Todd Rafalovich Photography

Located 350 miles Southwest of Cairo and hugging the Libyan border, Siwa is almost entirely banned from any tourist visitation. Simply getting there consists of hours of navigating through desert roads and being escorted from each oasis with the assistance of the Egyptian military. But after enduring the hostilities of the dry and scorching Sahara lies the refreshing and fertile Siwa Oasis, home to agricultural luxuriance that supports the lives of 20,000 villagers and a refuge to a lifeless desert the size of the United States. Each of the villagers live in homes consisting of mud and brick, with the majority of them working to tend to and later export the seemingly endless amount of date and olive trees that supply the vast majority of the villagers’ incomes.

Mama bear and cubs in Lake Clark National Park. We were so fortunate to have this coastal brown grizzly bear sow with spring cubs come over from a few hundred meters to investigate us. We were quite nervous when she started walking over, but stayed put and our pilot & wilderness guide was able to talk her around us. The guides use interesting language tones to communicate with them and the bears will actually speak back with their own language. For example a bear that t...urns its back on you and sits down is saying I’m not here for any trouble.. I cede to you as being alpha. It’s quite a sight to see. Our biggest scare was when the second cub started to come over and investigate us... Spring cubs are newborn spring of that year. Cubs stay with their moms for around 2 years, until they are kicked out to fend on their own. In this particular area of Alaska, these grizzlies / coastal browns are used to humans and are very safe to photograph when you have a wilderness and bear guide with flares. Bear spray can actually be much more dangerous! Put your volume on for the full experience! Stay tuned in for news of our 2021 Alaska Photography Expeditions if you’re into bears! Also please follow us on Instagram ! It would make our day! @toddrafalovichphoto

Independence Mine near Hatcher Pass, Alaska.

Braided tidal flats in Cook Inlet, Alaska. In order to get anywhere in Alaska, you have to fly! Among these tidal flats you can see the coastal brown bears. Look carefully!

Coastal Brown Bear. One of my favorite animals to photograph and watch.

Mongolian eagle hunter on horseback. This particular eagle hunter was quite the showman. We photographed him outside his family ger in Western Mongolia, near the border of Siberia. He was the award winner from last year’s eagle hunter festival.

Male lion resting in grass in the Okavango Delta. @wearewildernessphoto @wearewilderness

Dead trees in dead vlei, Sossusvlei, Namibia. The clay pan was formed after rainfall, when the Tsauchab river flooded, creating temporary shallow pools where the abundance of water allowed camel thorn trees to grow. When the climate changed, drought hit the area, and sand dunes encroached on the pan, which blocked the river from the area. The trees died, as there no longer was enough water to survive. The remaining skeletons of the trees, which are believed to have died 600700 years ago, are now black because the intense sun has scorched them

Male chimpanzee showing teeth in Uganda while we were wild chimpanzee tracking. This male chimpanzee had been bearing his teeth at my wife for quite sometime. After a while we realized he was mimicking her- she had been staring at him with her mouth open in shock of being so close to him and he was trying to imitate the same face back to her!! .

Wild Chimpanzee in Uganda. We trekked for a couple of hours to meet the family. Chimpanzees have a strict hierarchy - there is constantly a play where your rank is. Chimpanzees are also known to murder members of their family, solely for shifting their own hierarchy. Chimpanzees share over 98% of our own DNA- our closest relatives. The guide that was guiding us that day had a busted lip- a chimpanzee had punched him out of nowhere the previous day. . . . . .... . . . . . #wildlifeonearth #wildlifephotography #wilderness #primate #primatesofinstagram #kyaningalodge #wanderlust #adventuretravel #chimpanzee #chimpanzeesofinstagram #chimptrekking #chimpanzeetrekking #travelgram #exploreuganda #ugandatravel #wildlifephotography #wildlifeconservation #primateconservation #wildlifeonearth #wildlifephotographer #wildlifephotographers #offthebeatenpath See more

When we were gorilla tracking in Uganda, this guy was on our trek and decided to take a selfie with the gorilla. This gorilla was SO interested in his own picture in the phone. He stayed and watched for almost a minute! . . . .... . . . #uganda #ugandatravel #gorillatrekkinguganda #exploreuganda #travelphotography #wanderlust #professionalphotographer #cloudsmountaingorillalodge #wildlifephotography #wilderness #selfie #primate #gorillatrekking #mountaingorilla #mountaingorillasofuganda See more

Male silverback highland gorilla, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. . . . . .... . . . #volcanoesnationalpark #gorilla #gorillatrekking #gorillatrek #gorillatrekkingrwanda #susafamily #mountaingorilla #rwandatravel #explorerwanda #visitrwanda #wildlife_photography #wildlifeonearth #professionalphotographer #wildlife #wanderlust #travelphotography #adventuretravel #wildlifetravel #offthebeatenpath #exploretheworld #primates #primatetrekking #primatetravel #rwanda #volcanoesnationalparkrwanda See more

Wild highland mountain gorilla, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. There are only 500 remaining highland mountain gorillas surviving in the wild. Unlike their lowland counterparts, they are unable to survive in captivity. This particular gorilla was part of a family at the edge of the forest. We hiked 6 strenuous hours to have a chance to spend one hour with the wild gorilla family. . . . .... . #travelphotography #gorilla #mountaingorilla #mountaingorillasofuganda #traveltheworld #adventuretravel #gorillatrekking #gorillatrekkinguganda #gorillatrek @officialfstoppers #wildlifephotography #wildlifeofinstagram #wilderness #wildlife #wildphotography #wildanimals #primates See more

Camels at the Great pyramids. Join us on one of our Photography Expeditions! Giza, Egypt. #. . .... . . . . . wanderlust #professionalphotographer #egypt #camel #pyramids #giza #pyramidsofgiza #egypttravel #travelegypt #traveltheworld #travelgram #photographyexpeditions #travelphotography See more