Years of traveling the plains of the Mara have etched countless wildlife encounters into my memory. From the heart-stopping chase of a cheetah to the tender moments in prides of lions.

None however compare to the recent sighting that left me speechless: a grizzled leopard, his age etched in every whisker, balanced precariously in a tree, his prize, a lifeless crocodile. A sheer testament to an extraordinary feat of nature. It was a moment that transcended mere observation and entered the unexpected twists of the wild.

Earlier I had sat at my computer in the Angama photographic studio when a guide came running in and said there was a sighting of a leopard with a possible snake. Later he sent out that he had inspected and it turned out to be a crocodile.

The next day, I drove towards the same area and noticed something hanging from the tree, which was the tail of the crocodile. I waited for hours hoping that the leopard would go back to its reward. Eventually he did and I was able to get some photos. I have never heard of this occurring in Kenya, there are places around the world such as South Africa or maybe Jaguars in South America where this has been recorded and photographed.

The male that has been photographed is named Shujaa, which means hero in Swahili. He is estimated to be about 14 years old, making him quite senior, with most leopards living for 12-15 years in the wild. He was spotted in the Maji ma Chafu area which is well within his territory. His longevity suggests successful hunting starches and adaptability as suggested with this crocodile kill. His dense markings (which resemble a jaguar due to his rosettes) and his eye (which was injured, possibly by another leopard) are some of his distinguishable features.

I watched as he ate the remaining parts of the crocodile and pieces fell into the tall grass. If you look closely you could tell that there was a wound near the tip of the tail of the leopard, likely from a confrontation with the crocodile. From the size of the tail of the crocodile, you can tell it was fairly large. Then what only remained was the thick scaly tail of the crocodile until the last piece fell and it was gone. Shujaa came down the tree and disappeared into the grass. As I drove away I could hardly contain my excitement from the behavior I had just witnessed.

This wasn’t your typical Savannah showdown. Leopards, while agile climbers, rarely hunt reptiles, and crocodiles, masters of aquatic ambush, are seldom found out of their watery domain. Both leopards and crocodiles are apex predators and there have been documented cases of leopards killing crocodile hatchlings, and crocodiles taking down young leopards that come too close to the water’s edge.

About the author: Born and raised in Nairobi to Egyptian parents, Andrew Andrawes spent 15 years in the United States before returning to Kenya to live in the remote Mara Triangle for the last 2 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and African Studies from the University of Virginia, and a post-bacc from San Francisco Art Institute, and an MFA in photography from San Jose State University, where he has also worked, along with in various other studios and camera shops.

Image credits: Photographs by Andrew Andrawes

A stark photo of a diver examining the aftermath of a whale hunt has won Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024.

The brutal image taken by Alex Dawson from Sweden beat off over 6,500 other entrants. The image shows a breath-hold diver below a sheet of ice in Greenland inspecting whale carcasses.

Wide Angle

Macro

Wrecks

Behavior

Portrait

Black and White

Compact

Up and Coming

British Waters Wide Angle

Underwater Photographer of the Year is a U.K.-based competition with categories just for Brits. For more, head to the competition’s website.

Walter Pfeiffer’s hands have trembled ever since he was a little boy at primary school. The problem, recalls the Swiss photographer, only intensified as he aged. “It amuses me,” he says, “when people call me a genius for using flash from the very beginning. It gave me my style – but I only did it because a flash stabilised my images.”

Pfeiffer’s photographs exude a perpetual summery warmth, as if all the harshness of life has been banished. Before gaining recognition in the art world, he spent years shooting for the underground gay zine scene. Remarkably, after achieving success, he refused to change his approach: it has always been just him and his subject, like a painter with a muse.

These are mostly young men, often captured in moments of exuberance, leaping in the air or striking a pose at home or by the lake. Many shots hover between dream and reality, seeming to speak of first love. “People I don’t like leave me cold,” says Pfeiffer. “But in the presence of real beauty, I go crazy – and I could work for 24 hours. Beauty is rare, not an everyday occurrence, and it’s better that way. If there was too much beauty around we would grow bored with it.” He laughs.

