Thursday, November 28th 2018

7:00 PM to 10:30 PM

110 Winston Street

Los Angeles, California 90013

Deep in the Botswana Wilderness…

A pallet of water crashes outside my tent, the noise jolting my body out of a deep slumber. I bat my eyes, making out the faint glow of a headlight scattering in every direction, just feet from my cot.

“Good morning, Mike! Twenty minutes!”

I rolled over to check my watch. 4:58 AM. After an exaggerated stretch and groan combination, I tossed on my fleece, washed up, tied my hikers and zipped up my camera bag. Within minutes I beelined out of the tent.

Our crew huddled around the campfire and shared a word or two between yawns. Only minutes later we piled into the 4x4 and sped into the dim, blue lit jungle; it was our sunrise game drive on safari.

For months, this was my everday in the Botswana wilderness; sun-based schedules, bush drives without borders, mobile phones without bars and most importantly, chance encounters with the jungle’s real locals; the animals.

In January 2017, I set off on a three-month long journey shooting on assisgnment for a local safari company. It was a rare opportunity and one that didn’t take much thought for an outdoor, adrenlaine junkie like myself to jump on a flight to. Upon returning to Los Angeles, I had developed a new, rich appreciation for our planet and specifically its magificient wildlife.

Returning right back into what I had put on hold for this expeidition, my images were archived for the past year. Recently I’ve been able to revisit what I captured, which will now be featured in my first photo exhibition ‘WILD.’ The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the little I’ve shared with others propelled me to produce my first showing. Additionally, conservation efforts are needed now more than ever with wildlife threatened from poaching to habitat destruction, and awareness is key for action.

‘WILD’ is a photo exhibition, which gives viewers a glimpse into the natural African habitat for those who may not have the means to experience it firsthand. From a Kalahari sunrise spent with a pride of lions to a drive alongside a 80+ heard of elephants in the Okavango Delta, my mission is to share these moments with my photography in hopes to inspire a like appreciation for wildlife that need our help. In fact, 100% of tickets proceeds for the event will be donated to TUSK, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of African wildlife.