Serengeti Spy: Views from a Hidden Camera on the Plains of East Africa - Hardcover

Shah, Anup

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1419702785 ISBN 13: 9781419702785

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2012

Synopsis

In these terrific action photos of wildlife on the African savannah in the Serengeti and the Massai Mara, Anup Shah reveals these creatures as never seen before, using remote hidden cameras that have been planted across the plains. This is life on the plains in all its dynamism, cruelty and vitality, the circle of life in action. Readers will find themselves literally face to face with hyenas as they feed on a kill, with elephants communing in a watering hold, playful lion cubs, wildebeests leaping across a ravine, inquisitive monkeys who have discovered the camera and gaze directly into the lens and cheetahs peering back under their tails towards the camera. Many of these animals have actually noticed the camera, mostly by the sound of it clicking away and their interest is clearly piqued; they're certainly not accustomed to encounters with a camera on the ground of their home turf. This is primarily a visual journey through the African plains, but captions written by the author will impart interesting facts about the animals, as well as any activity of interest that may have occurred while the photo was being taken.

About this title

About the Author:

Anup Shah has been a wildlife photographer based in Kenya and England for more than 30 years. His images have appeared in National Geographic and many European nature magazines and calendars. Shah is the coauthor of two Abrams books: The Circle of Life: Wildlife on the African Savannah and African Odyssey: 365 Days.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* What would it be like to travel East Africa on foot, like our hunter-gatherer ancestors? What would it be like to meet the animals of the vast Serengeti-Mara ecosystem on their own terms, as their predator, prey, or equal? Shah, who with his brother, Manoj, has been photographing the Serengeti for almost 20 years (The Circle of Life, 2003; African Odyssey, 2007), decided to explore this point of view, to try to get close to and even among the animals and to see them as they see each other. Inventing a tortoise-like remote camera and linking it to a TV monitor in his distant truck, Shah was able to trip the shutter when he saw an image he liked. The results are an amazing set of from-the-ground-up views of the iconic wildlife of the Serengeti. The camera angle, coupled with how close the camera could be placed to the animals (by using waterholes, game trails, etc.) gives an immediacy to the images that even the best use of long lenses cannot match. Wildebeest literally leap over the camera as they cross a river. We are in the middle of the action at a carcass as jackals vie with hyenas for any leftover scraps. We even come face to face with a troop of curious baboons as they investigate the camera. A wonderful new look at a much-photographed cast of animal characters. --Nancy Bent

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1419702785
• ISBN 13: 9781419702785
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 204