Into Africa

CELINA - Local photographer Peggy Green is virtually a certified globe-trotter.

After retiring from a 25-year career of teaching fourth grade at Celina Elementary School, Green has taken to traveling near and far to follow her love of photography.

Green got her first camera in 2013, an entry-level Canon kit camera that came with a couple of lenses and a camera body. She'd always enjoyed taking pictures, but once she retired she was able to dive into her passion.

The photographer joked that she doesn't smoke or drink or spend money on other vices. Instead, she buys cameras. Green has upgraded several times over the past seven years, most recently to a Canon 5D Mark IV.

Green has traveled to Iceland, Canada, Cuba and to several destinations within the United States, such as the Teton mountains in Wyoming, Death Valley in California and New York City. However, her most recent trip was to the plains of Kenya.

Green spent two weeks traveling to Samburu, Lake Nakuru National Park and the Maasai Mara National Reserve. She traveled with a group of photographers from across the U.S. Wheels would be rolling promptly at 6:30 a.m. to travel in search of animals to photograph, she said.

The weather would be beautiful in the morning, but once the clock struck 11 a.m., Green said it felt as though someone had turned on a furnace. The group would break for lunch while animals lounged in the shade to beat the heat.

"My best explanation is, it's like the garden of Eden, but drier," she said.

While Green is a landscape photographer by nature, she embraced the opportunity to photograph wild animals in their natural habitat. She added she was also able to learn a lot about the animals, habitats and people they saw as they traveled throughout Kenya.

"Africa is a place if you go once, you want to go back," she said.

The guides were extremely knowledgeable and knew when certain animals would be out and where they were likely to be, Green said. One example was a group of cheetahs called "the five bothers." These big cats consisted of three brothers from one family and two brothers from another that hunted together, something the tour guide said was highly unusual.

Green was able to photograph the animal kingdom up close and personal. Some of her favorite moments caught on camera were a group of hippos sun bathing, an unusual zebra that had spots instead of stripes from a genetic mutation, a cheetah lounging lazily in a tree, the Maassai Mara people dancing and a giraffe standing tall in an open plain.

Nature, however, wasn't always serene and beautiful. Green photographed a leopard which had caught its prey and dragged it up a tree to eat it. Cheetahs will carry their prey up into trees to prevent other predators or scavengers from stealing it.

Green had planned to travel to Australia for her next trip but canceled due to the wildfires ravaging the country. Instead, she will travel in June to Maine to photograph the puffin population.

For fledgling photographers, Green said it's important to have passion, follow through and to practice every day. She said she still practices by doing different challenges. This year she plans to take pictures of trees every week. Last year, she photographed every day for 365 days and later published her photos in a book.

"If anyone wants to become better at something, there has to be incentive," she said.

Green noted that quality photography doesn't happen overnight. While having an "eye" is certainly helpful, practice and passion is how a person can best improve his or her work.

She said she learned photography through "baptism by fire" when she traveled to the Teton mountains in Wyoming with her friend on her first photography trip.

Not every photo will be perfect, either, she added. Green took roughly 9,000 photos over the course of her two-week trip to Kenya.

Novice photographers can look to YouTube for videos on how to operate a camera, how to edit photos and more. She also said anyone interested in photography of any skill level can join the Celina Area Photography Club.

The club has members with a wide array of experience, training and equipment. Some have professional cameras, while others use their iPhone or a point-and-shoot camera. Green said the club meets at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the Richardson-Bretz building behind the library in Celina.

Green said passion is paramount when it comes to photography, and beginners must commit to it if it's something they want to pursue.

"Just go for it," she said. "Follow your passion. You owe it to yourself."