Three Weeks in the Wild: Photographing the Maasai Mara

Photographer Lewis Westwick reflects on his experience

This summer, Lewis Westwick joined our Maasai Mara Wildlife Photography & Conservation Project, spending three weeks immersed in the landscapes and wildlife of Kenya’s Maasai Mara. This trip combines hands-on photography guidance with a focus on conservation, offering a unique perspective on one of Africa’s most iconic safari destinations. Here, Lewis shares his thoughts on the experience – and a selection of his images.

Images and text by Lewis Westwick

Choosing to travel to Kenya’s Maasai Mara

I was particularly drawn to this Penda trip for two reasons. Firstly, I felt that the trip offered good value for money – eschewing some of the characteristics of other tours (high-end lodges, 5-star cuisine etc.) to focus on photography. This was perfectly aligned with how I wanted to spend my first trip to Kenya. 

And, secondly, being with a group of like-minded photographers meant that we were pretty much aligned on how we wanted to spend our time; if we wanted to wait for a cheetah to hunt, we waited. If we wanted to wait for a bird to take off, we waited. It was great having the ability to do what we wanted rather than be on someone else’s schedule.

Wildlife photography highlights; close lion encounters 

Early on the third morning, we loaded up our open-sided Landcruiser and headed out before dawn. As the sun started to break on the distant horizon, our Maasai guide spotted a male lion purposefully walking across the savannah. With some expert driving he placed our vehicle directly in front of the oncoming lion. I fully expected the lion to change course and veer off, but no – it kept coming towards us! It walked straight past us, briefly brushing the back of our vehicle. My heart was pounding and my finger was firmly clamped down on my camera shutter release. It was an exhilarating moment!

Another highlight was catching a pride of lions on the move in the Naboisho conservancy. After seeing a couple of lionesses and some cubs moving through the bushes near a creek-bed, Lepapa, our Maasai guide, was able to drive a few hundred meters ahead, navigating some rock fields and a crossing a creek to find a small opening where we parked up. Lepapa calmly said, “Now, we wait.”

As we sat in silence, our vehicle being the only one in sight, I wondered if we had made a mistake by leaving the lions to sit and wait on our own. But I should not have doubted the knowledge and expertise of Lepapa, for after a few minutes the lions came. First a lioness with cubs, then sub-adults, then more lionesses, more cubs and one of the male coalition. The whole lion pride (in all, probably twenty or so lions) walked past our vehicle – barely paying us a glance. Seeing a few lions is exciting enough, but seeing the whole pride close-up like this is something I will never forget. And could have only happened with the expert knowledge and experience of our guide.

Developing skills and knowledge through personal guidance

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount time Sam, our photography guide, devoted individually to each of us to make sure that our tour was a success. Early on in the three-week trip, Sam sat down with us individually and asked us to talk him through our camera settings. He helped us dial in all our settings and programable buttons, so that changing settings was easier, faster and more intuitive. He also found some functionality on my camera that I didn’t know I had. Later on in the tour, and after we had some images to process, Sam also sat down with me and walked through my editing process. We edited numerous images together and he offered constructive feedback and suggestions on my specific process. 

It was also great to learn about the local culture from our Maasai guide, Lepapa. During our three weeks together, we learned about their traditions and their deep reverence for cattle. Lepapa shared many experiences and stories from his life, all of which kept us thoroughly enthralled, amused and entertained. He was an excellent guide. 

Returning home as a more confident photographer

Over the course of the three weeks, I felt like I grew as a photographer in a number of ways. Sam continually challenged us to take photographs in lots of different ways/situations. Setting sun? Look for silhouettes and take photos directly into the sun. Rainstorm? Look for unusual animal behavior and try and capture the mood of the storm. Running animals? Try a slow shutter speed and pan to capture the feeling of movement. I wouldn’t normally have lifted my camera in some of these situations but Sam created a great environment where we were all learning, trying new techniques and developing new skills together – always looking for interesting images.

I also found myself being drawn to a particular style/type of image; black and white images that show animals in their environment, and this grew as the days passed. Sam encouraged me and helped me with editing techniques to bring out this style.

Plus, I improved my familiarity with my equipment. There is no simply no substitute for using your gear all day, every day for three weeks straight. Changing settings and ‘dialling in’ the shot became faster and more reflexive as the days progressed.

Favorite image; locking eyes with a cheetah

We had been following a cheetah as it made its way through the savannah grass and I had already captured some nice images. It made its way to the shade of an Acacia tree and promptly laid down and took a nap. We decided to wait as it looked hungry and we thought it might hunt some of the Thomson gazelle that were grazing near by. After a nap the cheetah sat up, scanned the horizon and then looked directly at us! I happened to be lucky and have my camera ready – and I captured a nice portrait. It didn’t look directly at us again and I felt I had captured a unique moment.

What might come next 

For anyone looking for a wildlife photography tour, I’d definitely recommend asking the tour operator a lot of questions ahead of time to make sure that the tour aligns with your desires and expectations. I found Penda to be very responsive to all my questions and emails. And I also had a WhatsApp call (before I committed) to learn more about the trip. 

Everyone at Penda went out of their way to make sure the trip was a success (I even received multiple emails during the trip asking how it was going) and I would definitely recommend Penda to others. 

Find out more about our photo safaris in Kenya’s Maasai Mara