The day before leaving for a three week family holiday to Africa, after deliberating for months and months, I finally took the plunge and purchased my first digital SLR camera, a Nikon D50, compatible with my 28-80 and 70-300 mm lenses. Needless to say, despite 18 hours of travel, I just barely glanced through the manual and knew very little about how to operate the camera with its endless menu and functions. Somehow I still managed to shoot 1800 pictures, furiously clicking at anything and everything hoping to get a least a few good images. Despite the uneven terrain, jostling for position, endless orange dust, and constant motion, I persevered. The photo reproduced here is a personal favorite. For me it captured the intensity of the experience, with all its joy and wonder: the vastness of the terrain, the smell and feel of the heat and dust, the magnificence of the trees growing out of the parched land and the energy, rush and excitement of it all. And we had yet to come face to face with the wildlife!