Elephants are one of our favourite subjects to photograph – for obvious reasons – and the Chobe river in northern Botswana is one of the best places in Africa to photograph them. Although elephants are under immense pressure in many parts of Africa they’re thriving in the Chobe National Park so we were really excited about seeing and photographing lots of them when we visited recently.

African elephants drinking, Chobe National Park, Botswana

What we hadn’t prepared ourselves for was the sheer number we’d see on a short visit, nor just how close we’d get when approaching them on the water. We’ve been photographing elephants in Africa as professional wildlife photographers for some 20 years now, in some of the continent’s top game reserves from Etosha to the Mara, but this was something else. In the dry season hundreds of elephants gather on the Chobe river banks to feed and drink each day and it’s wonderful, and extremely liberating, to be able to photograph them head on at close quarters from an open photo boat, behaving naturally and going about their daily routines.

But that’s not all that makes the Chobe a premier destination for ‘ellie’ photography. The elephants on the Chobe often like to go swimming and will cross the river daily at times to reach the fresh pastures and juicier vegetation on the the far bank. Simply to be in the water with them during these crossings – whether it’s big males or mums and babies – is both a thrill and a privilege.

African elephant, Chobe National Park

Free from the confines of a conventional game-viewing vehicle and experiencing the same watery element your subjects are is immensely liberating as a photographer. It’s heart-warming to see even little baby elephants crossing; keeping close to mum, their tiny trunks waving above the surface like toy snorkels. Being able to stay out and get great photographs of all this excellent elephant behaviour right until the sun slips below the horizon is just the cherry on the cake.