Claire’s Neighborhood

Here I come!

T minus 1 week until I get back to Ethiopia, a place that I know well and love. And soon after I will hopefully be in Sudan (inshallah - if I get the visa), a place I have never before visited. I have a feeling that I am going to fall in love with Africa's biggest country and stay beyond my December 18th return date....

Oh, I'm also adding on an unbelievably cute image of two small Himba girls that I came across in a river bed in Northern Kaokoland on the last trip

I'll be blogging again soon...John

   

Just back from watching the animals.....

Man, I love Etosha. I was there in 2006 and it's a great place to while away the days.

Here's some shots of the Elephants - the biggest ones in Africa. Don't really have the long lens stuff for wildlife photography, but pleased with my elephant shots. Lots more to add.

Managed to catch the elephants on a stampede - ha ha - it was the tiny elephant at the front that started it all!

Check out the panorama below in full size - really nice.

Just uploading bits as I go. Thought that these worked nice in colour :)

The first couple of days after I arrived in Namibia we hit the road and headed the 900km's or so North to a town called
Opuwo - a place that has a real feel of a frontier town. One of the first things you notice is the amazing mix of people. You see Ochre covered Himba walking around (in traditional clothing and bare from the waist up), Ova-themba (Angolans in traditional clothing), Herero (woman wear huge Victorian-influenced dresses with hats), and your average urban Africans in western clothes. It's a great mix, and the town has a totally different feel to the more mundane ones further south. Particularly when you bump into people in the supermarket looking like this:

So the first priority once we got up there was to find a good guide who had one foot in our world and one foot in
the Himba community. With some asking around and a little bit of luck we got hooked up with a Himba guy called
'Western', who proved to be a great find and turned into a good friend. Western has that friendliness,
optimism and modesty that Africans often have. He also knows the Himba inside out, having grown up in the
traditional way of living before he ran away to get a schooling in Opuwo. Education is often frowned upon in
nomadic/semi-nomadic groups; it fixes you to one place and means you can't help out with the family during hours
at school. Travelling with a knowledgeable guide like Western makes things a million times easier - you get to
understand the people, cultural practices and ways of living, and are able to have more meaningful interactions through the guide. You also avoid misunderstandings and visits to villages which are more designed for tourist purposes.

The Himba are similar to a lot a African groups that I have met in the last year in Kenya and West Africa - they
live a more or less traditional existence and their lives revolve around their animals. It's very dry up in the
North, so the Himba are often semi-nomadic and move with their animals when they need new pasture.

One thing they also share in common with the groups that I saw in Kenya (apart from the Turkana) is that they practice circumcision; it's a hugely important ceremony that marks the stages of a young person's life. These small boys below that I met in one village had just undergone the ceremony a couple of days ago (shaved heads with two patches showing that they were in the midst of this). It's difficult to imagine how scared the young boys are when the knife comes out as each in turn is cut with a blade in front of the village. They still came across as troubled when I saw them.

I've just returned to the capital of Namibia after 2 weeks in the remote North and the Namib Desert. I went to Kaokoland in the far North to photograph the Himba, a visually vibrant society that I briefly came across in 2006. Unusually for me I've been driving a 4x4 on this trip with a screenwriter and author from Canada - Linda. We met on a Lonely Planet forum discussing the Himba and it worked out that we were both looking to get into the wilds at the same time. I had never met Linda until she turned up at the airport a couple of weeks ago. Clearly this could have been a 9 on the Richter scale disaster as we had 2 weeks in each other's pockets lined up. In a massive stroke of fortune, we got on great and travelled really well together. Linda actually headed off today and I'm back to my lonesome for the next week and a half...which feels strange at the moment. The last couple of weeks have brought some beautiful and intimate imagery of the Himba and another Angolan group from the North....but more of that and my time up there on my next blog post.

Because it's fresh in my mind, I wanted to post my work from the Namib desert having arrived back from there only yesterday. We were both covered in sand (suprise suprise), in fact I'm still emptying that glowing red sand out of my shoes today and it's taken a couple of showers to feel grit free. But time in the desert out here is always an elation.

In 2006 I travelled in the Namib for the first time, and for over a week I would just walk across the massive dunes and
marvel at the surreal light and dune forms and textures in the beautiful morning and evening hours. Back then I
just picked a compass direction and walked for a few kilometres into the sand seas. I would see people at the very
peripehery of the sand seas, but as soon as I walked into the dune field I was alone and spent hours walking up and
down the massive dunes in complete solitude. This year was the same and I absolutely loved it. There were very few sounds in what is a very quiet place. A couple of times I heard the faint sound of the wings of a bird of prey cutting
through the air a long way above me, once ot twice I heard the whistling winds travelling down the dune valleys, and on a few occassions I heard the thud of my own heartbeat as I climbed massive, steep dune inclines with each foot submerging into the sand's surface. Try as you might to move your feet quickly, they still sink beneath the sand and it saps the energy. And though the sounds are few, being in the desert is all about rewarding the other senses; in particular the visuals which are turned up to 11 in volume.

