I recently travelled to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda in search of one of our closest living relatives, the mountain gorilla. Bwindi is one of the most biologically diverse habitats on the planet, boasting an astonishing 120 mammal species, 348 bird species, 220 butterfly species, 27 frog species, and of course, the endangered mountain gorilla. With just over 1000 individuals left in the wild, Bwindi is one of the last remaining strongholds for the mountain gorilla and is home to half of the world's total population.
Derived from the Runyakitara word Mubwini, 'Bwindi' means "a place full of darkness", and the forest certainly lived up to its name. The trees overhead were so closely entangled that the canopy blocked out much of the sunlight. It quickly began apparent that this wasn't going to be an easy hike; mountain gorillas live in high altitudes and Bwindi itself sits between 1,160 – 2,607 metres. To gain the reward of seeing my first mountain gorilla, I was going to have to put the hard work in.
Tough terrain
For the next two hours our guide hacked a pathway through bushes and dense understory. The ground beneath my feet constantly shifted from soft moss to treacherous mud. It wasn't unusual for the trail we were following to go straight up or straight down extremely steep inclines. It was the instances where I was clambering over tree roots, ducking under vines, and practically crawling up the steep slopes that I was incredibly grateful for the lightweight, compact design of Bucky (my tripod). It was easy to manoeuvre through this natural forest obstacle course.
Photo by Roxy Furman: Lara, Bucky, and the AirHed Cine beginning their trek through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
As we drew closer, the guide asked us to stop and put our face masks on. We share 98.4% of our DNA with mountain gorillas, meaning they're vulnerable to the same diseases that we suffer from and it's important to protect the troops from any pathogens we may have bought into the forest with us. We were instructed to leave our camera backpacks 100 metres away, so I quickly and quietly set my camera gear up, slid Bucky out of the side of my bag and crept forward.
Laying eyes on my first mountain gorilla
Following the hushed footsteps of the guide, I held my breath as the rustling of leaves intensified and the pitch of breaking branches increased. Then, amidst the foliage, I saw them. Deep black fur, a vivid pair of amber eyes gazing at mine, a hand so similar to our own resting underneath her chin: my first ever mountain gorilla.
Observing these incredible apes was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Their mannerisms are identical to ours, the subtle idiosyncrasies of body language and eye contact used to communicate much in the same way that we do. I felt a profound connection to them, almost as if I instinctively understood the deep echoes of our distant, shared ancestry.
Photo by Lara Jackson: A stunning female in the Busingye Group gazing into a shaft of light filtering through the dense canopy.
Using the Nikon Z 9 and NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8, I spent my hour with the gorillas doing a mixture of handheld photography so I could react to their movements, and filming using Bucky with the AirHed Cine. This enabled me to capture some beautiful stable footage of their intricate behaviours. We witnessed a two-month-old baby clinging onto its mother, a young juvenile male practising his chest-beating, a female making a nest for herself to rest in, and tiny babies playing on the back of a huge sleeping silverback. At all times, I followed the guidance of the trackers and guides we were with, to ensure that my presence was not influencing the natural behaviours of the gorillas.
Photo by Roxy Furman: Lara's filming set-up to capture the behaviours of the
mountain gorillas.
Photo by Lara Jackson: A baby clinging to the back of its mother as she scales a vine, 20 metres off the forest floor.
Composition & Photography tips:
Due to the dense canopy cover, having a lens with high aperture was essential to be able to shoot in low light. The NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8 was the only lens I used during my two encounters with the gorilla troops in Bwindi. With wildlife photography, it's essential that you can react quickly to any sudden movements or changes in behaviour. Having the flexibility to adjust my focal length was vitally important. From 70mm for the closer encounters, through to 200mm allowing me to capture a silverback who was sitting far away from me. It's so crucial to be able to adapt.
To complicate things further, the gorillas were often in deep shadows whilst the foliage in front of them was in bright shafts of direct sunlight. To combat any overexposure on the foliage, I purposefully underexposed my images and adjusted them in post-processing afterwards. The forest loved playing tricks on me, with plenty of leaves or often obscuring the face of my subjects. In these instances, I'd try to be creative and use the foliage to frame the gorilla, or I'd play around with very tight crops.
Photos by Lara Jackson: The silverback male of the Mishaya group glancing up for one brief second.
Photos by Lara Jackson: The youngest baby of the silverback male clinging to the back of its mother.
Photography with Purpose
As a conservation biologist and wildlife photographer, I always strive to capture images that will speak to the viewer and encourage them to understand more about the incredible wildlife we share Earth with. Over the last few decades, mountain gorillas have experienced a multitude of threats. Civil unrest in the areas surrounding the gorillas' home has led to habitat encroachment as people fled to the safety of the forest. Even protected areas did not remain unscathed; in 2004, illegal settlers cleared 3,700 acres of forest in Virunga National Park in the DRC, another stronghold for mountain gorillas. Furthermore, gorillas are often indiscriminatingly caught in snares that are set to capture antelope species and duikers for the bushmeat trade.
Despite these ongoing issues, thanks to the intensive conservation efforts of numerous partners and NGOs, the tide is beginning to turn. In recent years, mountain gorilla numbers have increased, and we'll soon have an updated population estimate when the next gorilla census is completed this year. The rangers told me that in Bwindi alone, many babies have been born and raised since the last census took place in 2018, so the future for this subspecies is incredibly bright.
Photo by Lara Jackson: A huge silverback gazes in my direction as he thoughtfully touches his face.
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