Now Push This Button.

 Africa, People, Travel, Zambia  3 Responses »
Mar 162012
 

Normally I wouldn’t include people posing for a picture in one of my shots. But, as I mentioned in a previous post, taking photos of the kids in this village was great fun! Here you can see my travel companion Chris posing for a picture as Shannon teaches a couple of the kids how to use her camera. The sky was striking and I liked the opportunity to catch a picture of the kids having fun without actually having them pose for me!

This photo is only bracketed from -1 to +1. I had to shoot handheld because if I’d set up the tripod the kids would have flocked long before I was ready to take a shot. I also needed to use a small aperture to get the whole scene in focus. If I’d gone to +2 I never would have been able to get a sharp image.

We’d brought clothes to give as a gift and as thanks for allowing us to visit. We didn’t know that we were going to be visiting this village and had actually packed very light for the safari. It was a shame as Shannon had been carrying a lot of stuff to give away the whole trip (this eventually found a home in a Rwandan orphanage). Everyone managed to pull something out, including Soniko who offered up a brand new world cup rugby jersey. But, Soniko wanted to give this to someone personally and eventually gave it to the older kid in the blue sitting down in the middle of this picture. Being selected for Soniko’s prize possession made his day and he beamed a huge smile as he received the jersey.

Village with round straw huts in Rwanda with groups of local children posing for a photo while others learn to use the camera, under a beautiful blue sky with clouds.

Lower Zambezi Huts

 Africa, Travel, Zambia  1 Response »
Feb 292012
 

On our way to visit this village we saw the mud bricks used to build this structure baking in the sun. We went inside one for a demonstration on how grain is ground into flour. They’re actually a very clever design. The wall around the perimeter does not meet the thatched roof allowing for the breeze to roll through. This cools the inside while allowing any smoke produced in cooking to be quickly ventilated. The doorway was tiny and involved a bit of a contortion to get through.

Two round huts in a Lower Zambezi, Zambia village with thatched roofs with one with baked mud brick sides and the other stick sides.

Music and Sand Painting in Washington Square Park

 New York, Travel  1 Response »
Feb 242012
 

Washington Square Park does not list amongst the usual tourist attractions of New York City, but it’s well worth a visit – at least in summer. There’s just so much going on there. Entering from the shady Northwest corner I was met by a three-piece jazz band. Moving on it seemed like there was a new band jamming away every twenty feet. Upon arriving in the middle, the fountain became the center of attention. A portly gentleman was stood in the middle getting soaked while people sat around the edges watching.

Then, to the left I saw what I thought was an amazing chalk drawing. Upon closer inspection I realized that it was a sand painting, a really big sand painting. This was the work of Joe Mangrum. He’s created a huge number of sand paintings in New York. You can see more of his work here.

Behind him, under the arch, a street performer was doing something I’ve never seen a street performer do. He was sitting on a bucket and playing a baby grand piano. I have no idea how he got the piano there and wonder if it stays there overnight or if he has to take it home every day.

 

***Edit: Joe just e-mailed me and directed me to this video, I now know how the piano gets there***

 

Sand painter, Joe Mangrum, creates a fantastic work in Washington Square Park in New York City in front of the arch while a baby grand piano is being played by Colin Huggins under the arch with people watching.

Three Generations

 Africa, People, Travel, Zambia  No Responses »
Feb 122012
 

This is a village just outside the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia. We visited while on canoe safri. As we drove into the village we were greeted with glowing smiles from everyone. The kids were all excited to see us and came running up. We were introduced to the lady in the red headscarf who is the wife of the village Headman. When asked how old she is she didn’t know and when she informed us that she was in fact the Headman’s only wife she beamed a big smile. The lady with her back to the camera is one of her eight daughters and all of the children in the photo were her grandchildren. The place was full of kids and it turned out they were all her grandchildren! We asked how many grandchildren she had. She had to think for a while and said about thirty.

Here, they are demonstrating one of the steps involved in producing nshima – a maize dish that looks like mashed potatoes.  They’re using a giant mortar and pestle to remove the husks from the grain. Maize and water go into the large wooden pestle on the ground. Then, they take a big wooden mortar each (you can see one lent against the hut in the background) and they take turns lifting their pole and dropping it back down. They did this at a great pace.

Village women surrounded by children using a giant mortar and pestle to remove the husks from the grain to make inshima – a maize dish that looks like mashed potatoes - in a village outside the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia

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