Pretty much every other photographer photographs the Namib Desert in colour to show the vibrant red sands. The pictures that I created this year and in 2006 are nearly all in black and white (but a few do have to be seen in colour). I think that quite a few of my desert pictures are similar in style to how I photograph the people in this blog. I gravitate towards photographing scenes of dramatic contrasts.

 
In the desert there are so many shapes and textures that lend themselves to beautiful black and white imagery. Thinking back, I only started creating my African portraits in 2006 after I spent time in this desert. The desert really was was the inspiration, and I remember wanting to pair up dramatic sand dune patterns of light with dramatic patterns of light on people. After seeing the fluid, flowing blacks and whites of the desert I wanted to recreate this effect by photographing people. The pairing up of desert shots and people proved to be a stretch too far, but it gave rise to my project of photographing the fascinating people of Africa in dramatic lighting.

Much more to follow soon from both the desert and the stunning Himba......

I've just returned to the capital of Namibia after 2 weeks in the remote North and the Namib Desert. I went to Kaokoland in the far North to photograph the Himba, a visually vibrant society that I briefly came across in 2006. Unusually for me I've been driving a 4x4 on this trip with a screenwriter and author from Canada - Linda (I usually travel alone). We met on a Lonely Planet forum discussing visiting the Himba and it worked out that we both wanted to get up there at the same time. I had never met Linda until she turned up at the airport a couple of weeks ago. This could have been a disaster to rival anything on the Richter scale as we had 2 weeks in each other's pockets to get through. In a massive stroke of fortune we got on great and travelled really well together. Linda actually headed off today and I'm back to my lonesome for the next week and a half...which feels strange at the moment. Well the last couple of weeks have brought some beautiful and intense imagery of the Himba and another Angolan group from the North....but more of that and my time up in the North on my next blog post very soon.

Because it's fresh in my mind, I wanted to post my work from the Namib desert having arrived back from there only yesterday. We were both covered in sand (suprise suprise), in fact I'm still emptying that glowing red sand out of my shoes today and it's taken a couple of showers to feel grit free. But time in the desert out here is always an elation.

In 2006 I travelled there for the first time, and for over a week I would just walk across the massive dunes and
marvel at the surreal appearance of dune forms and their textures in the beautiful morning and evening light. Back then I just picked a compass direction and walked for a few kilometres into the sand seas. I would see people at the very
peripehery of the sand seas, but as soon as I walked into the dune field I was compltely alone and spent hours walking up and down the beautiful mountains of sand in solitude. This year was the same and I absolutely loved it. I heard few sounds in what is a deadly quiet place. A couple of times I heard the faint sound of the wings of a bird of prey cutting through the air far above, a couple of other times I heard the whistle of winds travelling through the dune valleys, and on a few occassions I heard the thud of my own heartbeat as I climbed massive, steep dune inclines with each footstep submerging into the sand's surface. Try as you might to move your feet quickly, they still sink beneath the surface and sap your energy. But although you don't hear much out here, being in the desert is all about rewarding the other senses; and in particular the visuals which are cranked up to 11 in volume.

Pretty much every other photographer photographs the Namib Desert in colour to show the vibrant red sands. The pictures that I created this year and in 2006 are nearly all in black and white (but a few do have to be seen in colour). Quite a few of my desert pictures are similar in style to how I photograph the people in this blog, or at least that's what I think. I gravitate to capturing light within scenes of dramatic contrasts.

 

In the desert there are so many beautiful shapes and textures for creating black and white imagery. Thinking back, I actualy started creating my African portraits in 2006 after spending time in this desert. The desert was the inspiration - I wanted to pair up dramatic sand dune patterns of light with dramatic patterns of light on people. After seeing the dramatic, fluid and flowing blacks and whites in the desert I wanted to recreate this in other scenarios through photographing people. The pairing up of desert shots and people proved to be a bit tricky, but it gave rise to my Africa project of photographing the fascinating people of Africa in dramatic lighting. So I say thanks to the Namib Desert for starting this beautiful project.

With the UK economy so bad at the moment and IT jobs in my area in shortish supply I have decided to say adios to the office for 2009 and I'm going to also say adios to my savings and get myself back to Africa at least a couple more times this year.

On September 8th I'll be back on a plane to South Africa and then straight to Namibia. I was last there in 2006 and photographed the San (known better as bushmen) and Himba groups. The Himba women in particular are spectacularly beautiful with the red ochre over their bodies and interesting jewellery...back then I only had the chance to photograph them for a day away from their true homeland, and it was the first time I tried photographing in the style that has become familiar to me.

This time I'll produce much more beautiful work, and much more of it, as I'll head straight for their homeland in Kaokoland and remain for a couple of weeks. Going to see how far a 2WD car will get me and then maybe hitch further in towards the border with Angola with a local guide. Should be a lot of fun. If I have time I'll head back into the heart of the Namib Desert again -I love walking and photographing in the sand seas alone just after sunrise as the whole experience is surreal.

