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From Mom’s place this tram would get me to Cologne, or Köln, in 30 min. Nr 3…
Yes I know…I should have waited half a second to get that black leg out of the viewfinder… I was a self taught beginner. Maybe that pretty view also got me and I lost my concentration.
Wild animals come and go along the year. Nowadays hundreds of zebras are hanging around Endulen in the Ngorongoro area, that includes the airstrip or the hospital where I get a room with a nice view. Anyway zebras are a hazard for any aircraft so when we come and land in the bush we always overfly the airstrip and chase whatever we can spot on it. It varies from snakes to elephants with anything in between.
Sometimes 3 or 4 low passes are required, not all the animals react the same way so one has to develop some skills, similar to the flying cowboys in Australia or western USA. That didn’t prevent me from hitting a gazelle and a wildebeest in the past, without damage to the aircraft it must be said. The same cannot be said for the poor gazelle. The wildebeest escaped!
This is Endulen airstrip… It’s obvious any obstacle on such a ‘large’ runway can’t be avoided by “driving” on the sides.
Here are a few zebras, part of a much larger herd scattered around. The best thing is to corral them, to circle around, not split them as they’ll get scared and gather again, most likely on the strip by Murphy’s Law.
It’s not meant to be but this is great fun, fly low, really low and fast.
Turning towards the airstrip… the white and blue thing on the left hand side of the picture is the nose of the aircraft.
Diving and flying across the strip…
Yesterday and the day before? 3 and 4 passes respectively. Some of the passengers don’t enjoy too much unfortunately.
A school and pupils in uniforms.
Notice the red flowers. Going to a wedding, part of a convoy maybe?
Woman carrying firewood or a branch for the cattle enclosure.
Ladies washing themselves.
Lake Natron, always something to marvel at. Any time.
even when Natron is flooded, keep an eye peeled.
African skies are always worth watching in the rain seasons, not only for pilots and farmers, but for anybody who can marvel at Nature art.
A short lived waterfall…
This man-made waterhole will last longer, but unlikely to last a year long.
Green hues will last a few months but usually not long enough, either for photography or people’s liking.
Flooded area, including our airstrip.
Bogged down truck.
Another river and little waterfall that won’t last. Too bad as it makes the scenery much more interesting.
Even this big fat river will dry out soon.
One of the 2 Flying Medical Service Cessna 206’s, a good workhorse for the usually bad airstrips we operate on. Here in the Rift valley nearby an active volcano, Oldonyo Lengai. Quiet these days but potentially very explosive.
a child sitting on sunflower seeds. So much for the hygiene…
I’m always surprised how people can stoically withstand flies on their face…
lake Eyasi, south of Ngorngoro, a salt lake with very little life there, except flamingoes or pelicans, and not always either. But on the southern tip runs in a river. It must be fresh water full of fish considering the dozens of fishermen camps settled alongside that river. 13 years in the country, and I’ve never seen those camps, there or anywhere else.
Interesting that those blue tarpaulins are so common whether in refugee camps, in Masai villages or here…
OK this kind of detail is common along full rivers, dug out canoes, fish nets…but on a samll scale. Nothing like this first picture and repeated along the river.
Drying fish in the sun, or smoked as well, as I’ve spotted some smoke along some of these racks.
as promised, here are different pictures of lake Eyasi, same day but away from the minimal art I selected yesterday. I’m not even flying around and around, just watching below my wing and wait… Bliss, isn’t it?
Well I might bank the plane and turn like 30 degrees once in a while like for the pictures above that seem to reflect gold or silver. That is because playing with the sun on a wet surface can change the aspect drastically, a little sideway sun reflection will give those shiny effects.
Dosing the effect makes big differences: the picture below gets black and shiny, losing all tones because the sun is reflecting straight in the visor.
1000 pictures to process…that’s my harvest after 3 days of outreach flying clinics with Flying Medical Service. Here are for instance some aerials of lake Eyasi, south of Ngorongoro Crater. This salt lake is not as impressive as my favorite lake Natron but once in a while a burst of LSD effects seem to influence Eyasi. I choose the minimal art concept for this blog but make no mistake there were complex and colorful patterns too on the same 2 flights, watch tomorrow for more.
I suspect those repeated lines or patterns are made by successive spells of daily evaporation actions, resting at night and leaving a deeper mark…
Obviously the wind has a word to say in the process, pushing the salts here and there.
These whitish marks are only the sun reflection in the waves.
that girl was really interested in the capoeira dancer’s abs amongst other things.
2004, maybe 2005. That was on film, not as precise as digital I agree.
These are 2 politicians from the Green party supporting the pride, I ‘ve lost track and forgot their names since I’ve been in Tanzania for a while.
It all started quietly. Freshly nominated warriors. Happy to pose for me over a few weeks, anticipating the prints I would bring, then asking for more, bringing more warriors who also wanted their photos taken. I’ve shot over a 1000 pictures like that.
Now one day, this guy (L) shows up. A real clown and a leader. Suddenly I lost control a little bit. Not that I complain since I got some interesting pictures.
For instance, I didn’t ask for these composures, he did. Notice the red ochre fat applied on the hair (hair extension usually).
Likewise he led his friends to show their back, and his butt. Same sense of humor anywhere in the world apparently. Though so far I had always thought Masai were more of the dignified type!
Him again practicing some fighting.
