There’s a sense of otherworldliness that pervades the images photographer Jody MacDonald has taken of the Andaman Islands. For one, they curiously tell the rare tale of the world’s last swimming elephant, Rajan. Having sailed on a catamaran to the Andaman Islands from Burma, MacDonald was determined to explore the islands and track down the 63-year-old elephant in order to immortalize the giant through photos.
Originally brought to the Andaman Islands for logging in the ’70s, Rajan, along with a group of 10 elephants, was brutally forced to learn how to swim in the ocean in order to transport logs to nearby boats and islands. When logging was banned in 2002, the elephant was out of a job and as fate would have it, he then met his Mahout (caretaker) named Nazroo. “They spend most of their days together,” intimates MacDonald, “They have this incredible connection you don’t only see but feel, and Rajan will not do anything unless Nazroo is by his side—it’s like watching a mother and child interact with each other.”
“Photographing the relationship between them was an amazing experience for me,” continues the lenswoman, “It’s incredible to witness the bond between such an intelligent animal and its caretaker. Because elephants are so smart, their interactions with humans involve so much emotion and thought.” At the end of the encounter, what further lent to the beauty of the image was the knowledge of the history of the graceful swimming elephant. After decades of forced manual labor, Rajan now has his own little sanctuary in the form of a friendship with Nazroo, and countless lazy days spent swimming for simple pleasure instead of labor.
Asked whether she adheres to a particular philosophy when it comes to her craft, MacDonald responds, “I try to have my photographs tell a story.” Often shot in the most remote locations and seeing places from a different perspective, MacDonald’s images reveal a strange sense of place. “I want my viewer not only to connect with my photographs, but to see how amazing this planet is.”