Ben Wilhelmi

Stonetown, marketplace

 

an old Singer sewing machine. Men tend to sew  more often than women I'd say.

 

sundried sardines, called here 'daga', an important source of proteins. But the smell is awful! Once in a while, I refuse to carry that stuff in the aircraft.

 

local DHL service.

 

the House of Wonders, used to be a palace. A museum now.

 

 

dark narrow street, the rule, to keep more shade than sun.

 

cutting a swordfish...I wish the sword had still been there, bad luck, too late.

 

 

 

 

 

not sure the shoes match each other...

 

all cheap, poor quality stuff....

Stonetown

 

common way to transport goodies in Africa. Those cartwheels can be rented. Many  have a sentence or a word painted on. And sometimes even an old registration car plate.

 

nice way to recycle a chair. This model of plastic is unfortunately spread all over the country and worth peanuts.

 

Zanzibari door , though quite a basic one, and street life...

 

 

 

carpenter under  a Vermeer style light.

 

these walls, I always expect one to collapse while I'm wandering around....

 

 

ring bell compulsory

 

 

would-be teacher

Zanzibar II

 

 

not sure what they were playing at!

 

common use of a bicycle in Africa: a wheelbarrow.

 

 

 

neglected and refreshed, same kind of door detail. Bright blue...I wonder what the town would like if it was all refurbished since the dwellers like bright colors.

 

 

well, he lost the elections nevertheless....with a bit of rigging accusation and violence, elections are the only times when the island feel some real "heat".

 

 

2% of Catholics on the island. Here's cathedral St Joseph.

 

and this lady is probably one of them according to her clothes.

 

many shops on the 1st floor. This one, though aimed at tourists, is not very visible and doesn't damage the scenery with ugly colors and things.

 

 

 

more of Zanzibar

 

 

 

immersed in her world, she didn't notice me.

 

typical East African fabric called kikoi.Multipurpose piece of clothes.

 

some houses are still half decent on the outside...

 

 

others , not so....

 

blue note.

 

 

women usually wear traditional outfit more often than men.

 

young girls start at an early age to tend for even younger siblings. Not much time for playing around...

 

Zanzibar diversity

 

Zanzibar has been at the crossroad between slave trade, clove and other spices trades. Sultans of Oman and his people used to run the place. So people here are not so homogenous as on the mainland.

 

veiled woman versus...

 

....free men in swimming suits

 

sugar cane juice with a drop of lemon. My favorite juice. Too bad the machine and the recipe haven't crossed to the mainland, and I've got no clue why.

 

why is the mother all covered up (though like many women here she tries to look nice with make up for instance) and the daughter allowed to wear Barbie outfit?

 

and don't laugh, yes this is Zanzibar! Bloody Masai, though some might be fake, have invaded the place to booby trap tourists with they plastic jewelry. That is quite a long trip from their homeland, and I wonder what they've done with their venerated nearly sacred cows. Fake Masai are recurrent, the concept fares better with tourism. And talking about which, I'm not sure the chubby guy on the foreground is genuine. Normal ears, too fat...of course he may be an educated one, spoilt by plenty of food instead of  milk and blood. Or just a reasonably successful business man with these jewels.

 

nevertheless we're in a city, some images from the past stick....

 

 

 

talking about invasions...Bob Marley has some fans here, not sure if there are some Jamaicans in the bunch as well. Muslim island, I wonder what Rasta are doing here for fun except smoking Zanzibari gold and chasing tourists probably.

 

opposite to Rasta....

Zanzibar

 

classic versus modern boats

 

 

 

happy old men...

 

detail of a relatively new Zanzibari door top.

 

Chinese made bicycle, copied on the Dutch model. One of the few houses in Stonetown that is in perfect condition. Well, maybe a mansion?

 

 

bits of colors nevertheless the old age

 

 

 

kids, he same everywhere when facing a camera...

 

interesting shadows.

Stonetown, Zanzibar

 

something different. I never showed anything on this island I think....

bloody scooters all over the narrow streets, digging their way with the horn. Few houses have been maintained or restored like this blue one. It has become a serious problem like many other old cities.

