WORLD UNSEEN

One day I was told, “go shoot Naltwasha, the lead role Samburu girl, with an orphaned elephant from Reteti, and by the way, it’s for the front cover poster shot for the whole film”.

Making a perfect poster image of a very nervous Samburu girl meeting an orphaned baby elephant for the first time under skies about to pour with rain is not an easy task!

The moment unfolded quickly - Naltwasha crouched down with a handful of small shrubs, Shaba came forward quietly, her trunk inquisitively raised. Just as they met for a few minutes the dark clouds parted and the sun shone golden against the dark grey. The moment was perfect.

Georgina Goodwin is a documentary photographer with a focus on nature, women and social issues. Born and based in Kenya, Georgina is known for her award-winning work covering Kenya’s post-election violence, cancer in Kenya, Westgate terror attack, and refugees in Africa - her image of 30 second old baby refugee Marian winning 2019 British Journal of Photography Portrait of Humanity Award.

With a 20-year career in photography working across Africa on assignment, Georgina is also a mentor for the World Press Photo 6x6 Global Talent Program and the Vital Impacts Mentorship Program, a certified Canon Trainer, and a former Canon Ambassador. Now as a mother of two girls she has expanded her career to mentor and empower storytellers through her media agency GGImages Media, which works with local media talent across Africa (and the World). Georgina is also co-founder of AfricaFotoChat, a platform which aims to bridge the gap in knowledge of opportunities for photographers in Africa and the global photography industry.

Georgina is contributor to Getty Images and Everyday Climate Change, member of Women Photograph photographers’ collective, panel judge for the East African Photography Awards, and a two-time TEDx speaker. Her work has been published by NY Times, Elle, Vogue, Agence France-Presse and many others, and has been exhibited in Times Square NYC, Bogotá Colombia, Tokyo Japan and The Louvre Paris amongst others.

This image is meaningful in so many ways. It connects us to the personal life of a young Samburu girl and how, despite coming from a tribe that traditionally lives close with wildlife, even she felt nervous meeting a baby elephant, making us aware of how far away from Nature we are becoming, and at the same time this image reminds us to enjoy and love Nature and how it is up to us to make the effort to connect and to protect what we have left.

Now years after I captured this moment, I’m still relieved how it all unfolded, to have actually captured the perfect moment for a perfect poster image!