Nothing lasts forever
This image came about on an afternoon game drive while I was volunteering at the Kwantu Private Game reserve in South Africa. The reserve is located on the site of a small village built by European settlers in the 1860s (or thereabouts). A cottage near the current luxury hotel is in the process of being restored but other buildings have been partially reclaimed by nature. This is the case for this particular building.
We had seen this elephant walking close to a river that runs close to the gravel road that passed the house. Our driver decided to get ahead of the elephant and drove down to the far side of the cottage to wait for it. A few minutes later it came out of the bush and walked around the old house.
I decided to make this image black and white (it was shot in colour) as it feels (to me) more stark. Like many others, I am concerned by the impact we are having on our environment and the likely impact that will have on already vulnerable species. The key point that is often overlooked is that we are just as reliant on a balanced environment as the animals currently under threat. If we do not change our ways we will become extinct too.
So, this image, for me, speaks about nature eventually overcoming us. Once we have gone the evidence of our existence will gradually be removed by nature until only ruins remain. Elephants may not be around when we disappear but something will be. Even if we trigger a mass extinction event, life will adapt and continue.
Nothing is forever. Even us.