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As you flip through Chez Walti Photographs 2000-2022, his latest book, an epic volume spanning 400 pages, you soon grasp how much energy he puts into his craft. While photography still excites him as much as it did in the early days, taking pictures is becoming increasingly strenuous – partly because of his unsteady hands but also due to the difficulty of finding the right models. “Oh, I’m not a drama queen,” he says. “I truly mean it. If I hadn’t been an artist, my life would have been easier.”

Pfeiffer, although a seasoned photographer of 50 years, was unearthed by millennials, who became enamoured of his hyper-colourful shots in the early 2000s. According to Pfeiffer, they embraced him for the same reasons the art world had rejected him. His photographs seemed overly simple, almost amateur. The fashion industry, even more so, tends to value intricacy and depth.

However, as social media boomed, Pfeiffer’s work began to stand out. It was seen as innovative, ahead of its time. “It’s the story of my life,” he says. “I had to earn it all, step by step. I never thought I would make it this far. People consistently put me down, claiming I was just a ‘naive’ photographer. After a while, you end up believing it.”

A monumental Pfeiffer retrospective recently concluded at the Kunstmuseum in Lucerne, and his book signings at cities across Europe always draw huge queues of fervent young photography enthusiasts. Few artists have demonstrated such an enviable ability to foresee – and perhaps lead – taste. It’s no coincidence, although it is certainly ironic, that Pfeiffer is now embraced by the fashion industry.

“In the beginning,” says the 77-year-old, “art directors would approach me with mood boards, sketches and ideas. Oh God, I was so frightened! I’d listen to them but eventually I’d say, ‘Listen, what’s the point of doing something that others have already done?’ I didn’t have an agent at that time. I am a self-taught artist and, frankly, I didn’t know how to handle that kind of stuff. I’m not a professional. When I had to go to London for a fashion shoot, I was so financially strained that I could only afford a second-rate hotel and had to compress everything into a two-day window. Again, this is the story of my life.”

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He remembers i-D magazine sending a sizeable box of exorbitantly priced clothes to his Zurich apartment for a photography session. Fearful of damaging the valuable garments in transit, Pfeiffer had them modelled in his living room.

In fact, he has never had his own studio. Nor does he like to preconceive an image. His ideal approach involves meeting the subject then, much like on a blind date, embracing whatever vibe unfolds. “Que sera sera,” he says with a shrug. The results are generally on the lighthearted side, although there is nothing vague about them.

Pfeiffer, born in the Swiss countryside “on the same day and year as Bruce Weber”, originally trained as a painter. “I would use Polaroids as aids,” he recalls. “Then, in the 1970s, I bought a small automatic camera.” Around the same time, he relocated to the city. “My first models were beautiful Zurich street kids. The pursuit of real beauty is the goal of my life. Even today, the people I photograph evoke the Hollywood stars of the 1950s. But they don’t have to be aware of that. I prefer non-professional models. I never had models – I had real people.”

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The film stars he would see at the cinema felt like people he was growing up with. As models, he still regards them as unsurpassed. “There are a lot of mirrors and glasses in my pictures, a tribute to my enduring passion for Hollywood and for Cecil Beaton, with his magnificent photographs featuring mirrors. It’s about unattainable perfection. I never quite reach it, so I simplify it. I’ve had several Cecil Beaton moments.”

Pfeiffer realised he was gay at the age of 16. “I was the naive country boy. One day I met a man who was gay, but I didn’t even know what that meant. He introduced me to [gay magazine] Der Kreis.” During that time Pfeiffer also fell for the homoerotic photographs of Karlheinz Weinberger and the highly masculinised drawings of Tom of Finland. “I was captivated by all that beauty and couldn’t comprehend what was happening inside me. Those were different times. You couldn’t just say, ‘I’m 16 and I’m gay.’ Now, it’s like a seal has been broken.”

