"This is one of the most dramatic photographs I have ever taken, and I am the first to admit that luck plays a crucial part in the success of the image. This is the beauty of working with nature, moments constantly change and are full of surprises.

There are so many elements to the photograph that it allows us to engage with the scene for considerable time. The fighting zebras are clearly the main focus with the billowing dust as they rear up in battle. But the locusts were the biggest surprise for me; I had no idea they were there until viewing the file on my computer and they play an important role in the composition. They fill a void preventing a looseness to the scene while leading our eye around the photograph, from left to right and then back to the main subjects.

The zebras are not fighting for females, they are fighting because times are tough, with almost no food and limited water. And so, the locusts have another role in that they help communicate the story of how tough a drought is for the wildlife; as they fly away from the scene, it suggests that there is nothing left in this barren landscape. The dramatic skies also aid in telling the narrative but most importantly, they create the perfect stage for an epic fight.

There is something so thrilling about not knowing whether or not you got the shot you hoped for, and this was an occasion where everything came together. Every time I look at this image, it motivates me to continue my attempts to capture photographs that cannot be re taken."

Drought, Tsavo, Kenya.
20% of sales goes to support Tsavo Trust
Available sizes
14"x37.66" Edition of 15
24"x64.56" Edition of 15
34"x91.47" Edition of 15
34"x91.47" Edition of 3

"Wildlife fine art photographer and conservationist, James Lewin, is entirely self-taught and first became interested in photography whilst in Kenya. He chooses to take black and white photographs using a wide-angled lens and shoots from a low level set against a dramatic background. This approach accentuates the magnitude of his subjects, most usually African wildlife.

James has held his own fundraising events whilst also donating prints to charity auctions. In 2018, at the National History Museum in London, his photograph ‘The Big Friendly Giant’ raised just over £4,000 at auction in aid of The Whitley Fund for Nature.

Several of James’s photographs have been shortlisted for the final round of judging in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year and in 2019, his photograph ‘The Baron of Borana’ received an Honourable Mention in The Monochrome Awards. He has won a number of other awards (Outdoor Photographer of the Year, BBC Wildlife and The Neutral Density Awards).

Alongside his love of photography, James is an ardent conservationist and donates a proportion of his profits to conservation charities to ensure the protection of the animals he photographs. The big tusker elephants are particularly close to his heart.

James's photographs are offered as archival pigment prints (the most commonly used among professional photographers), silver gelatin (the gold standard in black and white printing which surpasses archival pigment prints in longevity, quality and detail) and platinum palladium (these prints are made in a darkroom with photo chemistry and have the very best archival rating of any print - the image is embedded into the fibres of the paper, as opposed to an archival pigment print where the inks are sprayed onto the surface)."