In this Art Talk, photographer and avid traveler, Cindy Morey, of Manchester, CA shares her many photographs of wild animals from the heart of Africa. Some photographs are astonishingly up close and intimate. During her first visit, she had planned to photograph the Gorillas in Uganda. However, due to tribal warfare on the border of Rwanda, she had to settle for climbing the 19,341-foot peak of Mount Kilimanjaro! Subsequent trips to Kenya, Tanzania, Cape Town/South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt and Morocco exposed her to more wonders of the world, including our companion wildlife.

She volunteered for organizations that were working with the local tribes to save animals from poachers and in-breeding. One of these organizations was researching and moving cheetahs from various parts of Africa to strengthen the gene pool. Cindy got to pet a female cheetah and play with three 4-month-old cheetah cubs. These and other amazing photographs are shown below.

Cindy is also a scuba diver and helped create a flyer to protect the coral reefs from tourists. Additionally, she photographed the illegal trade of fishing for aquariums. Another organization Cindy volunteered for was protecting the rain forest and educating people on its impacts on the environment and wildlife.

She also did a shark dive in South Africa with a research company studying their movements and travel habits. Africa is a very spiritual place for Cindy. Being around all animals has been one of the highlights of her life.

Additionally, Cindy loves to take photographs of landscapes, intimate details of flowers, abstracts, and more.