Can't wait to see those beautiful red sunsets and sunrises, hear the sound of the desert and see those famiiar red earth roads that you see all over South, West and East Africa again.

Watch this space!

Here's a few Nambia pictures from back in 2006 that I took:

I am writing the final post of pictures from an internet cafe on the Island of Lamu, off the coast of Kenya. My camera is now hung up...and I can tell you that I have absolutely no desire to take another photo for the remainder of this trip. It has been intense!

So I decided to come to Lamu to meet some friends and generally chill, drink some cold beer and fruit shakes and get some sleep for my ailing body. A month in the tribal North has been ace but it has taken it's toll on my body and I am well and truly knackered. 5 days here surrounded by seas and beaches is just what I need :)

My last days in the North were spent with the Pokot (see the pics of women wearing large hoop earings and some enormous necklaces) and the Turkana (metal leaf earrings for married woman, shaved side of head, lots of necklaces and men often wear earrings too). There was a few pics of the Samburu I hadn't posted from before so there's a couple below..

 
So that's pretty much it. I have a final few days of chilling here in Lamu - will visit the floating bar this evening (Fri) and I fly back to the UK this coming Monday. Gutted to be leaving Kenya right now, but really excited to get working on these pictures for my major solo show in London on May 15th to 30th.

So see you all in the UK soon...I hope it's not too chilly!

John

Well it’s been almost a month that I’ve been up in the North of Kenya, and this is really the first chance I've had to spend any time on t'internet - so this will be one giant hit of some of my favourite pictures during this time.

It's been a great time for me with the photography and I'm really pleased about the work I've done on this trip. To get in the situations to take these pictures has involved meeting some really fascinating people, and the Kenyans I have come across have always got time to hear about my story and help out where they can. Kenyans, particularly up here in the North, really are a warm, happy and hospitable group of people. I will definitely be back again.

It's also fair to say that it has sometimes been hard work and pretty intense (see post below about getting shot at). Travel up here is very difficult and takes a lot of time. There is zero public transport so my guide Mo and I have done a mixture of hitching and walking to get to where we have needed to get to. We’ve had a varied life on the road – travelling with the Kenya Wildlife Service, NGOs, the army, the police, priests, zebra research jeeps, fish trucks, catholic missions, mobile phone promotion trucks and vans peddling the amphetamine quat. I think I now have a preference for the more heavily armed modes of transport after our scrapes last week with armed bandits!

Mo and I have spent 24 hours in each other's pockets for the last months, so it's great that we get on really well. I basically need a guide to converse with the tribes, and Mo speaks all the languages very well, plus he has relatives and connections in every town up here so there are always friendly faces in places we get to. Mo also drinks like an absolute fish and has an infectious enthusiasm for the bar/shack/room with alcohol. At some point soon I really need to stop boozing, but after an intense, dusty day out in the middle of nowhere we always seem to find ourselves on the beers. Actually Kenya is about the only other country that I have spent a significant amount of time in that seems to get well and truly leathered on the weekends. From Friday night till Sunday night the chaotic drunkenness of most town and village folks reminds me of Stockport  :)

After 16 hours on the truck to our destination I was near distraught when none of my cards would let me have money at the solitary ATM up here. We had to get back on the fish truck heading south for another 5 hour journey, and what with the usual waiting around we didn’t get moving for hours on the an another very rough road through remote desert bush. Knackered by this point and not too alert, I noticed just after dusk that a white car nailed it past us (unusual as we saw no other vehicles on the road heading our direction). I didn’t connect the dots, but the truck driver later on reckoned that the car was driven by armed bandits who were checking our vehicle out (a fully laden truck with a foreigner plus bags in the front = happy days for them).

About ten minutes later I saw some people illuminated in the headlights about 50 metres away in the grass verge lying down. It looked strange but I didn’t have any time to register it before the first shots rang out peppering the front of the truck. I was sat on the front seat of the truck, next to the driver, behind a very large glass windscreen, and instinctively ducked as they kept firing. They were definitely aiming to kill us, rather than shoot out the tyres, as there were holes through the windscreen and whole front of the truck (probably from AK47's as everyone has these out here).

Shit, it was real scary. One of the bullets was actually a few inches from me and lodged itself in the cabin. As it happened there wasn't really time to consider the implications, the driver just nailed it and we attempted to get the hell out of there before they came after us. I was actually more scared of them catching up with us, rather than the actual shots as we were in the middle of nowhere and there were no lights, no habitation around, in fact nothing at all. Anyways, we arrived at the next settlement after gunning over the road bumps way too fast. All of us were too scared to talk. Thankfully none of us took a bullet - I’m not in any way religious but I think I should probably thank someone for helping us out.

Beer tasted very good that eve....