Renowned photographer, James Lewin mourns Dida, Africa’s most iconic elephant!

James Lewin is a British Fine Art Wildlife Photographer and Conservationist who found his eye for photography after discovering his passion for conservation in Kenya has passionately mourned the death of Dida, Africa’s most iconic elephant.

Lewin’s fine art style swiftly developed in his attempt to connect people with East Africa’s magnificent yet disappearing wildlife.

He found an immersive and intimate approach was most effective in achieving this.

To capture his striking portraits, he prefers working with wide-angle lenses from unique perspectives unknown to any living person creating a detachment from reality while making the viewer feel like they are beside the animals within the frame.

James’ photographs have a timeless feel and convey that his wildlife subjects are endangered and could only be remembered through his work. – via

www.jameslewinphotography.co.uk

James Lewin posted this message on his Facebook Page:

“I am so devastated to hear the news that Dida, arguably Africa’s most iconic elephant, passed away today. But I am also celebrating that she was able to live a full life.

I was fortunate enough to spend a number of days with her between 2017 and 2021. I don’t think I have ever witnessed anything so genuinely majestic in all my life. Each time we met, I could hardly blink an eye or take my eyes off her for a split second.

I knew that every single second spent in her presence was something to cherish forever.

Like being with all big tusker elephants, I feel I have arrived in a different age, long, long ago. I get the feeling that I am in the presence of a mammoth, more than an elephant.

There are fewer than 25 big tuskers on the entire planet. But there are no other elephants like Dida. I question whether there has ever been an elephant as beautiful as her. It is difficult to comprehend how her ivory stretched all the way to the ground, in absolute perfect symmetry.

None of these images would have been made without the @tsavotrust and I wonder if she would have lived her full life, if not for the monumental efforts to protect her from the air and the ground. Elephants dying of old age is something to be celebrated and for an elephant as unique as Dida to live a full life is not only a miracle, but testament to the success of The Big Tusker project led by @tsavotrust in partnership with @kenyawildlifeservice

Thank you Dida for giving me with some of the most special and unforgettable moments of my life and thank you Richard Moller and the entire team at @tsavotrust for watching over her and all the other tuskers in the Tsavo Conservation Area.

Rest in peace.”