Ben Wilhelmi

sepia portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

Flying in Tanzania, not only for tourism or humanitarian reasons

 

Yesterday I flew with a colleague, I needed him for renewing my flying license, and we combined this with an emergency. Oh don’t worry we performed all the maneuvers on the empty flying legs. We also had a lot of time to catch up. The main thing we laughed about was the flying missionary thing.

He was once about to depart on an emergency case but asked to download his sick patient by some missionaries who had missed a flight and to fly them instead. He’d have time to do the initial flight later that day anyway! No shame huh? of course the old saying goes that if you don't ask you'll never get anything.

There was that private pilot in Kenya who offered some of his time and aircraft to fly for a humanitarian group. All went well till the day there was an excess of cargo. He had to make a choice and left the bibles behind for the medicines and blankets, logically more useful for the people in the remote bush or camps. Well he got criticized for that wrong choice! The pilot had the feeling people could die providing they carried a bible so he put an end to that cooperation.

In Tanzania some flying missionaries are busy in some of the same airstrips where we (Flying Medical Service) also operate, we in a more useful manner I'd say. When local Masai people were asked what they thought about those visits, the only thing they remember, and are not keen on, is to not have sex outside marriage. Well no enthusiasm there and no surprise: men get married at around 35 years-old and I doubt they'd masturbate till then (oh yes I nearly forgot that's forbidden too). Then Masai men have many wives and when male guests are invited at home, they get a wife for the night (the wife has the right to refuse though). Haha good luck to change anything in those social habits.

There was that missionary pilot who wanted to switch and fly for us, he thought medical work was seriously overlooked if not ignored in his group. Too bad he couldn’t have his sponsors to follow him. Since we don’t do bible distribution and marketing, they were horrified to “waste” their money on medical work, not on evangelical tours. Vade retro Satanas!

Now I wonder how much flak I’m gonna get for this moody post, though I gave no names.

Flying in the Tanzanian bush

Some random pictures over the years.

If you fly formation and snap pictures at the same time like I am here, the autopilot comes in handy if you have that luxury.

 

Muddy landing.

 

Balloon over the Serengeti.

 

Sucking dust in the turbine… Arusha is officially a tarmacked runway but sometimes we used to wonder.

 

Muddy wings yesterday, this is the rainy season, some strips are soaked.

 

Many bush airstrips are equipped with rocks of various sizes. Here is the result on one propeller. But dust and various fine particles are able to sandblast a prop’ in a few hours too.

 

Accidents are more numerous in Africa. 10 years ago, the air traffic in Africa was about 3% of the worldwide traffic but had 27% of accidents…

 

A nice crosswind landing near the volcano Lengai.

on the road, USA, pictures while driving

 

one never feels bored (at least tourists that is) on the US roads even on flat expanses. I wonder if American tourists would feel the same excitement on the Europeans highways… grass is always greener somewhere else.

some band on a tour I suppose.

 

some interesting names dot the highways.

poor driver…if he is like me sensible to detail and landscapes, his carriage doesn’t allow a clear view.

 

Paris, street photography, B/W

 

 

Eglise la Madeleine.

 

Jardins du Palais Royal.

 

the public bicycles, named Vélib’.

 

Les Tuileries.

 

 

Sacré-Coeur, Montmartre. Lucky artist with a pretty model-client.

 

shot on Leica M6 and Ilford Delta 100.

Masai warriors, spear throwing

 

wildlife in B/W, Tanzania

 

Flying the bush, Tanzania

 

various pictures over my years in Tanzania.

That pilot didn’t judge the soft sand properly and struck the propeller in.

 

Make sure to clear the goats or whatever else from the strip before take off.

 

One narrow airstrip…which is also a road obviously and unfortunately. We keep on putting rocks and branches to tell morons to drive away from the airstrip but to no avail. The place is huge but these jerks have to drive on it…and damage it of course.

 

Diving and buzzing to chase the zebras off the airstrip. Great fun too! Up to 3 times is sometimes necessary to get rid of them… maybe flying just 2 or 3 m over their head just scares them too much and they stop thinking? The main trick is to “corral” them and direct them away. Just splitting a group of animals in the middle is useless. As opposed to the Red Sea  story, and this one is proven: the group will split apart and close in right away when the plane is gone. Most animals feel safer in  group...

 

Some areas are just terrible for flies!

 

The slippery and dreaded black cotton. That mud is heavy, wet, slippery like black ice and really sticky. Some motorbikes don’t have enough power and the back wheel can get jammed, stalling the engine

“Argile noire lourde” en français.

 

Floods! But the airstrip was spared.

 

A C206 in a climbing turn at over 240 mph? No, just a blocked pitot tube. Some water puddles on an airstrip had sent some particles through the tube. No more reliable airspeed readings… A few landings like that on our short airstrips was good experience.

