ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Trusty & True represents the culmination of 6 years of photographing in Africa for a photography book named "Among the Living, Where you Belong."

Trust & True was taken in Rewanda in November 2022, after six Gorilla trekkings seeking a silverback, full force, facing me, coming in my direction.

This photo represents so much on such a personal level. All my previous hard work gifted me with the ability to put myself in this situation, spending time among Gorillas in Rwanda.

It makes me proud to be able to put light into these incredible animals I'm so fascinated by.
This beautiful Silverback is the father of the Umubano family in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda; the one I have been seeking to get close to for years. It was a true honor to be able to photograph him in this way. Gorillas are not an easy animal to photograph, not only because they are black; you only get one hour at a time, one hour a day with them on each trekking; mornings are usually cloudy, but by the time you find the families, the sun has broken into the clouds, and the harsh sun makes it very difficult to photograph them, the dense bush restricts you from movement.
This photograph reminds me of trust, trust from them to us feeling safe enough to let us visit them over and over again. You cannot make this up; they have been through so much; like most animals in the world, we have found a way to keep them alive and stop the horror their previous families had to endure. I could spend every day of my life going up and down those mountains just to be close to them, and feel their power and majestic presence.

AUTHOR
Guadalupe Laiz is an international artist, photographer
and explorer born and raised in Argentina. She moved to
the US aspiring to build a photography career
when she was 20 years old.

Guadalupe's main focus for these past ten years has been an
extensive body of work capturing the beauty and uniqueness of
the indigenous horses in the country of Iceland, a
country that has touched her deeply and continues to visit.
Her work of Horses of Iceland has been shown
in exhibitions all over the world. She published her first
book ‘Horses of Iceland’ with Teneues in 2019...

Guadalupe has been working on a second book
all over Africa for these past five years..
“Among the Living, where you belong” is her best work yet
to be released in 2023.

Guadalupe has partner with nonprofits involved with
environmental issues and poaching of Wildlife in Africa
such as Save Giraffes Now and Lewa Conservancy
as well as humanitarian work for 4Africa in
South Sudan and North Uganda.

Driven by the belief that art and beauty transform how people
think about conservation and nature, she focuses on environment
and animals that are pure and gentle by their very nature.
Guadalupe’s efforts are to communicate through art the
importance of animal abuse awareness, environmental issues
and the relevanceof educating all generations to make
conscious lifestyle decision
to protect our planet.

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