One street corner on Sokoine road, one of the main streets.
Angry punk at his portrait taken. Since I have no more respect for him and his colleagues as they have for me and the rest of the traffic, I really don’t feel a bit sorry for his feelings.
As opposed to what we are used in Europe, these guys here are legal, they’re not ready to pack their goodies in that large piece of cloth of run for the police in a second….
Flying Medical Service again… this place Ololosokwan on the northern edge of the Serengeti had seen a new batch of warriors, freshly anointed. Proud is a euphemism to describe these guys. After all, this is the best part of their life starting: fighting, chasing girls, roaming the bush, collecting cows (that includes theft, hence the fighting), playing with lions, and spending time time looking trendy and handsome. And to deserve this, they had to go through circumcision, without flinching without showing any emotion!
So whereas these warriors are not so happy to pose for tourists, they got to know me and trust me to bring many prints. So just like girls who’d have a chance to loot a Prada shop for a photoshoot they posed for me on various occasions, exchanged clothes and jewels, and varied their composure, a lot! Here is a selection where I hardly had a word to say.
Funny how some jokes are universal huh?
a 1961 Rolleiflex 3.5F medium format to be precise.
The advantage of a ‘weird’ Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex is that it looks so special that people don’t see it as a threat. Maybe these 2 pretty girls wouldn’t have posed and smiled at me had I been pointing with a bulky modern digital reflex and big lens… then they may have seen the link between my vintage camera and their vintage Vespa?
this other pretty unaware model didn’t even notice me. Special feat of the Rolleiflex: the usual position to shoot is to hold the camera on your belly. People sometimes don’t even notice you're snapping away.
on the Trocadéro scene.
when I don’t have to help the medical staff nor fix something on the aircraft or the airstrip, I do some pictures. Lately I’ve introduced that studio look to the portraits. I was a bit anxious people might not be used to this white background but when I brought the prints (still in colors though) 2 weeks later they seemed utterly happy, so did I. They kept on asking for more anyway…Maybe I’ll bring some B/W or sepia prints next time and see. I’d love to bring an enlargement but that would create jealousy…
This Masai warrior was a bit of an exception: he insisted to keep his umbrella for the shoot…
those carts will carry just about everything, even car wrecks.
common scene to see armed guards walking around. A rifle is definitely not the best weapon to guard a property but it is the mot common weapon issued with the shotgun.
a local jacked-up customised hot rod… It mad me laugh whn I thought of the tune-in fashion in Europe. These guys should meet up and compare their tasteful ideas….
Arusha City Bus Serv’? Baby step I suppose because this is the only one I’ve seen so far.
cell phones (2 in this picture) are all the rage in Africa, especially in Tanzania which is leading the pack I read in the news. Logical, the landlines were sooooo crap and useless…
the colors by then...adults would wear that too!
once in a while, I just grab a camera and keep my eye peeled in the streets of Arusha.
Rastafarians are not that rare in Africa. More than punks in the West I’d say.
the monument for the Tanzanian soldier. Behind is a brand new Chinese made hotel. I’ve been shocked to hear that Chinese are already severely hated by Africans, I mean workers, not the politicians and businessmen of course. Poor quality of whatever is made in China and sold here, hard conditions of work, no benefit whatsoever, poor salaries…. I came by bus from Nairobi the other day, I had 6 hours to chat with the driver who seemed to loathe utterly Chinese people, "the new colonialists in Africa, worse than white people" he said smiling. He showed me the numerous patches that were already broken down on the brand new Chinese road. What a shame and scam indeed. He seemed also impressed (and admirative) than some exceeded Zambian workers had killed some Chinese foremen already...
loading a motorbike taxi. No fear….
quite often walking on the road is safer than on the derelict pavements…
the famous clocktower, still empty at that early hour in the morning (but don’t look at the clocks, they’ve been out of service for years). This tower shows various mileage to other places and is also located halfway between Cairo and Cape Town, that is 5500km each side.
I should have asked how this vendor ever got a hold on a sunglass stand.
sweets for sale.
Historically these Masai dudes ain’t got nothing to do on the island. They’re either visiting or trading, rather the latter with bead work for tourists.
I’m not too sure of what to think of this guy’s dress…but homosexuality is still a huge no-no in Africa. Still criminalized in many countries… They pretend, the idiots, that white settlers brought that so un-African behaviour on the continent…
typical scaffolding in Africa. I’d be rather wary to climb on these…
Modern clothes for this but they’re probably still coping with the religious society so the veil…
I’m not a translator, but basically here we go
“Passer-by, stop here, the building was dedicated to the muses and to the joy by R.S., he welcomed therein the famous Cabaret du Chat Noir”. The Muses and Joy… what a program
I was just 18 or 19, roaming Cologne streets and practicing street photography…
During holidays and some weekend, I’d pay a visit to Mom who lived very close to Cologne, Germany, like 20 min by train. Funny enough I was not that inspired to go to Brussels and shoot street pictures there. Of course I lived far from Brussels, and it was quite a mission to reach the capital…
these guys were numerous on the cathedral square…
once in a while, a priest would come out and ask for calm…
one of the excellent Yellow Korner galleries. A young connoisseur admiring nudes.
did you know LP’s are back, brand new? There was a t-shirt with various dates of birth and death for music tapes, Walkman, LP’s…but for the latter there was a rebirth date!
