"Photography has the unique ability to transcend language and help us understand our deep connections to one another and all of life on this planet. It is the ultimate tool for creating empathy, awareness, and making sense of the world we share.” - Ami Vitale, National Geographic photographer.

Driven by the belief that photography can motivate, mobilize, and inspire, Maliasili co-hosted a visual storytelling workshop with National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. 

The gathering at Ol Pejeta brought together 20 conservationists from across Kenya - including many Maliasili partners - for lessons on the fundamentals of photography, taking good photos/videos with mobile devices, telling compelling stories, and creating content that appeals to various audiences, and more. Teaching alongside Ami was fellow National Geographic photographer Maggie Steber, Maliasili's Wanjiku Kinuthia, and Kenyan conservationist James Mwenda. 

“WHO gets to take the photos and tell the stories MATTERS,” explains Ami. “Which images are included and what's emphasized and ignored depend on the narrators themselves. This workshop is one of many that we hope will unite and amplify another generation of powerful storytellers who inspire all of us to care about people and wildlife."

The week-long training has already inspired the delegates to tell more compelling conservation stories. 

Randall Mabwa, Regional Communications Officer for one of our partners, Blue Ventures, says:

"The conservation storytelling workshop unlocked a new level of creativity I didn't realize I had. We can tell stories much better just by using our phones. I'm keen on using my new skills to better tell the marine conservation story and get people to understand the ocean and the communities that live next to it." 

Randall in the field using his new phone’s camera. After a lesson on portraiture, he took this compelling photo of a ranger protecting the last two northern white rhinos left on the planet.

Jacque Macharia from SORALO, another Maliasili partner, says that the workshop has equipped her with a new set of skills and provided a platform for peer-to-peer learning. 

"I came to this workshop with a sense of being overwhelmed on navigating the communications component that's part of my new role as the Programme Coordinator at SORALO,” she says. 

So far, I feel confident because I've learned that storytelling through photography is about patience, planning, and then execution. It's about thinking first about the story you want to tell and then taking photos and videos that speak to the story. The workshop helped to take the pressure off! I am also incredibly grateful for this new community of communication specialists."

From blurry giraffe photos to taking stunning landscapes and portraits, Jacque’s photography has greatly improved since the workshop.

Supporting our partners to tell their stories better remains one of Maliasili’s key goals, and we hope the lessons from this workshop will help amplify our partners' visual narratives.