How a Trip to Kenya Inspired Beyond the Viewfinder

My name is Sheri Williams and Welcome to Beyond the Viewfinder.

The Kenya Trip That Changed Everything

How did this blog come about? It all started with a trip to Kenya, Africa in February of 2021. My husband, Dave, was a banker and weekend photographer, when a fellow photographer invited us to join him and his daughter on a trip to Africa. We spent several days trying to decide whether we should go. Finally, we said yes. That decision changed our lives.

Dave came home, finished a few banking projects and quickly retired from banking so he could pursue African wildlife photography full time.

I had been a full-time teacher before leaving teaching to stay home and raise our children. I was in my early 50s when we made that first trip to Kenya.

Learning to Travel as Wildlife Photographers

I never expected that one trip would turn into several trips and counting. On our first trip we brought too many clothes and personal items in a hard shell suitcase- and not nearly enough camera equipment. We quickly learned that photography trips require a different kind of packing. Two camera bodies and multiple big lenses are recommended as well as soft duffel bags. On Kenya’s small safari planes there is often a 33 pound luggage limit. These small planes only carry 10-15 passengers and land on dirt runways so space is limited both inside and under the plane. 

As Dave’s camera collection grew, our packing strategy changed. We brought fewer clothes, did laundry there, and brought more camera equipment. Eventually we were taking two camera bags weighing about 50 pounds combined. At first, I was simply the wife who had been invited along. Now I help distribute the weight and carry half of the camera equipment. 

Dave still jokes that I became his sherpa. 

And somewhere along the line I became fascinated by what was happening beyond his camera.

Discovering Stories Beyond the Photograph

One of our first stops In Kenya was Amboseli National Park. This is where I discovered I was fascinated by elephants- especially the babies- and the mischievous behavior of baboons. I began noticing  things that weren’t captured in a single photograph: The personalities of the animals, their movements and mannerisms, and the unexpected things that happened around us. That’s when I realized there was more to these experiences than what could be captured in a still image. There was a story.

Since that first trip, I have traveled through 8 African countries and returned to Africa several times.  Each trip has something new to see. Sometimes it’s a newly orphaned baby hippo that is encouraged by rangers to join a new family so that it has a better chance of survival. Sometimes it’s a mother elephant giving birth and being immediately surrounded by other females protecting her and her newborn. And sometimes it’s getting stranded on a flooded road in the Serengeti with hundreds of other vehicles wondering how- and when- we’re going to get across. 

There is always a story.

Photography captures a moment. Video lets me capture the moments as they unfold; writing lets me take you beyond the viewfinder and into the experience—to feel the wonder, emotion, and awe of actually being there.

That’s what Beyond the Viewfinder is all about.

It’s about the moments that happen before, after, and beyond the photograph-the unexpected adventures, the animals, the people, the challenges, and the stories that don’t always fit inside a single frame. 

I invite you to join me on my journey.