Last week, I was flying for Flying Medical Service in northern Tanzania. This is mainly Masai territory near volcano Lengai. Here is Olpirikata, a tiny Masai hamlet, one of the numerous airstrips where we operate on a regular basis, that is a 2 week-rotation system.
This Masai girl, quite a stunning face, was initially shy, I had to insist a bit when tings got much easier when she was her friends enjoying the prints I had brought from a previous photo shoot. Curiosity and a bit of envy got her!
At first she didn’t quite know how to behave in front the lens but that didn’t last….
This one is my favorite of the lot. I often wish I could only shoot the same model for 5 or 10 minutes, instead of changing model with every click. But then there are sometimes 20 people waiting and I’m not sure how they would react to that.
This is really unusual for many people out there. Whereas mirrors exist, one cannot see one profile. So a profile picture always comes as a surprise initially, sometimes confirmation from friends is needed, but in the end, I get asked to shoot more.
In 2 weeks hopefully she’ll receive a few prints, although they’ll be in colors. B/W wouldn’t be fashionable and appreciated in Masai culture I bet….
Comments