Ben Wilhelmi

bush flying in Africa, photography

 

Nairobi, mafia deal, insurance scam, jealous competitors… no truth ever came out for that bombed KingAir. The plane stayed in full view of the tourists clearing customs for weeks. Welcome to Africa.

 

Below are pictures in Tanzania where I have been living for 14 years.

More peaceful, a Flying Medical Service clinic.

 

the slopes of Empakai crater, one airstrip lies on a sloped ridge. Look carefully, you’ll see an airplane on this picture, a Flying Medical Service.

 

 

 

after a serious rainshower.

 

sandy airstrip, inexperienced pilot and that was it for the day for that Cessna 206. No injuries.

 

oops they forgot to lower the landing gear, or so they claimed… That Let 410 was eventually sold after some repairs.

 

A Cessna 206 on landing in the middle of nowhere, or the middle of everywhere as read once in a Colorado village.

street photography on B/W films, Paris

 

a sunny spring day last week, some people brought their sketchbooks on the Seine bridges. I should do that one day…in the meantime I grabbed my lovely Leica M6 loaded with a B/W film, Karine was probably doing the same with her Contax645. That means we attract glares from other people in this digital ages. Once in a while we meet another film connoisseur.

 

Place de la Concorde….

and entering les Tuileries. André Lenôtre, famous garden designer…France would be different not for his influence.

 

a very cold day but nobody wanted to miss a chance for the first sunny day in weeks!

 

those fabulous buildings are located on Rivoli street.

 

bad hair day.

 

the usual illegal junket sellers. 1 euros for a tower. Up to 8 in a licensed shop! Once in a while, cops will raid the place. So like in every touristy city, these guys are scanning the area and ready to run away, preferably with their goodies. The invisible middlemen take less risks as usual.

Leica M6, 28mm F:2.0, Fuji Acros 100

lake Eyasi, abstract art photography

 

lake Eyasi, another salt lake in the Rift valley, is located just of Ngorongoro Crater, an occasional serious competitor of lake Natron in term of bright colors and abstract patterns but really occasionally. The water input must be totally different.

here are some pictures taken the same day! What a diversity. This lake doesn’t show off as often as Natron, but when it does it is really worth as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Paris, street photography, color film

 

le Pont des Arts, a pedestrian-only bridge. A fashion (from China or Eastern Europe they say) similar to dropping a coin in a fountain makes people attach a padlock on the fence and throw the key in the Seine. Names and dates are written on the padlock and there you are for eternal love! Naïve attitude again but it seems to be a popular one. I think the city of Roma has forbidden that movement and even has the padlocks removed once in a while. Paris authorities claim they don’t care about but the padlocks have been removed all at once a few times in the past, at night. Maybe  local avengers? Imagine cutting off and cleaning 1000’s of padlocks in one night?! It must be a battalion raiding the bridge.

 

of course smart asses exploit the ambient naivety and sell padlocks on the spot.

 

 

I don’t know what that girl was doing alone…in memoriam? Love by telepathy?

 

Notice the black and bigger hearts? They belong to a French women’s right group, “Ni Putes ni Soumises” (roughly, no whores nor obedient). One can scan the QR code on such a heart and symbolically free a woman from male violence.

there was also one pair of handcuffs! What was the meaning of that action? A sad soul who wanted to free herself/himself from a nasty relationship? A masochist meaning?

 

happy couple who just did it.

 

a couple? I’d guess so but anyway this was the big debate in France this spring, the gay issue on marriage. Demonstrators took the streets, the pros and cons tended to avoid each others while they supported or opposed the marriage for all. As usual violence comes from the “anti” group. It makes me laugh when they claim to be gay friendly, when they claim they even have gay friends (waow they live dangerously!) but, but… they should look at the various countries which have already passed the law and see what happens. Well nothing basically…10 years or so in Belgium or Holland and all runs smoothly… any the law has just been voted but is now being challenged for another month.

as the joke goes, gay people should be allowed to wed because there is no reason straight people are the only one to suffer the burden of marriage.

 

 

 

 

I used my beloved Leica M6, 28mm F:2.0, and tested a Kodak Portra 160.

Kenya, photography while driving

 

well in this case Karine was driving but it happens I drive and shoot.

Roadsides in Africa are very visual. Colorful, busy, messy, full of life and details.

