it with my family and those of you who are not as lucky as I am to travel for a living.

One day I will put all my photos together… maybe my photos can serve as someone’s own leather wrapped African elephant that motivates them to see this amazing world like I have.

Until then, I appreciate your comments on my social media posts and I cherish the moments I have spent, and will continue to spend with those that join me on my adventures. Its because of you that I get to do what I do... so, "Thank You!"

Get out and see the world folks! It’s an amazing place with some amazing people, places and things out there waiting to be discovered.

Kev