Remembering Giraffes - Remembering Wildlife: Mark A. Fernley’s Photography Joins a Global Conservation Story

6 min read

Remembering Giraffes - Remembering Wildlife

Three Masai giraffe bulls stand together at a waterhole in southern Kenya, their long necks gently intertwined. Captured by Untamed Photo Safaris photo host Mark A. Fernley, The Language of Touch reveals a quiet social interaction between animals more often photographed towering above the plains. This photograph was selected as one of 20 competition-winning images for Remembering Giraffes, joining a collection of wildlife photography created to raise awareness and funds for conservation.

For us at Untamed Photo Safaris, seeing this moment featured in Remembering Giraffes - Remembering Wildlife carries particular significance. The photograph was taken at Shompole Plains Hide, a location closely connected to our photographic work in Kenya. Its journey from a waterhole in Shompole Conservancy to the pages of an international conservation book shows how an encounter in the wild can reach an audience far beyond the place where it happened.

Remembering Giraffes - Mark A Fernley
Remembering Giraffes - Remembering Wildlife

Remembering Giraffes: The Story Behind Mark’s Selected Image

Wildlife photography often demands patience, but some of its most memorable moments are brief. In The Language of Touch, Mark photographed three Masai giraffe bulls gently entwining their necks in an interaction lasting approximately 20 seconds. His account describes an exchange without the force or dominance posturing associated with sparring, drawing attention to a quieter aspect of giraffe social behaviour.

The photograph invites the viewer to pause. The intertwined necks create a striking composition, while the interaction itself encourages a closer look at animals that can feel so familiar on an African safari.

That familiarity is part of what makes Remembering Giraffes an important publication. Giraffes are instantly recognisable, yet recognition alone does not ensure that people understand the challenges facing them. A photograph can open that conversation by offering something unexpected: a behaviour, a relationship or a moment that makes the viewer look again.

For Mark, having this image selected offers an opportunity to share an encounter from Shompole with readers around the world. Within the book, it becomes part of a broader photographic portrait of giraffes, bringing together different landscapes, perspectives and experiences.

Three Giraffes - Remembering Giraffes - Mark A Fernley

Celebrating the Book’s Launch in London

Mark and Jaren Fernley attended the Remembering Giraffes launch at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 14 October 2026, celebrating the publication alongside fellow photographers and members of the conservation community.

The evening’s programme brought together Remembering Wildlife founder Margot Raggett MBE, Stephanie Fennessy, co-founder and executive director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, and contributing wildlife photographer Marcus Westberg. Presentations explored giraffe conservation and photographic storytelling, while a slideshow showcased images from the book.

Mark also took part in the book signing, joining other contributing photographers as readers collected signatures in their copies of Remembering Giraffes.

For our team, the occasion was a chance to celebrate both the photograph and the collective effort behind the publication. A book of this kind depends on many people contributing their time, expertise and creative work. Bringing those people together gives a face to the project and connects the finished publication with the individuals working to make it possible.

It was also an opportunity to hear more about the conservation work that gives the book its purpose. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation contributed the foreword to Remembering Giraffes, strengthening the connection between the images readers enjoy and the expertise needed to protect giraffes across their range.

Mark A Fernley - Remembering Giraffes
Remembering Giraffes Book - Royal Geographical Society
Remembering Giraffes - Royal Geographical Society
Remembering Giraffes Book Signing - Royal Geographical Society
Mark A Fernley, Remembering Giraffes - Royal Geographical Society
Mark A Fernley, Remembering Giraffes - Royal Geographical Society, London

Why Remembering Giraffes Matters

Remembering Giraffes is the eleventh book in the Remembering Wildlife fundraising series. Its photographs celebrate giraffes while helping draw attention to the pressures affecting their future, with profits supporting conservation projects.

Photography has a valuable role in making that purpose accessible. A reader may first open the book because of a striking cover or a love of wildlife imagery. As they spend time with the photographs and accompanying text, that initial interest can develop into a greater understanding of the animals and their conservation.

Mark’s image contributes a particular perspective to that story. It encourages readers to notice the subtle interactions that are easy to miss, even with such conspicuous animals. For those of us who spend time observing and photographing wildlife, these quieter encounters are often among the most rewarding.

We are proud that The Language of Touch has found a place in a publication where appreciation for wildlife is connected with practical support for its protection.

Remembering Wildlife: How Photography Helps Fund Conservation

Behind Remembering Giraffes is a project that began with one photographer’s determination to respond to wildlife loss.

