The Big Seven: Adventures in Search of Africa‘s Iconic Species by Gerald Hinde & Will Taylor

A new adventure

The Big Seven are the most exciting, charismatic and, in some cases, dangerous, of Africa’s big game species. This book covers the lives of these animals and the authors’ adventures in both words and photographs to bring the experience of tracking down the Big Seven to life. Filled with magnificent imagery and evocative text, The Big Seven is an exciting adventure from start to finish.

• 176 pages, 106 colour photos
• Hardcover, with French-folded jacket
• Size: 300 x 250 mm

More about the authors

Gerald Hinde (photography) and Will Taylor (text) have spent over thirty years recording African animals, people and landscapes in both moving and still imagery. Over this time, it became clear that they were particularly drawn to a specific group of the most intriguing, exciting, dangerous and rare animals they had photographed.

The classification of lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant as the Big Five has always had associations with a hunter’s world. However, they felt, as photographers, that there were, in fact, seven species of animal they were most interested in seeking out and recording on film. The addition of the increasingly rare cheetah, with its blinding speed and natural elegance, and the exciting, ruthless wild dog with its complex social society and relentless hunting style, has created The Big Seven.

Within these pages, they hope to have captured not only the lives of these animals but also the thrill of their adventures over years in the company of Africa’s most charismatic and fascinating animals. The text and photographs aim to take you on a journey, and make you feel as if you are present, rather than just to showcase images: to feel the dappled light of the riverine forest as a lithe, spotted cat slinks by your vehicle, or to feel the thunder of hooves and the smell of dust as a herd of buffalo take flight from a pride of hunting lions.

Shot over fifteen years throughout Africa’s big game areas, The Big Seven is a collection of these photographers’ best and most exciting work and an insight into some of the adventures and close calls they had while producing it.