Back in 2006, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to go on safari in East Africa with my family. None of us had any idea what a beautiful and magical journey lay ahead for us. It would be a voyage that would forever change us all.

I recently came across an old disc filled with about 500 photos on it that I shot along the way. The safari company highly advised against shooting digital, since venues to charge electronics wouldn’t be readily available… so using a 35mm Nikon S90s, and a 300mm 1:4 f4, I did my best to capture Africa as we saw it.

I remember getting the photos back shortly after our return to the U.S. in ’06 and being amazed at what I brought back. Nearly 4 years have passed, and although this amazing trip resonates with me daily… I had honestly forgot about these photos. This time, upon viewing the photos… I wasn’t just impressed – I nearly fell out of my office chair… dumbfounded with the very same photographs.

As I browsed the trove of stunning images, a warm feeling crept up my spine… and I had what might be one of the most significant epiphanies as an artist to date. An epiphany so monumental that I might not ever have another one like it.

Over the past 10 years, I have been very focused on my love for video (both shooting and editing). In this focus, not only did I lose sight of my love for photography… but it also managed to slip my mind that I was even any good at it. How is that even possible?!?

So with this warm feeling running through my body… I felt an overwhelming validation, as a photographer, and more importantly – AS AN ARTIST. I am convinced that part of being an artist is to encompass a sense of self-doubt… that what you are creating is no good – and can always be better. While the latter is definitely true, these photos made me rethink (and dismiss) that doubt… replacing it with a sense of confidence.

This photoset has totally re-vitalized my passion for photography. A passion that has been lying dormant for FAR too long. Yet one more way that this amazing trip to East Africa has changed my life. To think that the magic we encountered there is still having dramatic effects on my life four years later is astounding. It is another testament to how amazing Africa really is.

I put the rest of the photographs up on Flickr. I figured since these images had been locked away in a closet for so long… their time was overdue to be shared.

They mean to me and my family something more than words can truly convey. I hope you enjoy them.