 

he took the pose of an altar boy, no? Looks like an angel and he may be a total nasty boy. Like me before, they say....

 

Zanzibari door, very famous. So many are derelict. This one nearly includes an original padlock....

 

geometric  pattern with the walls and the shadows but here is a smile to soften the scenery.

 

veiled but very feminine.

 

old fort, small garden but palm trees nevertheless.

 

in Europe, one would think the donkey is bravely waiting for the (drunken) to get out of the pub. Here I'm not sure.

in a village

 

Chem Chem village near lake Eyasi. But many African villages would look the same.

 

fixing a puncture. The ox was resting and grazing a bit further.

 

spreading and drying the grain in the sun. I would have said that the weather had been so dry that there was no need to dry them any further, but what do I know....

then pounding that same grain to produce flour for the infamous ugali, the East African staple food. Something I never managed to eat really. Looks like plaster, and tastes like it as well if you ask me. I much prefer the kind of tortilla made with the same flour.

 

 

she was on her way to buy kerosene with that container. Oil containers are quite strong and thus well sought after.

 

crap picture I know but they were all so pleased to see somebody with a camera, somebody interested in their village....I didn't feel like refusing them a picture.

 

poverty...this room is the main room in the hut. Newspapers as wallpaper decoration...

health in Tanzania

 

so I volunteered from '99 to 2002. Don't think I'm a saint! Well those who know wouldn't even think of it for one split second but for the others....I'm no Mother Theresa. I really wanted to help for a humanitarian cause but at the condition of flying (with a bit of fun as well). Like quite some volunteers, no matter what they say. Some try to go home with a sainthood aura which they don't really deserve. I wouldn't go and wash lepers feet as we say in French. My dedication had some limitations.

not exciting nor 'artistic 'pictures, more journalistic style for a change.

 

 

a chemist's. The caption says literally 'shop of cold medicines', meaning the medicines are stored in a fridge, or so they say.

 

the lab in Chem Chem hospital. A patient dropping some sample.

 

the technician at work. Notice the new poster overlapping the old one that nobody cared to remove. Campaigns happen for medical purpose. Though too rarely for family planning....

 

many sisters dedicate themselves to treating patients instead of praying or distributing bibles only.

 

colors... this doctor came for another hospital for a visit once in awhile in this little dispensary because there was (and still is) a shortage of fully qualified doctors in Tanzania. By then, there were about 2500 doctors for 33 millions people...I'm sure those figures haven't changed too much. Nurses and medical assistants do a great job for common diseases though. Sometimes a surgeon would even come and train one nurse to perform one special type of surgery, and I mean real surgery. Again, this is not the US with lawsuit orientated mind.

 

trees are not very valued, slashing is very common. Except for some shade. Specially in the middle of the villages for meetings.

 

as said above, not a striking picture but Tanzanian villages in whole are usually dull. No colors, lots of dust...here a Tanzanian flag, which is quite common.

various portraits

 

one free afternoon, off I went in that poor village, called ChemChem, on the edge of lake Eyasi.

 

easy going people, they hardly see white people and cameras in that remote place.

young patient and grandma waiting at Chem Chem dispensary.

 

and here below various locations in Tanzania

 

 

 

Masai toothbrush, a local piece of branch, I forgot which species but it is one in particular, with special flavor and medical properties they say. They show nice teeth I must say....

see this old woman's teeth?

people in the bush

 

 

preparing the field...

 

 

Masai woman attending a mobile clinic

 

colors...

 

 

market day in Loliondo, woman selling gourds made out of sausage tree fruit.

 

 

cops bravely guarding a tree.

 

could be primary colors.

 

Masai checking his kingdom, wondering where to bring his cattle next....

 

portraits II

 

more pictures done in my free time as a volunteer pilot....shot with wonderful Nikon F3 or FM2 on Ilford HP5 or Kodak  TriX

 

beautiful girl around lake Natron.

 

boy waiting at one mobile clinic

 

notice the ears of both of them...

