Wilson Wathome Appeal – Please Donate!
Edit 26/8/10 – We’re there! I just received a donation today that has raised the total to £500 – with Gift Aid, that makes £625! A huge thanks to everyone that donated and helped me to reach this target. Using a time-honoured method of picking winners – namely putting everyone’s name in a hat – [...]
Hadzabe, Africa’s Last Hunter-Gatherers
The Hadzabe of Lake Eyasi are some of the last functional hunter-gatherers in Africa, and perhaps the world. They have lived and hunted in Tanzania for thousands of years, and witnessed the introduction of metal, agriculture, pastoralists, guns and religion. Yet today they number less than 2,000 and their existence is threatened by a lack [...]
Hadzabe, Africa’s Last Hunter-Gatherers – Pt 1
The northern tip of Lake Eyasi is home to small groups of Africa’s last functional hunter-gatherers – the Hadzabe. They live around Lake Eyasi and the Serengeti Plateau and today, number 1000-2000 – although just 300-400 still live a traditional lifestyle. They were once thought to be related to the San of southern Africa, but [...]
Hadzabe, Africa’s Last Hunter-Gatherers – Pt 2
As well as gathering food from the land, the Hadzabe hunt game – everything from small birds and rodents, to giraffes, buffalo and larger monkeys are hunted whenever an opportunity arises. Hunting is an exclusively male occupation and groups of men and boys will head out whenever they are hungry. If successful, the hunters will [...]
Hadzabe, Africa’s Last Hunter-Gatherers – Pt 3
Whilst hunting larger or faster animals such as monkeys the Hadzabe make use of a poison prepared from a plant, found some distance from the lake. The plant tissues and sap are boiled down to a paste which hardens into a solid mass. To use the poison, the Hadzabe gently soften a small piece over [...]
Hadzabe, Africa’s Last Hunter-Gatherers – Pt 4
At certain times of year, large flocks of birds gather along the shores of Lake Eyasi, including many Marabou storks. These birds are highly prized by the Hadzabe because of their fat, and the hunters will spend a considerable amount of time along the shore hunting these birds. Marabou storks on the salt and mud [...]
Off-camera flash, off the beaten track… Pt 2
I am back in the UK once again after a 3.5 week trip to Sudan, Tanzania and Kenya, shooting for both a client and myself. Prior to heading off, I invested in an SU800 and SB900 to complement my SB600 with the intentions of shooting plenty more portraits with decent lighting. However, like all of [...]
Back from the bush…
I am sitting in Wau, southern Sudan, showering lots and getting rid of dust from my gear, having spent the last week in the small village of Luonyaker to the north west of Wau. I’ll be heading to Nairobi on Saturday after an overnight in Juba tomorrow night. Then straight on down to Tanzania for [...]
The ubiquitous gear shot…
… Or what’s in the bag. I leave tomorrow for Africa – Sudan and then on to Tanzania once again – a four week trip covering the work of an NGO and then shooting a personal project. I will be staying in some remote areas with little or no access to electricity and most likely [...]
Off-camera flash, off the beaten track…
It may surprise you to learn that underwater photographers have been doing the ‘Strobist’ thing for many years now – well, almost. Using off-camera, multiple strobes is quite normal for underwater photogs, mainly in an attempt to minimise the amount of backscatter in the final image. However the vast majority of people don’t venture beyond [...]
And if you thought your commute was bad…
The big ‘stage’ in the centre of Kampala is a mess of matutus, the minibuses that are the main means of getting around the city. I managed to climb up to the roof of a shopping centre on the edge of the ‘stage’, as it is only from above that you can appreciate how the [...]
Back in the UK…
I arrived back a few days ago to a grey, cold UK. I am already missing the fantastic colours of Africa, be they muted and subtle or in-your-face, over-the-top, lurid, garish, splashes. The images are currently with the client and I’ll be uploading the full galleries when they have finished, but for now, some African [...]
A change of direction…
Over the last few months I have been slowly putting together a big project – one that has finally come to fruition I am happy to say. I will be heading to Africa next month to shoot some of the winners of the World of Difference competition run by the Vodafone Foundation. The World of [...]