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After photographing his friends in the 1970s, he decided to publish his first book, now a rare find fetching giddying prices online. “It was produced by a publisher so impoverished that we had to convert all my photos to black and white to reduce the printing costs. It’s still a good book, though. It doesn’t age. You must be very careful when publishing a book: some get old while others remain timeless. I have so many books that already look dated even though they were published just three years ago.”

From then on, he says, his life became a constant and often exhausting pursuit of beauty. “It’s my obsession,” he says. “It’s what makes me click click click. I’m obsessed with all those people who take me to new ground, new ideas. When people are boring – mamma mia! – it’s terrible. Too much work. But when the right thing comes along, I feel alive again, although I’m getting slower with age.”

We are in the café of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. Pfeiffer, drinking tea, reveals that he has been working on an archive for some time. It’s not thousands of images, as one might assume. “I used to shoot analogue,” he says. “And I didn’t always have the money to buy film and develop photos. So in the early days, during fashion shoots, I would be like, ‘Click, click, click – OK, we have it!’ But only because it was all too expensive for me.”

In addition to mirrors, another thread running through Pfeiffer’s work is flowers. They often adorn the hair or faces of his models, reminiscent of the images of Baron von Gloeden, known for his nude shots of young Sicilian men. However, unlike the German baron, Pfeiffer uses kitsch and camp in an ironic manner. His models wear flashy chandeliers instead of hats, while a garish piece of cloth might be wound into a turban. “I think a good photograph needs no explanation,” he says. “One should not even think, but just be amazed.”

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Despite having photographed for the likes of Vogue and Vanity Fair, shooting everyone from Tom Ford to Tilda Swinton, the undercurrent of first love is something Pfeiffer is constantly, almost desperately, trying to convey. “Of course I feel love for my models,” he says. “Love is necessary for my work. But I must maintain a certain distance. If there’s no distance and you’re in love, well, then you’re blind.” He laughs and takes a sip of tea. “And it’s not ideal to be blind – especially if your hands are constantly shaking.”

Chez Walti Photographs 2000-2022 is published by Edition Patrick Frey

“The best camera is the one that’s with you,” has to be the most overused and misquoted passage of text in the photography industry. But while I’ve been guilty of shoehorning Chase Jarvis’ modern proverb into articles left, right, and center, I can hardly think of a more suitable moment than this.

You see, it perfectly encapsulates why I have loved taking photos on every iPhone I’ve ever owned. I’m an avid Nikon photographer, and my favorite camera of all time is the Nikon D800. But as rock solid and powerful as this aging but still pro-grade DSLR is, it weighs roughly 1 kg, and that’s with only a small, 50mm lens attached… Historically, it’s been the camera I reach for when I’m working or capturing ‘serious’ photos. But it’s not the camera that sits by my bedside, accompanies me on public transport, social gatherings, and leisurely events. That would be my iPhone 13.

It’s my everyday photography companion. It’s the camera I use when I’m taking photos for fun. It’s the camera I experiment with – and since I’m not carrying around a bag full of additional kit with endless creative possibilities – it’s the camera that very often forces me to go back to basics. And I’ve become a better photographer because of it.

Mike Harris

I’m Deputy Editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, but moonlight as iMore’s go-to photography know-it-all. I’ve worked in the photo industry for over six years and have been an avid iPhone photographer since the iPhone 4. I firmly believe that iPhone photography is a great starting point for burgeoning photographers, so I’ve created a series of iPhone photography basics tutorials so you can either firm up your existing iPhone camera skills or embark on a whole new passion.

Even pros love iPhone photography 

But before I explain how it’s made me a better photographer, I’d like to return to photographer, author, and entrepreneur Chase Jarvis. The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You is actually the title of one of his books. And if its sentiment couldn’t fit into my neat little narrative any better, the camera he’s talking about is in fact, his iPhone. 

You see, Chase was a photography social media pioneer, and the book was part of a multifaceted project that was centered around the launch of his Best Camera app in 2009. In his own words, the app: “beat Instagram to the market by a year, beat Instagram to 1,000,000 downloads,” and if Instagram’s sale to Facebook in 2012 is anything to go by, he had arguably settled upon a billion-dollar idea.

