Welcome to the Sunday Dispatch. Here are our top finds for the week of Nov. 14.

Titled “The African Sunset," a lion gazes out at the sunset during a recent trip to the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Photo by Dustin Blaise. 

01. Photographer pick: Dustin Blaise

Dustin Blaise’s life changed three years ago when he decided to pursue a career in wildlife photography, and he hasn’t looked back once. His photos feature an impressive range of animals, from bears and bison in the mountains of Wyoming to all “Big Five” creatures in Africa.

Blaise’s love for wildlife runs deep in his veins. While primarily a photographer Blaise is also a cameraman and video editor for his father’s educational site, Creature Art Teacher, which teaches a community of artists and animal lovers how to create original images of the creatures with which we share with our Earth. Blaise uses his camera not just for his own “photography art” but also as a reference source for the artists in the Creature Art Teacher community. 

Blaise posts a “favorite photo" about every other day on his Instagram page. You can check him out at @Dustin_Blaise! 

Photo by Sergey Pesterev / Unsplash.

02. Audio pick: Conservation Storytelling

Conservation Storytelling is a shared platform featuring a diverse range of field-based voices and conservation discussion. The podcast episodes are mostly self-funded and aim to share ideas, create awareness and answer questions about conservation in Africa.

Our favorite episode also happens to be the most recent: Tourism and Conservation in the Luangwa Valley with John Coppinger. The featured guest was found during a unique expedition where a small group walked over 217 miles in 17 days through the Luangwa Valley to aid local community organizations that had previously relied on tourism and are now struggling. The episode is less than 20 minutes long. Give it a listen here at conservationstorytelling.com. 

"Love, Life, and Elephants" by Daphne Sheldrick.

03. Book pick: ‘Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story’

Author Daphne Sheldrick and her family arrived in Africa from Scotland in the 1820s, and she’s the first person ever to have successfully hand-reared newborn elephants! 

This book is a memoir of Daphne’s relationships with a host of orphaned wildlife as well as a heartbreaking story between Daphne and her husband David Sheldrick. Their passion for each other, their shared insight and respect for all aspects of nature and the tragedy of his early death inspired Daphne’s lifetime of achievements, including the founding of the world-renowned David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Orphans’ Nursery in Nairobi National Park, where Daphne continues to live and work.

The book is both entertaining and educational and we didn’t want to put it down! You can purchase the book at Thriftbooks or Amazon.