Escape to Africa With Your Cup of Java

Want to go on a visual safari to one of the most fascinating spots on earth? Award-winning photographer and Los Gatos resident, Ken Benjamin, invites you on a foray into the wilds of Africa, through a collection of striking photographs taken on several journeys to the mysterious continent over several decades. This display is currently on exhibit at the Los Gatos Roasting Company on Main Street.

Fourteen original photographs will bring you close enough to practically hear the roar of an angry-looking lion in Kenya, mouth wide open to reveal his impressive cuspids as he keeps a furious eye fixed upon you. You’ll marvel at the serenity of elephants and giraffes enjoying a lake on the Serengeti in Tanzania, and you’ll feel the gaze of a hippopotamus as he swims in a river in Botswana, while an Oxpecker feasts on insects attracted to the immense water monster. Did you know that hippos are responsible for killing and injuring more humans in Africa than any other wild animal?

You will come face to face with Great White Pelicans feasting on fish in Namibia, a mother African elephant and her calf stomping up a storm of dust in warning, and a bull elephant raising his trunk in a trumpet call saying “That’s close enough, human!”

A darling baboon from Kenya meditates on the beauty of an afternoon from a comfortable tree perch, while a leopard in Botswana barely acknowledges the presence of the camera as he pauses between bites of his evening meal. An impala herd in Tanzania attempts to enjoy a snack of grasses while ever maintaining a vigilant eye for the predators surely lurking nearby.

Ken, who has taken thousands of photographs over the last 45 years, hoped to create a sense of “being there” with this collection. After his successful and inspiring “Whimsy, Pure Whimsy” exhibit last year, Ken and his wife, Janice, thought it would be hard to top those moment in time photos, but the “African Safari” collection is rich, diverse and filled with emotion.

Benjamin’s artist statement on “African Safari” reads: “Why Africa? With many miles of travel under my belt, thousands of slides and digital images to choose from…why Africa? Because it is the thrill of a lifetime to see the vast grassy plains with herds of elephants, to hear the roar of the lion and to sleep in a tent while hyenas seemingly laugh under the darkest night sky you’ve ever seen. I have chosen to share these photos in the hope that you will feel some of this excitement. The safari ends but the memories remain captured forever in a photograph. Please enjoy the exhibit!”

“African Safari” will be viewable during normal business hours at Los Gatos Roasting Company at 101 West Main Street, Los Gatos, through March 31, 2016.