Dr Tara Stoinski

President, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

“Mountain gorillas, which I’ve dedicated my life to conserving, make amazing subjects because they remind us so much of ourselves. They draw us in with their intelligent eyes, their dexterous hands and the way they play, cuddle and interact.

But the lighting conditions in their forest habitats are difficult for a non-professional like me, so it may surprise you that my favourite animal to photograph is not the gorilla. It’s the African elephant. It is one of the world’s most unique-looking animals with its incredible size, phenomenal trunks and beautiful tusks. Finding a line of elephants walking in the distance in front of an African sunset could be the most spectacular image in nature.

But the complexity of their social lives is what makes them so fascinating to me and provides opportunities to capture some amazing behavioural sequences, from the intensity of greeting ceremonies when families are reunited to the playful rough-housing of youngsters and the impressive swagger of males in musth, or, perhaps my favourite, a calf who has not yet mastered the use of her trunk.

Photographing elephants is something that never grows old, as there is always something new to see.”

Photo by Graeme Green