1. Eye-to-Eye

“You guys ready to go in?”  Tarry, one of our four guides, asks.  In where?  I wonder.  I thought our visit to this cheetah conservancy was going to be from this side of the security fence…  “We’re going inside the fence now so you can photograph the cheetahs without it obstructing your photographs.”  Say what?!!   “When we go in, you’ll need to keep your back to the fence and at no time are you to turn your back to one of the five cheetahs.”  I hear what Tarry is saying, but my mind is racing.  I try to absorb the instructions while I also try to process this surprise twist in our early morning photoshoot.  “No sudden moves…  stay single file…  whisper if you must talk at all…  and stay calm.”  Stay calm?  I’m about to go through a door and stand in front of five wild cheetahs…  “Let’s go.”  One of the other guides leads us, one by one, through the door frame.  We stand with our cameras in hand and our backs to the fence.  I look at my fellow photography travelers — we all seem to have the same I-can’t-believe-I’m-doing-this look on our faces.  No one says a word as we inch closer to the cats.  I look at them and then glance at our guides, who are holding walking sticks.  I wonder whether the sticks are sufficient to fight off a cheetah, if need be.  I look back to the cats and start taking images, feeling my heart pound harder when I hear one of the cheetahs hissing at a guide.  I look to my left and take a shot of the cat’s intense expression.  I try to not let it affect me, though it is intimidating.  I quietly ask Tarry if this is “normal” cheetah behavior during a photoshoot.  He whispers back, “We’ve never done this before with photographers.  They’re only used to seeing the guides in here.”  While Tarry’s words echo in my head, I take a deep breath and look around.  I know how extreme it is, and I also know what a rare opportunity this is…  I continue taking images, consumed by the intensity of what I’m doing.  I slowly kneel down and put my lens to the eyes of one cheetah.  I take his image and then gently pull my camera away from my eye.  I’m eye-to-eye with the cat, and I feel its piercing look.  What an incredible way to start my 13-day photography adventure in Namibia…