In 2014, British wildlife photographer Margot Raggett witnessed a poached elephant in northern Kenya. The experience prompted her to approach fellow photographers with an idea: donate images to a photographic book that could raise money for conservation.

The response led to Remembering Elephants, published in 2016, and established the foundation for the Remembering Wildlife series.

That beginning remains central to the project’s appeal. Wildlife photographers depend on the continued existence of their subjects and the landscapes those animals inhabit. Remembering Wildlife offers a way for their work to contribute to that future, bringing individual photographs together into publications with a shared purpose.

Remembering Giraffes - Remembering Wildlife
Maasai and Remembering Giraffes

A Collection Built Through Collaboration

Following Remembering Elephants, the series expanded to include books dedicated to rhinos, great apes, lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs, bears, leopards and tigers. The anniversary publication, 10 Years Remembering Wildlife, followed in 2025, before Remembering Giraffes joined the collection in 2026.

Across the series, photographers contribute different ways of seeing wildlife. Close portraits sit alongside environmental images and photographs of behaviour, giving readers opportunities to appreciate both individual animals and their place within a landscape.

That variety matters. A single image can capture someone’s attention, while a carefully assembled collection can sustain it. Moving through a book allows readers to notice differences, discover unfamiliar behaviours and develop an interest in species they may never have encountered themselves.

The physical format also gives these photographs a lasting presence. A book can be revisited, shared with friends or passed to someone discovering wildlife photography for the first time. Its images have time to be studied, and its conservation message has repeated opportunities to reach the reader.

How the Fundraising Model Works

Remembering Wildlife combines donated creative work with advance fundraising. Photographers, writers and designers contribute their work, while Kickstarter campaigns help cover production costs before the books are printed.

The initiative states that 100% of profits go to conservation projects supporting the featured wildlife. Margot Raggett selects the recipients, prioritising organisations working directly in wildlife protection.

For readers, this creates a straightforward way to participate. Purchasing a book brings wildlife photography into their home while contributing to a model designed to generate conservation funding.

The distinction between sales and profits is important: producing and distributing a book involves costs. Remembering Wildlife’s commitment concerns the profits generated, which are directed towards its conservation beneficiaries.

According to the initiative’s published figures, the series has donated more than £1.28 million to over 80 conservation projects across 36 countries, with more than 62,000 books sold worldwide.

Where the Conservation Support Goes

The project’s published funding records show the practical work supported through the series. This includes anti-poaching patrols, veterinary treatment, community ranger programmes and habitat protection.

These activities require consistent resources. Rangers need equipment and transport. Researchers need ways to monitor animals across large areas. Veterinary teams need supplies to respond when wildlife is injured, and organisations working with local communities need the capacity to maintain those relationships.

One example is support for Tiger Watch in India. Remembering Wildlife reports that grants have contributed to anti-poaching and community engagement, including motorbikes for Village Wildlife Volunteers and a computer lab for local students.

In Kenya, funding for The Pangolin Project has supported tracking equipment, veterinary supplies and a dedicated night ranger team to help monitor and protect giant ground pangolins. Other grants have supported the care and rehabilitation of pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.

These examples help readers understand what sits behind a fundraising total. The connection between a book and conservation becomes tangible when it can be traced to equipment, field teams and animal care.

Remembering Giraffes Book by Remembering Wildlife.

Why Wildlife Photography Has a Role to Play

A photograph can make someone curious enough to learn more. It can introduce an unfamiliar species, reveal a behaviour or encourage a viewer to reconsider an animal they thought they knew.

That ability carries responsibility. The way wildlife is photographed, described and presented influences how audiences understand it. Thoughtful photography can encourage appreciation while leaving room for the complexity of the animal’s life and the challenges surrounding its conservation.

Remembering Wildlife gives that visual connection a practical route forward. Photographers contribute their images, readers support the publications, and conservation organisations receive funding for work in the field.

The strength of the project comes from those contributions working together. Each photograph is one part of a much larger effort.

What This Means to Us at Untamed Photo Safaris

At Untamed Photo Safaris, observing wildlife carefully is central to the experiences we share with our guests. Understanding behaviour, anticipating an interaction and allowing animals the space to move naturally all contribute to meaningful photography.

They also encourage a deeper appreciation of what makes those opportunities possible. Every wildlife encounter depends on living landscapes, animal populations and the work of people helping protect them.

Mark’s inclusion in Remembering Giraffes connects our photographic work in Kenya with an initiative that shares that wider concern. His selected image began as a brief interaction at a Shompole waterhole. Through the book, it now reaches readers who can enjoy the photograph while supporting a collective conservation effort.