Arushan traffic jams gives some time to observe the urban jungle out there. Here is a little bit of various scenes or fashion and colors.
typical colorful coach. Taste was optional…
Rare pigs. Many Tanzanians are Muslim but still in minority as opposed to Christians. But pigs are rare nevertheless. In swahili, a pig is kiti moto, which means hot seat. Don’t ask me why.
Japanese second hand bus. The original marking haven’t been sprayed over, not unusual. Bob Marley is still fashionable in Africa….
not like the cops always on the prowl for a bribe.
Trendy grandpa.
Posters, rugs, calendars, maps, science diagrams, religious portraits are the usual things these guys sell. What a life, spend your day with arms up….
Cool dress!
So typical….
some road sides in Arusha.
even the crappiest hand-cart, like coaches or dala dalas might show some slogan or motto. “Serengeti”…I’d like to see this guy crossing the Serengeti for sure and see what happens….
1987, I turn 18, Mom asks what nice gift I'd like. Instead of a car, I chose a camera, an excellent Minolta X700 with a 50 mm. Perfect lens to learn the basics and later improve greatly. So since I visited Mom a few times every year in Germany, Cologne, the next big city, became my photographic playground.
2 regular drunk dudes.
Köln is Cologne in German.
Cologne had a slight advantage over Belgium where I could share my pictures with friends: fashion was distinctly different. There were also a lot more of street artists of various kind. And a lot more would pour in from Eastern Europe and further when the Berlin Wall collapsed 2 years later.
1989 to be precise… I had been mostly learning photography in the street by then. London…only 5 days unfortunately.
Agfa films and a Minolta X700 camera.
‘
Yep that’s me, experimenting with mirrors…
chatting up girls…
Lace is supposedly a Belgian specialty. I admit I found this girl’s curves more interesting….
the legendary and wonderful Grand-Place in Brussels.
a Manneken Pis (litt’ the little pissing man) copy, here peeing chocolate in a chocolate shop.
Champs-de-Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, people enjoying some puffs.
Prints for sale, Les Tuileries.
La Pyramide, le Louvre.
Le Pont des Arts, nice place ofr pedestrians to relax over the Seine. Notice the numerous padlocks on the fence. They express eternal love or wishes for…
les Colonnes de Buren.
les Tuileries near the Obélisque entrance.
Paris is peppered with many little green spaces.
I had dropped the airplane for inspection so I came back to Arusha by bus. The exact same trip I had done in 1999 for my first visit in Tanzania.
As usual I had bribed the driver to have the front seat with more leg room and a large window. Perfect position for street photography.
Since the usual landlines were notoriously crap, non-existent, unreliable in Africa, cellphones have been seen a blessing and the continent is picking faster than any other place in the world. This man has even 2 phones.
Spring in Paris, "à la Doisneau", that is a with an old Rolleiflex camera, his favorite.
the so-called Naked Cow Boy who is now suing a so-called Naked Cow Girl on the ground she copied him too much.
driving in traffic jam, at slow pace that is… (Mom keeps an eye on me heehee)
another spelling mistake with Led Zep’. Another one is Led Zepperlin.
selling peanuts in small paper cones.
our green oranges.
trendy couple.
cop sealing a ride.
shot with a 1961 Rolleiflex 3.5F, medium format
Leaving Nairobi by bus back to Arusha, I snapped “Nairobbery” (the unofficial but most common nickname for Nairobi) life out of the window.
Soetimes I think there are more cellphones in Africa than in Europe
Ads are getting big and spread all over in Africa. Maybe the guy is having a hangover from that beer? As anybody can see, while the image is decent, the logo is shit as usual. Low carbs for a beer, who cares really? These marketing people really, no shame to consider consumers as morons….
Traffic cops…sometimes they just seemed at best to be considered as information doll, not to be taken seriously. Just the same for robot lights by the way.
At least they used a black santa! Good for them. Christianity still has a long way to go to adapt. Swedish look alike, blue eyed pale sick jesuses and maries are still the norm in Africa, basically coming from our medieval pieces of religious art. That probably helped the missionaries to keep the lid on African pride….
yep graffiti can be spotted here too. But not yet the same kind as we know in the West. Baby steps.
