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Archive 2015 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

eyelaser
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Coming face to face with one of our planet's closest evolutionary relatives is a thrilling experience. The trek, whether 2 1/2 hours straight up at a 60degree angle or only 12 minutes through stinging nettles and vines hoping to snare your feet is so much a part of the experience that it is hard to separate that from the actual gorilla viewing. Fortunately this year I did not take a fall of a cliff although I did slip and fall numerous times. Black and blue and bleeding form my leg I really didn't feel any pain as adrenaline kicked in. Photographing gorillas is IMHO very difficult because they are often in dark places with dark fur obscured by branches and leaves. Fortunately, the trackers and guides know exactly how to use their machetes to cut away the undergrowth and expose the apes...at least to some degree. Without those guys all we'd be taking photos of would be leaves. The photo yield is probably about 10% at best, at least for me. Here are some images and the one thing I found quite uniform, is that gorillas really avoid eye contact....to get a true shot where the gorilla is looking right at you is almost impossible...I don't think I have any. I hope you enjoy.
Eric

1
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-8T9jgBq/0/X2/CS3P2896%202silverback-X2.jpg

2
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-hzWmwSF/0/X2/CS3P3493silverback-X2.jpg

3
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-d4GNH25/0/X2/CS3P3486silverback-X2.jpg

4
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-cWQHqLk/0/X2/CS3P3321silverbackandinfant-X2.jpg

5
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-vBtqBBf/0/X2/CS3P3461gorillasilverback-X2.jpg

6
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-84RPZM2/0/X2/CS3P3363gorilla-X2.jpg

7
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-Bp5kpz5/0/X2/CS3P3570gorillaandbaby-X2.jpg

8
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-rFqtLDF/0/X2/CS3P3753gorilla-X2.jpg

9
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-j7MJKrM/0/X2/CS3P3761gorillamouthopen-X2.jpg

10
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-6nssQz6/0/X2/CS3P3840gorilla-X2.jpg

11
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-pv8hG9C/0/X2/CS3P2986%202silverback-X2.jpg

12
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-XJj38wr/0/X2/CS3P3005%202silverback-X2.jpg

13
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-vwXMjpL/0/X2/CS3P3145%202gorilla-X2.jpg

14
http://eyelaser.smugmug.com/Nature/Uganda-2015/i-NPt23km/0/X2/CS3P3126%202gorillalookingup-X2.jpg

Mar 26, 2015 at 11:18 PM

evertdoorn
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

amazing!

I was fortunate enough to see these animals back in 2004 (a permit was rather cheap then, just 300 bucks

). We used the Rwanda entry point for the national park. Still have some scanned film shots somewhere...

Mar 27, 2015 at 02:22 AM

Lance B
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Ooooh WOW, simply stunning, Eric! What a fantastic opportunity to see these magnificent animals! Not only that, be able to photograph them so beautifully. All exceptional, but 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 & 13 are real standouts for me. It must have been a real experience! Thank you for sharing and for the great story.

Mar 27, 2015 at 02:27 AM

RobAmy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Amazing, made my morning. Thank you for sharing

Mar 27, 2015 at 04:36 AM

kdacharya
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

eric, i am speechless, which does not happen very often.
what amazing expressions they have. you are very lucky to have seen and photographed these. I know you must have worked very hard to get these, what with the multiple falls and injuries.
thanks so much for sharing

Mar 27, 2015 at 05:26 AM

Michael Rucci
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Wonderful set Eric The images with the little ones are so sweet .From what i have read eye contact is a no no with these creatures especially the silver back is that true?

Mar 27, 2015 at 07:06 AM

eyelaser
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

evertdoorn wrote:
amazing!

I was fortunate enough to see these animals back in 2004 (a permit was rather cheap then, just 300 bucks

). We used the Rwanda entry point for the national park. Still have some scanned film shots somewhere...
You were very lucky back then...the prices have increased about 100% since then, at least in Uganda.
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Lance B wrote:
Ooooh WOW, simply stunning, Eric! What a fantastic opportunity to see these magnificent animals! Not only that, be able to photograph them so beautifully. All exceptional, but 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 & 13 are real standouts for me. It must have been a real experience! Thank you for sharing and for the great story.

