Michel Ghatan

Direct from the artist’s studio

All photographs are signed and numbered and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the photographer.

“Lewa in Kenya is my favourite place to photograph humongous white and black rhinos. Due to their poor eyesight rhinos must rely on their excellent sense of smell and hearing to assess other creatures coming towards them. 

We saw this magnificent bull rhino having a mud bath and enjoying himself so much we decided to give him plenty of time and the light to come down as well. Near the end of our day he felt relaxed and got accustomed to our smell and voices. The choice of mine to come so close is rather a need to capture his enormous size of around 4m long and the 3 tones he carries together with a clear blue sky in the background. It was perfect for my 35mm lens. Needless to say, we had to be extra careful not to alarm him in any way, my body being outside of the vehicle when I took his picture! Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a true success. Since 1983, Lewa has provided a safe and suitable home for rhinos. As the first and the leading pioneer in private rhino sanctuary in East Africa, Lewa’s rhino population has grown from an initial 15rhinos to 169 rhinos today. Last December, after 5 years of zero casualties, two southern white rhinos were killed by poachers in the conservancy. 

The war on poaching never ends.” - Michel Ghatan