 

Masai man visiting a village. Maybe his wife was doing the shopping while he was waiting outside...sounds familiar?

 

the blurry kid was just jealous and came to in front of my lens before I preferred he shy one... kids are the same all over, looking for attention.

 

Loliondo, in the middle of nowhere, but Mickey Mouse has arrived there, or Coca Cola, or any football players or again Madonna. Sad but ...

these two ladies, if they were to write their memories....

some portraits

 

good old black and white films. Being a volunteer pilot gave lots of free time when we were back at the hospital and nearby village. Or when the doctors and the nurses were busy on the mobile clinic, I'd walk around and click away. Though sometimes I'd help the staff, giving injections to the kids or the the pregnant mothers. We had received a basic training for that and pronto. This is not bloody America with a risk of a lawsuit for every action....

 

 

 

 

 

 

typical amount of jewels in that area, near Loliondo. Between clans they can recognize where they come from just by the type of pattern and colors that were used in the making. I never gave money for these pictures but I always brought some prints later on for the models. And I used these prints to convince new models to pose. We always had a great time when these pictures were show around. That's how I discovered the jewels identification system.

 

 

 

flies included, not a hassle for them.

 

Flying Medical Service

 

 

Flying Medical Service...my first kind of job after US flying schools and in Tanzania. All volunteers. Basically we flew doctors and nurses and medical supplies to the remote areas in northern Tanzania. We'd spend a few days in a bush hospital and fly around for mobile clinics in those remote villages, Masai mostly. And sometimes there was a need to fly some serious patients back to the hospital for a complete treatment.

 

this place with the volcano Lengai in the background is called Ngaresero. The area is located at the bottom of the Rift Valley. Stunningly beautiful. But if one happens to get sick there....not even a track to the next hospital at more than 70 miles away. Including a 2000 foot steep cliff to overcome on top of the fierce winds, heat and bush land.

 

 

here at Oleparkashi. Just a few miles further but 2000 feet higher on top of the cliff. So the flight from this place to Ngaresero down the cliff was about 5 min! Just take off, no climb but  turn steep right, chop off the power and dive in a wonderful narrow gorge with vertical walls, land. Apparently I was not the most popular pilot amongst the local medical staff....

 

every 2 weeks, the same spot at the same time, so there was no need to specify appointments. Here Masai women coming from nowhere apparently. There must be a hamlet some miles away.

 

 

kids are in charge of and carry younger kids at an early age

 

the doctor at work. If one needs privacy...

 

with the aeroplane on the airstrip, a wonderful workhorse Cessna 206, equivalent of a good old Land Rover with wings.

 

  

 

 

the largest waiting room for a consultation....curiosity is a worldwide feat. This girl here peeks thru the wall to see what's going on in the 'private' hut. Nevertheless this place was quite hot, the hut was needed for gynecological treatments for instance or when guys had something awful to treat...imagine, no telly! So no wonder everybody wanted to have fun and see for gossiping later on. Remember in the western world once upon a time, dentists used to pull out teeth publicly...

Lengai and others

 

 

lake Natron, looking like a normal lake for a change.

 

Sunrise on Mount Meru

 

the one and only volcano Lengai, early morning.

 

there is still a whiff of rotten eggs on a regular basis, even without any visible smoke.

 

one lucky climber on the very edge of the crater rim.

 

and his friends a bit further. If one slips...

cattle and Masai enclosure

early morning flights, cattle, donkeys and goats are still locked in the enclosures, made of thorny branches from acacia trees. Good predator repellent. The following pictures are quite similar but they show different villages and structures.

 

here different fences were added according to new needs.

 

about the same here. Notice the few huts.

 

enclosures inside a bigger one. Apparently the man has no hut on his own. The wives have theirs on the other hand. So the guy chooses a wife, and a hut every night. If he travels and visits another hamlet, and this is valid for the warriors who are not married while having this status or any other guest, he will be provided a hut and occupant, expected to 'know' in the biblical sense the host's wife. Quite rude to decline the offer. A bit like not eating when invited in our culture. If the man gets old and 'visits' too much for his liking, he'll choose a quiet place under a tree in the bush.