Thanks so much Lance...very challenging photography and honestly I have so many for the dust bin that I'm lucky to have a few to share.
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RobAmy wrote:
Amazing, made my morning. Thank you for sharing
Thanks Rob....the experience is very special...even by Africa standards...so different than photographing from the security of a vehicle.
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kdacharya wrote:
eric, i am speechless, which does not happen very often.
what amazing expressions they have. you are very lucky to have seen and photographed these. I know you must have worked very hard to get these, what with the multiple falls and injuries.
thanks so much for sharing
Thanks KD...it takes a lot of maneuvering to get a clean shot...and just when you think you have it....they move or your leg get snagged by a vine that acts like a snare....I know these evil creatures are laughing at me

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Michael Rucci wrote:
Wonderful set Eric The images with the little ones are so sweet .From what i have read eye contact is a no no with these creatures especially the silver back is that true?

I do think eye contact is not considered proper decorum....it certainly would question their dominance....but since they never looked at us directly it was really a moot point. Funnily, the chimps had no problem with that and since I got low down/sitting to photograph them I suspect they didn't see that as threatening and were quite chill with it all.
Thanks for the nice comment.

Eric

Mar 27, 2015 at 07:42 AM

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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

So super cool. Sounds like a real adventure to even come close to getting their pics, I don't think this old body of mine would allow it. Thanks so much for sharing and the trek and the results you have shown us.

on me. Chuck

Mar 27, 2015 at 07:51 AM

eyelaser
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

cmxchuck wrote:
So super cool. Sounds like a real adventure to even come close to getting their pics, I don't think this old body of mine would allow it. Thanks so much for sharing and the trek and the results you have shown us.

on me. Chuck

Chuck, you'd be very surprised about who and in what shape you have to be to see these. There were people in their 80s who managed quite well....the porters will even carry severely disabled people intent in seeing gorillas to them...there are NO excuses on that account

Thanks for the kind words

Eric

Mar 27, 2015 at 07:56 AM

Ted ellis
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Eric....TFS this beautiful series...WOW!

Mar 27, 2015 at 07:58 AM

DonGut
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Eric, you did get some nice shots of the silverback, esp. #2 and #6 is a classic. You were right on describing the difficulty of acquiring really good photos of these guys. And I agree, it is the most memorable and moving wildlife experience on the planet IMO.!!
Makes we want to go back.
These are definitely lifetime memories.
Don

Mar 27, 2015 at 08:04 AM

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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Ted ellis wrote:
Eric....TFS this beautiful series...WOW!

Thanks Ted....truth be told, this is an experience that really can not be adequately expressed photographically....the experience is so unique....especially when they brush up against you as they pass or choose to find a point close to you and just sit.
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DonGut wrote:
Eric, you did get some nice shots of the silverback, esp. #2 and #6 is a classic. You were right on describing the difficulty of acquiring really good photos of these guys. And I agree, it is the most memorable and moving wildlife experience on the planet IMO.!!
Makes we want to go back.
These are definitely lifetime memories.
Don
Thanks Don....spending time with these amazing apes is very special. I do not think photography does the experience any justice...it is really much more about the time spent with them, on foot or in my case sitting and laying on the ground about 15' from a silverback or mother with a baby....I really enjoy watching the video my wife took and my daughter wore a gopro on her head so we got some fantastic footage from a totally different perspective. Even though the first trek was quite treacherous, it was part of the experience and one that I wouldn't have liked to miss.
Eric

Mar 27, 2015 at 08:17 AM

surfnron
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Great stuff Eric. A journey most here would love to make - including me.

These are all very well done, so no picks ~ Ron

Mar 27, 2015 at 08:33 AM

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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

This is a super set Eric. So many great shots. Thanks for sharing so many of your images.

Geoff

Mar 27, 2015 at 09:04 AM

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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Magnificent animals. Glad you had the opportunity to get these shot, and happier still that you shared them.

Mar 27, 2015 at 09:42 AM

dorian
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Very nice Eric. These are more than up to your usual high standards. They look like such gentle giants in all these shots!

Mar 27, 2015 at 04:12 PM

Herb Houghton
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

What an experience that must have been. Thanks for sharing them Eric. #2,4-6,9,10 and 13 are my picks.

Mar 27, 2015 at 04:20 PM

kmunroe
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

some amazing images Eric

Mar 27, 2015 at 04:24 PM

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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

Eric,
These are just wonderful.

Mar 27, 2015 at 09:46 PM

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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Mountain Gorillas of Uganda

!!!!!Absolutely wonderful!!!!

LuckyT

Mar 27, 2015 at 10:34 PM

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