 

Same airstrip but 2 weeks apart.

rainy skies, Tanzania

 

while on duty with Flying Medical Service in the rain season.

Needless to say, we don’t always escape the rains or the storms…

camels in lake Natron, Tanzania

 

Years ago, camels (dromedary to be precise) were introduced just outside Ngorongoro Crater to replace donkeys in harsh and dry areas. More efficient on every level. But Masai people didn’t really click on camels. So I haven’t seen them for years. They seemed to reappear around Arusha, some projects for tourists and local riding trips. Then I got surprised to spot camels again around lake Natron last year, in Monik on the western shore. For a while I bought milk, which is very creamy and tasty by the way, but again, I haven’t seen them for a few months… I miss the milk.

Here are the young Masai herders.

 

A young Denzel Washington?

some Kodachrome pictures in the US parks

 

Kodak, killing the golden goose again, stopped that marvelous film some years ago, that is the Kodachrome 64 (after the 25 and the 200). It was still possible to develop it through 2010, so I used some of my last rolls on a road trip in May 2010, the rest in Tanzania. All with a Leica M6, a 28 and a 90mm lens.

Monument Valley, Arizona. Dust storm coming on the top picture.

 

 

Just leaving Zion, Utah.

 

 

Bryce Canyon, Utah. Karine and I were lucky: snow was still hanging around

 

 

Arches park, Utah

 

 

Near Telluride, Colorado.

scenes in bush villages, Tanzania

 

aerial photography in Tanzania, rain season

 

Unfazed Masai old man…

 

Come here north of Arusha a few months later and you’ll have dust storms…

 

Active volcano Oldonyo Lengai in the Rift.

 

2 images of lake Natron delta in the north.

 

Happy cows…

and happy villagers, in the middle flows a river.

 

My passengers, that is usually medical workers, are always fascinated by a flowing river, especially when there are little rapids or waterfalls to observe.

One gay pride, Brussels

 

2004, on B/W films, Leica M6.

“Yes I Do”…indeed Belgium was one of the first countries to legalize gay marriage.

 

YMCA escapee!

 

 

Let’s send this picture in Texas for instance and start a wave of heart attacks.

 

Masai warriors, posing and playing, Tanzania

 

the street of Arusha, photography

 

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, operating in the rains

 

Rains in Tanzania are quite interesting. Personally I enjoy flying in these seasons. Since we don’t have the same constraints as commercial operators, flying with Flying Medical service gives me various and challenging opportunities…

Rain showers and storms can show up with hardly no notice, be quite violent for a brief period before the sun shines again, airstrips get flooded and out of use within one hour, clear skies get obscured and dangerous in no time, dramatic lights and changes in vegetation are to be enjoyed…

 

This pond in the northern Serengeti area is usually dry. But filled up as it is here is being enjoyed by everybody, cows and herders of course, women and girls can use the water for cooking and washing everything without walking the usual long miles to the next water point, baths are not a luxury anymore…

 

Not sure these ladies and kids will make it home before the clouds crack open.

 

Flooded areas.

 

Obscured by clouds…

Rare full river…

 

Interesting intersection between 2 rivers bringing their own colored muds.

 

This is Monik not a chick but an airstrip partially flooded in lake Natron area. Yes you’re looking at the airstrip…. Luckily a large strip so the side could be just used. Just…

sepia portraits, Tanzanian women

 

I personally find this Sonjo woman particularly pretty! Beautiful eyebrows for instance.

 

recently excised Masai girl. She will be ready for marriage soon. The baby is not hers but she insisted to pose with him.

 

Tanzania, wildlife photography in B/W

 

Dented lioness…eye and ear.

 

random pictures, Tanzania

 

no theme today, just some random pictures for my own pleasure…

 

My Nikon D300s with the 12-24mm ready for action, that is video. For still pictures I just hold the camera normally and open the window a bit more.

 

Stroking one of the Sheldrick trust elephants. Karine and I decided to foster some orphans. Mine is named Tano.

 

Karine’s McMinus outside the airplane near volcano Lengai.  Like in the movie “Amelie”  (Amélie Poulain) the thing has travelled a bit here and there.

 

My Leica M6 ready for infrared pictures. 28mm,  a filter holder and a 89B filter.

 

I remember that sign in 1999, brand new. Here it is 13 years, a bit worn out but still holding on the same mud wall, a shop in the far out bush.

 

My Honda 250 XLR had a problem at the airport: the fuel line just snapped. An oxygen mask line happened to have the same plug size… a typical African bush fixture.

 

Yep that kind of ironing tool doesn’t belong to a museum but is used daily. No choice when power is not available or unreliable.

 

Active volcano Lengai and me in pinhole picture. Not an Instagram app OK? )Sténopé en français.