He explains why Best Camera failed to reach its potential on his blog, but I still think of Chase as a bit of a visionary. After all, he was one of, quite possibly, the first professional photographer to really capitalize on the iPhone’s magnetism as the camera that never leaves your side.

A revolutionary smartphone, and a camera that was technically lacking… 

When Steve Jobs delivered his iconic keynote speech that introduced the world to the iPhone, he initially told the audience at Macworld 2007 that Apple was launching a trio of products: “an iPod – a phone – and an internet communicator.” The twist, of course, was that the iPhone was all three rolled into one. So why didn’t Steve add a fourth product? After all, the original iPhone launched with a 2-MP camera and in the years that followed, incremental camera updates from Apple and other smartphone brands in general brought the compact-camera market to its knees. 

Well, the camera on the original iPhone wasn’t anything special, it couldn’t even autofocus. In fact, the slightly older Nokia N95’s camera beat the iPhone’s outright, with its 5-MP sensor, built-in flash, and ability to record video. It wasn’t the only smartphone around at the time with better-specced cameras, such as the LG Viewty, Samsung Ultra Smart F700, and, well, you get the picture. You could argue that Apple didn’t release a competitive camera phone until it launched the iPhone 4 in 2010.

And yet, early iPhones were still adopted by burgeoning smartphone photographers like Chase Jarvis. The secret, then, wasn’t the camera but the phone itself. It debuted Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch functionality, which made everything – including the camera – a joy to use; its 3.5-inch TFT screen was bigger and better looking than its competitors, so captured images not only looked great but framing them in live view was fantastic, too. Then you had the iPhone’s advanced Internet capabilities and iOS 1, which made sharing photos a cinch and opened the door to various photo-centric apps, like Best Camera.

Why my iPhone camera has made me a better photographer

Today, the best iPhones boast market-leading camera tech, but for me – just like in 2007 – it’s the iPhone camera that makes the iPhone. And that’s precisely why it has made me a better photographer. I used to be faced with an agonizing choice, every time I left the house: Do I take the camera with me or not? Now, it isn’t even a question. Just like Chase identified all those years ago, it’s the camera that’s always with me. 

It’s my web browser, train ticket, debit card, gym membership, GPS and television. And because of this, it’s made me take more photos than ever before. I’d go as far as saying it’s rekindled my passion for photography as a hobby. Heck, it even encourages me to pick up my Nikon camera more, because I use my iPhone to scout potential locations and try out concepts, only to return with my Nikon and a bag full of lenses at a later date. 

The simplicity of the iPhone camera is hugely appealing, too. I spend an awful lot of time editing images on my Macbook Pro, but my iPhone allows me to shoot an image and edit it in seconds. I don’t have to carry around lenses and accessories unless I want to. It’s just me and my iPhone, and if that’s not good enough, I either don’t take the shot or I use my creativity to make it work. It’s liberating, and it’s great practice. 

I’m spending less time faffing and more time shooting, and I’ve noticed a difference in the way I work. My iPhone has improved my compositions, as I’m forced to work with the few lenses I’ve got. It’s allowed me to shoot more genres, such as street photography, on my lunch break. And it’s allowed me to be less critical of my work. If it doesn’t work out, it’s no big deal, hardly any time has been lost and I can move on. It’s also encouraged me to shoot and edit more videos, something I used to shy away from.

I even rely on my iPhone indirectly during professional shoots, thanks to the App Store’s wealth of photography-centric apps. helps me plan shoots, helps me calculate exposures when I’m using filters, and allows me to keep tabs on the weather during landscape shoots. This alone has revolutionized my workflow and allowed me to focus more on what matters: photography.

I’m as excited as the next person when Apple debuts its new range of iPhones and their iPhone camera advancements. But that’s not the whole story. My iPhone allows me to be a photographer 24/7. And when I’m not working with my Nikon, it’s the best camera for the job.