Rolleiflex 3.5F from 1961, various Ilford films. Whenever I go on Flying Medical Service clinics, I carry a film camera. Just for the pleasure, like writing with ink and paper instead of a computer…
Aerial photography is possible but not the easiest way. Anyway for the challenge, here is Oldonyo Lengai, an active volcano.
The same, seen from the ground.
walking down the streets in Arusha with one camera…
Unlucky blind man turned beggar. For this shot, I did ask permission and gave him some money.
Flamboyant and flashy Kenya style comes down in Tanzania. Not there yet but babysteps. I suppose Hugh Heffner would smile. His bunnies are really spread all over the world….
Cool trousers, Tanzanian flag colors.
poor guy…
I was flying a much faster airplane, a Piper Navajo, than this Flying Medical Service Cessna 206, so I had to lower the gear, reduce power, put some flaps just to stay at the same speed. I didn’t dare closer pictures, too busy to fly wing to wing within a coupla meters and greet my by then former colleagues.
Russian operator…tyres must be expensive.
Major repairs for another landing gear up landing…there are some specialist pilots out there...
Twin Otter on take off.
A Cessna 206 on take off in Mahale, lake Tanganyika.
That pilot is the smallest, and one of the cutest, female pilots ever.
Early morning in the Serengeti, Kleins Camp parking lot.
A Caravan landing in Grumeti, western corridor in the Serengeti. Birds were unfazed.
Facing some weather in Loliondo. I swear I didn’t add extra colors. But I was using a ‘chrome’ film.
my early years in photography when I was 18 or 19 and paying visits to Mom who lived not far.
I know, these are blurry ( not Autofocus and learning…) but let’s see them as documents for behavior or haircut style
at first I thought it was an American flag.
Only 2 % of the Zanzibari population is non muslim.
difficult lighting and contrasts in those narrow streets. Either low or bright light. But colors are there.
Highway 12, Utah.
Capitole, Utah.
Arches, Utah.
Near Telluride, Colorado
At a fuel station in ash fork, route 66, Arizona.
Monument Valley, Arizona.
Rolleiflex 3.5F camera.
During my first round with Flying Medical Service, a friend visiting.
Kiba, in the Selous, quite a rough airstrip.
Bus fixing an airstrip: loading a tyre with rocks, then drag the whole lot on the strip with the jeep.…
Being lazy and having a flat tyre fixed by a camp mechanic. Though he was happy to learn the way to do it on an airplane.
Melted battery terminal. Which meant staying in the hotel for a few days till a new battery was delivered.
Refueling with our own fuel from vamp.
Exploded engine on a Cessna 206. One crack and one hole. Bad engine from factory.
The Piper Chieftain I used to fly.
2 rivers merging with different mud coloring.
Blurry edges for that muddy river.
Wildebeests running in the northern delta.
Flamingoes taking off in the midday sun.
Floating salts.
I just borrowed a vintage camera from Karine’s collection and used it while on duty with Flying Medical Service in the Tanzanian bush.
Here is the beast, a Burke and James Press. So far the research shows this model would have been built between 1910 and 1920. Guess what the film format was long disused or one would have to cut it in the darkness from a larger sheet-film. Nowadays only one company does that, Efke, which is great as it saves one user a lot of headache. Efke seems to specialize in weird format, thanks for that. In this case a medium format, that is 2.25by 3.25in ( 5.7 by 8.2 cm)
One tripod is mandatory since you lose your view finder while shooting since the film holder is in the way for the picture. I could add an external visor of course.
A light-measurement cell is recommended.
Needless to say the Masai and Sonjo people were puzzled by the contraption. The Rolleiflex is already weird but then this thing…
Quite mission to handle such a camera, like any field camera. I found the viewing and focusing quite difficult on this one, maybe it’s due to old specs and materials from 100 years ago. I think the lens is also a bit fogged.
Obviously lenses back then were not treated like multicoated etc so the negatives came out really soft. I had to add some contrast after developing the films. Here is the volcano Lengai.
the funny marks in the blue sky might be me developing in a wrong way…
Anyway, I was just curious to use that thing from the past. More? Yes once in a while but most likely with Karine’s bigger but similar beast. Same technology but a recent model with better materials. Yes those things are still being produced albeit at a slow rate.
Yes! Somebody walking in the US!!
Too funny these 2…
this guy doesn’t listen to his mother! I’m sure she has told him many times to wear a helmet or at least a hat for the sun. Seriously I can’t believe some US states don’t require the helmet for riders. In a country where one sues anybody for any moronic reason, so by now some wounded bikers would have sued some legislators because they were not told it was dangerous to ride without helmet… worse in Florida, the law was reversed under Jeb Bush and it’s not compulsory anymore. Just like his bro’ he must have been rocked too close to the wall when he was an infant….
while on duty with Flying Medical Service, shot with a vintage 1961 Rolleiflex and various Ilford films. The large 6x6 cm negative are indeed square.
This one sums up a bit the general atmosphere. The aircraft, the Masai warriors chatting under the wing shade, the women going to the clinic, and the vast African sky…
trendy girl with a ‘nice’ necklace…
Clock Tower, the driver’s assistant was not happy with my camera. He would have loved some money for his portrait I guess. Well these guys are my worst enemies in the country, and I’m not the only one to dread those awful and no-respect drivers. So for the numerous times they tried to run over me and my bicycle for instance, I can take his picture for free.
the coolest T shirt in a while. Not sure if the mama has got any clue of what she is wearing… then, Marilyn and missionary sandals, quite a match.
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