The photographs in this Highlights gallery are drawn from moments that still feel vivid, even after so many years.
Not because they were the most dramatic, but because they carry the feeling of being there: the hush before sunrise on the plains, the weight of heat and dust in the afternoon air, the long amber light at dusk when the land seems to pause and catch its breath.
There are river crossings, predators, and elephants moving through baobab shadows, but what stays with us is something quieter: the immense scale of the Serengeti and the sense that life unfolds here on its own terms, and the realization that we were guests in a world that does not center on us.
This small collection is not meant to catalog what we saw. It is simply a handful of images that, for us, still hold the atmosphere, the light, and the feeling of that extraordinary place.
Enjoy.
Egyptian Geese (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Marabou Stork with Vultures (Photo by Jeff Drake)
White-backed Vulture Tree (Photo by Jeff Drake)
White-backed Vulture on Termite Mound (Photo by Lisa Drake)
White-backed Vulture Tree (Photo by Lisa Drake)
White-backed Vultures in Tree (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Maribou Stork & White-backed Vultures (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Maribou Stork & White-backed Vultures (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Masai Ostrich (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Masai Ostrich (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Masai Ostrich (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Marabou Storks (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Lilac-breasted Roller (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Grey Crowned Cranes (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Egyptian Goose (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Cape Buffaloes (Photo by Lisa Drake)
African Fish Eagle (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Helmeted Guineafowl (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Francolin (Photo by Jeff Drake)
White-headed Buffalo Weaver (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Little Bee-eater (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Kori Bustard Bird (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Kori Bustard Bird (Photo by Jeff Drake)
White-bellied Bustard Bird (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Ngorongoro Great White Pelican (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Ngorongoro Crater Flamingos (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Lilac-breasted Roller (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Grey Crowned Cranes (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Taveta Golden Weaver (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Ngorongoro Crater Ostrich (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Helmeted Guineafowl (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Ngorongoro Grey Crowned Cranes (Photo by Jeff Drake)