 

Mural painting in a bush pub.

 

Funny visitor in Arusha, a Russian Antonov 12. Designed in 1946. “Colt” was its NATO nickname.

 

Me in a Caravan C208.

Steep turn, nearly frozen propeller blade.

 

One of my oldies, a Zorki 2, copy of a Leica II from the 30’s. Quite a beast to use…

 

Some caricature of an elder Masai. I’ve got some time on my hands sometimes….

Masai warriors playing and posing

 

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?

B/W landscapes on medium format films, USA

 

Monument Valley.

 

On the great scenic route 12 near Bryce Canyon, Utah.

 

the Little Colorado River near Grand Canyon.

 

OK here there is a trick, this is an infrared picture in Zion nat’l park, Utah.

 

 

My beautiful Rolleiflex 3.5F, a medium format twin lens reflex that uses 6x6 cm negatives. This vintage great beast is from 1961, But older models from the 30’s , barely different, are still out there doing great pictures. Not the easiest camera to use but it gives great pleasure.

Paris, Street b/w photography with a Rolleiflex

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.

ferry flight…part XX

 

3 rd day of the ferry flight from Dubai to St Gallen, near Zurich.

Slowly leaving the Lombardy plain…

…and the Tuscany Apennine.

The Alps!

Part of the fabulous lake of Como. I saw once a documentary on television about this area. Not only that the area is just superb, a lake in the middle of mountains, beautiful and historic villas…there are some vintage seaplanes out there! I’d love to fly again seaplanes down there for sure!

sepia portraits in the Tanzanian bush

 

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…

 

Tanzania in the rain season, aerial photography

 

wildebeests (gnous en fr.) running in flooded lake Natron northern delta.

Rare full rivers.

Lake Natron, a heavily salted lake in the Rift Valley is usually red when dry. Here it will briefly look like a normal lake.

Not so old wheel tracks now partially flooded. Anyway a detour is now highly recommended in this delta, north of Natron

one day or 2 in the bush, Tanzania, photography

 

I just came back yesterday from a 3 day tour of duty with Flying Medical Service. As usual, great time on the ground or in the air. Bad weather, mud, flooded airstrips, nice people and portraits, daily life in a Masai village, lake Natron in a psychedelic shape again, thunderstorms… here are some random pictures.

This is circumcision period in Masai villages. Girls and boys will wear a black piece of cloth and bead head jewels till the end of healing. Note that there are some consequent variations between clans and areas. These 2 examples were shot on lake Natron.

Some zebras on the run.

 

A Sonjo woman proudly posing with her rooster  for sale. Best chicken ever of course, just like any bloody salesman in the world.

 

Rain shower galloping towards us, I barely beat it to land. 2 min later and we were drenched while unpacking the aircraft.

 

Milking time in a Masai village. After the jug was filled up, the mama threw some fresh cow dung on the udder…to prevent the calf from suckling again.

 

We got bogged down on treacherous soft ground, while taxiing at slow speed luckily.

 

One airstrip was flooded again. Luckily it’s a long one. So I could touch down on one wheel while keeping speed, check the status of the apparent dry half length, decide it’s was dry enough to brake safely and did a go-around for a proper short landing. The wheel tracks on this picture are the taxi wheel tracks.

I then walked here and there to check the ground firmness. I finally preferred to take off initially using the other side, where the plane is parked, before coming back on centerline. We indeed need a longer distance for take off. Had that airstrip been narrower I wouldn’t have landed for being unable to take off again on a half length.

The joys of bush flying. No irony here, I mean it. Big boy, retard… whatever you want to call me but I had fun again.

street photography in Arusha, Tanzania

 

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…

lake Natron, aerial photography and colors

 

Zanzibar, street life in Stonetown

 

street photography, Cologne in the eighties

 

the colors by then...adults would wear that too!

Monument Valley, Arizona

 

I’ve visited this incredible location twice and I wouldn’t mind to go gain. There were no many visitors which is perfect so one can nearly feel the place is deserted. The absence of tarmacked road also helps a lot. It’s not difficult to imagine this desert was the shooting location of many wild west movies.

Claudia Cardinale was briefly here for “Once upon in the West”. That strikes a cord more than for John Wayne…

 

I can’t help being in awe and surprised when I come across a tree in this harsh environment. Monument Valley post cards don’t help either: seen from far away, it seems the desert aspect is always put forward. So scrubs and small leafed-trees are common in here.

the place is a reserve run by Navajos, so the style is different, more basic than in government-run parks elsewhere. Which is not always a bad thing: except a stall or 2 for souvenirs and a dirt track, the landscapes and vista are left untouched.

horse riding trips are available. That would be awesome, right? My bloody horse and donkey allergies…

at the end of our visit, a dust storm approached, pretty impressive soon.