 

this reminds me that I once got stuck around lake Natron in a remote Masai village, Pininyi. Bloody aeroplane wouldn't start. So the leader invited me in his hut. Big Chief was educated so he had a hut...I was given a room with a bed made of sticks and goat skins. Then I braced myself for "invited guest part II"!

Luckily, Big Chief knew a bit more than his own culture so he had spread the word that white men can't jump and can't have fun either! So I might refuse his wives. Nevertheless a few other girls tried their luck with me all evening! But they took no offence when the request was declined. A squeezed hand is a clear sign for instance. My hand was tightly squeezed all evening around the camp fire. I assume the girls, being quite sexually free, wanted to check what it was like with a white dude....they were giggling, checking my hairy legs, holding my hands more than need be. No competition and no aggressiveness between them!!

Guess what was the first question from my by-then girlfriend when I came back....

 

long shadows, early morning still. Northern Serengeti.

 

 

room with a view

 

that was a few days ago in Lobo, northern Serengeti.

it rained, funny enough in this dry season, the light was really crap. Sometimes clouds would open up and let some sunrays come in, to enhance the scenery

 

here really dull light with the zebras.

 

 

and a few minutes later! Quite a change....

 

 

this thing is called a hyrax (daman en français). They say it is related to the elephant!! And I'm not joking! They hang around many lodges, reasonably tame. Quite funny to watch.

 

wide vista from the room. Not bad he?

Rangoon

 

sorry just being late today, so I'm sending quickly some old pictures, already sorted out in my files. So back in Rangoon, the Schwedagon pagoda.

 

 

too bad I'm not in Belgium 'cos that where my guide book is. So for what I remember, there is one inside niche in the main Schwedagon pagoda where there is another Buddha but for some weird reasons, woman cannot get in and watch....it seems their presence is the forbidding factor 'coz now thanks to television, they can sit in another location and watch! Funny world...

 

 

 

 

one of the few golden Buddha.

 

looks like a Walt Disney castle, no?

 

 

the longest lying Buddha in the world, somewhere in Rangoon. And the biggest pink nails as well I'd say.

 

it looks like cheap white plastic to me. Weird that the roof has been made with as little material as possible. In turn that roof has a funny shape staying close to the Buddha. The place looks quite crammed and poor Buddha has only some part of trussing to look at...notice the feet which show the 80 or so different surnames of Buddha I think.

 

Maasai herders

 

back to my early pictures in Tanzania, my first months here. This thing here is a Cape eland, the biggest antilope.

we were doing a flying medical clinic in northern Tanzania, near Serengeti. One can see the medical supplies on this picture. Now this being a wild animal, what it he doing near people?

 

the villagers found it alone when still very young. Having sometimes some sense of humor, that I can pick at least, they decided to adopt the little beast! And with more sense of humor, they adorned it with a cowbell! So now the cows have learnt to live with an weird immigrant.

 

lonely landscape in the Rift Valley.

 

Northern Serengeti, common scenery

 

Ok, just giraffes, not an exciting pictures but they were my first wild animals near an airstrip, Endulen just outside Ngorongoro crater. The rim is visible in the background. Quite a feeling to chase the things off the runway with a flyby. And they were still hanging around after landing.

 

volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Rift valley, shot from Engaresero airstrip, dry season obviously.

 

 

 

last batch of Natron (for now...)

 

 

near a drying delta.

some beaches....

 

 

 

this red tone with salted islands and lines being the most common pattern all year long.

 

 

all the pictures above were shot on film. The ones below are digital. One cannot see the difference on an internet low resolution version. But I've  just read in a serious French photo-magazine (Chasseurs d'Images, #305, p135) that the actual digital SLR's are now better than good SLR films in term of sharpness, details...Colors are not affected. It makes me sad to finally acknowledge that fact. but at the same time, who knows, if films were still developed and researched with the same energy as for digital, we'd get nice surprises too.