I spend my days working in New York City, spearheading public relations and marketing campaigns. So spending two weeks in the African bush with a group of intrepid photographers is quite a change for me. I’m back from my safari and not surprisingly, it was one of the best experiences of my lifetime.

Just loved this giraffe duo in Amboseli, Kenya.

While I was in the Masai Mara and Amboseli (at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro) I saw thousands of zebra and wildebeest, hundreds of elephants and giraffe, some rhinos and hippos. Add to that baboons and birds….some of the most gorgeous I have ever seen. Over the next bit of time I will be sharing some of those memories here.

The first cheetah I saw on day two of my safari, Amboseli, Kenya.

I fell in love with cheetahs, was surprised by the uber-photogenic buffalo, improved my photography skills two-fold because of Wild-Eye Safari, saw the biggest skies ever and got along well without electricity (!). And now, everything in my life back home appears brighter after having experienced this time in Africa.

Zebras playing in Kenya — in black and white.

Exploring Urban New York City Through The Lens of “Safari”

My next big adventure is closer to home. I’m using the lens I acquired on my African safari to see my own city anew with the help of a friend of my step-sons. Humza Deas is a 17-year old student living in New York City. My step-sons own a skateboard shop in Queens, Belief NYC, and Humza is on their skateboard team. Humza is a photographer. An “outlaw instagrammer” as he is called in the media. An explorer in the city. Humza ventures into areas of cities where most people don’t have the nerve to go. New York Magazine calls him an urban daredevil.

I’m luckily going to accompany him on a (tame) outing. I’ll report back. Pretty exciting really. I mean I just returned from a safari so I’m up for the challenge.

Humza Deas in a New York Magazine spread, October 5. Yes, those are his feet dangling.

Humza Deas in New York Magazine, October 5.

I’ll never again be 17 or match Humza’s free-climbing daredevil streak, but my goal continues to be to find bravery and walk the edge of new experiences.

Take a look at Humza’s Instagram feed and follow him!

The African safari images above are taken with my Canon EOS 5D MarkIII using the Canon 200-400 lens and the Canon 70-200 lens.

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