Elyria shutterbug David Paul has been a professional photographer for 19 years, and has shot over 400 weddings.
Paul also is the official photographer for the Lorain County Bar Association and recently took photos of every war memorial in Lorain County.
The most notable work Paul does however, might be photographing animals and landscapes in Kenya.
Paul’s love for animals drives him to do these trips to the African country each year.
“I’m a pretty serious animal lover,” he said. “I’ve always admired National Geographic photographers that go out into the wild and get these iconic shots of animals and landscapes in Africa, that make you go, ‘wow, that is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.'”
Paul got started with these trips in January 2018 when he closed his Elyria-based business, David Paul Photography, for four and a half months to live in Nairobi, Kenya.
Paul said baby elephants are one of his favorite kinds of animals to watch and photograph.
“They are incredibly playful and cute,” he said. “In Nairobi, there’s an elephant orphanage for elephants under 3 years old that have lost their parents and we get to do a private tour of that.
“Last time, we got to hang out with 27 baby elephants. It’s pretty amazing.”
Baby elephants are not the only animals Paul is particularly fascinated by.
“The other animal I can’t get enough of watching are lions, lionesses and lion cubs,” he said. “They are exceptionally interesting to watch.”
Paul has taken an interest in watching the complexity of how lionesses communicate with each other while hunting.
He said he also enjoys watching the protective behavior shown by the male lions and the cubs play with each other and practice their hunting skills.
“There’s a very strong social hierarchy that’s incredible to view as a spectator,” Paul said.
While the initial destination is Nairobi, Paul said his group charters a private plane to visit a couple of prime wildlife destinations.
One of those spots is Amboseli National Park in the southern part of Kenya.
“It’s in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro,” Paul said. “It’s a more dry, desert-type park with lots and lots of elephants.
“It’s very magical and beautiful.”
Paul said his group also goes to Maasai Mara National Reserve in the southwest area of the country, which is where the Great Migration happens.
Maasai Mara often is known as the best safari destination in the world, he said.
Paul last visited Kenya in April of this year.
He said there are only a few challenging parts about this kind of travel.
“The biggest challenge is jet lag and sleep deprivation because it’s a very long flight,” Paul said. “From New York to Nairobi, it’s about a 13 hour and 45-minute flight.
“We make sure the initial accommodations we go to are luxurious so we can get some good sleep and have a good breakfast. I’ve been on six of these trips now, so I’ve got it down for making sure people’s needs are met.”
After arriving to Kenya, Paul said there aren’t too many challenges.
He credited his guide Geoff Mayes, who owns a safari camp called Amazing Africa, for making the experience go smoothly.
Paul is only a few months out from his next trip to Kenya in March.
He also said he has another one planned in June 2024 and that a 2025 trip already in the works as well.