I suppose the road is in much better condition than the sidewalks, if any…
with a Leica M6, great camera for street shooting. Zeiss and Voigtlander/Bessa for instance have done great similar great rangefinder cameras too. Nikon and Canon too but decades ago...
smoking home made cigars is very common even amongst women.
shot on Leica M6, Tri X films (another probably dead film soon when Kodak goes on its belly...)
The pictures below are always that great but while ‘m stuck in traffic jam or driving slowly, Arusha street life keeps me busy. There is always one detail, one funny feature catching your eye, well for those who can enjoy that activity.
Colors don’t always match perfectly, but colorful it is out there. Many vehicles in Africa show a motto related to religions. Some can be scary like “God is my co-driver”! I’m always concerned the driver might be busy picking his nose a bit too long and rely too much on his so-called co-driver…
For once a smart motto.
Wooden hand-carts are numerous and have to be taken into account in the jams.
Colors! Sometimes you better wear strong sunglasses!
This guy overestimated his own weight but is getting helped. The neighbor is busy loading a huge crate of tomatoes, maybe a second one on top later, on his piki piki (small motorbike in swahili) and then will probably drive like crazy as usual.
And cyclists know a few things too about riding overloaded….only bread but still.
That’s it, some of the pictures I collected on one morning drive to the airport… better than a jammed European highway!
Leica M6, Delta 100 films
that is a vintage 1961 Rolleiflex 3.5F
Notre-Dame.
Montmartre, caricature artist at work.
Le Sacré-Coeur
Arusha council has been battling, crying, begging, probably bribing to get a city status. Well if it gives them an orgasm, why not but "town" was more than enough really. Here are some views in various locations in town, sorry in the City (London must be trembling with tht new competitor in sight…)
a typical church, but I admit many are much bigger than this one. It’s just that so many self proclaimed preachers have smelt the good business to rip off gullible people, following the American example, that they duly copycat here. So here is a small beginning. OK OK not all are crooks
…
furniture making, common sight here. Not clear if these people are potential clients trying couches or just family or friend parasites hanging around. “Furniture center”, another example of no shame no fear attitude.
daily roadside market.
various murals, ads, civic rights, education…
they used to be watch repairmen. Now they switched onto cellphone repairs, still squatting bits of sidewalks with their little exhibition boxes. Tanzania is said to be the fastest growing market for cell phones. No surprise as landlines were so hopeless, and still are.
gals can spend hours on hair work. Good business too. Many adverts are painted in Tanzania. Printing has still a long way to go.
to be honest, I now have to show soon some center buildings, much more modern than this selection.
most of the historical part of Stonetown is in decay, a bit like La Havana I’ve been told. Too much humidity, lack of money and will from authorities…
this girl is still lucky to be able to wear comfy or trendy clothes in the tropical Zanzibari weather. We’ve spotted girls as young as 4 years-old all wrapped up in veils…
make up, bright colors…an attempt to beat the imposed veil?
how much profit does one make on selling a few cigarette packs…?
my great Leica M and black’n’white films at work in Paris, springtime.
Champs-de-Mars, 2 girls napping after lunch.
ZZ Top on the Seine?
Jardins des Tuileries, an illegal souvenir seller bothering 2 girls.
la Pyramide du Louvre and around.
la cour carrée du Louvre.
Colonnes de Buren, young model having fun.
les Jardins du Palais Royal.
complementary t-shirts.
my early days of photography in Köln, late 80’s.
this tramp enjoyed the good weather and the public fountain.
sect recruiting?
aaah white socks and short.
hot weather though…I read tramps sometimes lose their ability to feel or regulate body heat.
being a keen amateur photographer in NYC brings the risk of right index inflammation!
Loliondo, a big village north of Serengeti. Lots of Masai people but not only. A village that seems to love colors.
truck instead of bus. Sometimes it is more confortable than a local coach, that is if the truck is full of sacks of rice. Then one just lies down on those sacks and can take a nap under fresh air.
Tanzania is the fastest growing country in term of cellular phones. I’m not surprised by that feat. Even Masai people in the remote bush have got cell phones.
Vodacom, one of the leading brands in phone networks.
2 warriors buying phone recharges.
Stonetown is the 'capital' of Zanzibar. People have here show some break away attitude from the mainland but economically they have to think otherwise.
a Tanzanian soldier… forbidden, ultra sensitive and confidential picture! I’m hardly joking. For instance it is still forbidden to snap at a postal office or a bridge or an airport, so imagine anything military. Of course with tourism invading, these obsolete and ridiculous laws are hard to enforce. I had had once some problems for shooting an airplane that had just crashed in Arusha…
happy ‘give me five’ mama.
fashion in veils!
typical narrow street in Stonetown. Which is nice to stay in the shade but can be a nightmare for photographers. High contrasts between sun and shady areas will trick a camera lightmeter.
a lone and lost baobab.
