Masai Mara, Kenya

Leopard

01 / 02 · A materialised blur, at last

OM-1 Mark II · OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3

300 mmƒ5.91/1250ISO 500

The story

Two years before these shots were taken, we were given the opportunity to pass through the then officially closed Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Kenya, as part of some assistance to the locals. The reserve is known, among other things, for leopard sightings. The condition for passing through a closed area was to behave like anything but a safari jeep — roof closed, no exceptions.

We're moving at a decent pace through the savanna when one of us lets out a thunderous "STOOOOP!!!" A sharp brake follows. The tone of that single word makes it clear something important is happening, even though nobody except the author yet knows what. "There's something lying in that tree, looks like some kind of cat…" says Petr, pointing toward a cluster of bushes and a tree a few dozen metres ahead. It immediately dawns on everyone that the opportunity we'd all been hoping for might just be here — spotting a leopard in its natural habitat — something none of us had ever managed before.

Rules, schmules… our guide Masha gives us the green light to open the roof. Out come the binoculars, cameras, lenses — eyes up, ready to focus — and at that very moment we catch a spotted blur darting down from the tree to the ground. In the tall savanna grass, we can see absolutely nothing. What we do get, however, is a few seconds of a very loud rodeo. After it goes quiet, we wait one more minute before getting the word that we really do need to move on. With a strange sense of unease — we had seen it, yet hadn't really seen it — we drive away. Whether that spotted blur had antelope, baboon, or perhaps a hare for lunch that day, we will never know.

This is exactly the story from two years prior that was running through my head when, on the Masai Mara, I had the chance to watch my first "real" leopard for long, unhurried minutes. What isn't in the photo officially didn't happen, right… But I still think back to that first blurry encounter — it left a mark that hasn't faded.

Masai Mara, Kenya · February 11, 2026