 

Pupils tend to be seen everywhere but in school, unfortunately.

 

Masai men shopping.

 

This shop reminded a bit of an American road in the west.

 

Quite often, motorists have to share the road with cattle. A risky business sometimes.

 

Coca Cola is nearly everywhere in Africa. If one doesn't spot a Coke sign, this is really the middle of nowhere.

 

In Namanga, a border post with Tanzania, Miracle Hotel or New Emirates Hotel…it seems the new management didn’t invest much. I have the address for the daredevils…

 

Rafiki means friend in swahili. Namanga is what one could describe as a shithole but I find it very photographer friendly.

 

 

I wished the shop had been open for a quick look inside.

castle of Fontainebleau, photography

 

I wish I could do my usual aerial photography thing above Fontainebleau… as the reproduction shows, the domain is quite large.

 

I don’t know how many rooms this castle contains but none of them made me wish to live in.

nothing looks comfy, the royal or imperial beds are too small, the general overstuffed decoration must give headaches or nightmares… I loved the visit but…

 

some of the few sober rooms… still no comfort in sight. How does one slouch on such a sofa? OK teenagers behaved by then and there was no television…

 

Napoleon’s travel kit and tent.

 

notice the baby crib.

 

the ‘great’ Napoleon. Why is it we call some people great whereas their main achievement results in death and horrors across other countries on top of their own? I mean this little guy went all the way to Russia to whip asses, including his in the end….

photography in a village, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

seriously overloaded Land Rover. The engine wouldn’t start, people came to help and push but no one got out of the pick up to ease the effort!

 

loading a truck, from half empty to about full. Whenever I think a vehicle is full, it is only half full. Standards definitely vary from one continent to the next.

Paris, street photography

 

Notre-Dame…now there is a wooden contraption to enjoy a better view and relax.

 

Paris without terraces wouldn’t be Paris.

 

 

 

Old couple watching a very quiet street…

 

tradition and modernism.

 

 

one hot day, people don’t always react the same way. This guy sports a winter fleece, I was hot just with a shirt, like this chick I suppose.

 

Briefly I felt in Tanzania.

 

funny how this streetwear fashion has survived more than 20 years…

rain season in Tanzania, aerial photography

 

Arusha is now being washed away by serious downpours, people and properties are at risk… though seen from the air, everything looks peaceful and beautiful.

 

 

 

 

a storm is brewing a few miles away. I had time to take off before it arrived on us.

 

the rivers and ponds are all full which is a blessing when the water level stays within the norms

 

 

Cessna 206, Tanzanian bush

 

the airplane, the pond, the curious Masai kids.

 

normally a pilot sits on the left seat but there was a new pilot to train so I sat on the right seat, gave him a lesson about flying low and I took some shots

here on final just before landing in the Ngorongoro area

 

 

next to an active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai

 

 

high wing aircraft have a few advantages, the wings provide shade to our doctor and the patients, the clearance is better if the airstrip hasn’t been properly cleared of bush or high grass, aerial viewing of the ground is better.

 

a Masai warrior on his motorbike.

 

the C206 on a sloped airstrip. The Ngorongoro Highlands also offer incredible landscapes.

street photography, Zanzibar

 

 

 

Stonetown might look like a medieval town but Pepsi or Coca have reached the place.

 

 

a mosque in Stonetown, veiled chicks passing by is thus a normal scene…

but a Masai is rarer.

 

 

 

Tanzania, sepia portraits in the bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paris, this spring, photography

 

so far the temperatures were below average in France, some areas even mentioned the lowest ever recorded. Then suddenly last Sunday, weather got perfect, everybody stopped moaning and went out. Karine and I did that too, we chose a pedestrian and photo activity in a lovely little neighborhood called Butte-aux-Cailles. Butte means a little hill, a mound, and cailles are little fat birds. Anyhow, this is a place to visit on foot to enjoy the little cute houses and gardens, the quietness, the narrow streets and details like pieces of art on the wall, and I mean real stuff, not fucking tags.

I’m not a huge fan of this style but I admit there is a minimum of effort and style.

 

the woman, the window and the basketball player are fake.

 

Unfortunately taggers feel they belong in the same league…

 

Stencils are quite common.

other pieces are glued on the walls. Karine took on a mission to record any piece of art murals she spots across Paris.

we were not the only ones to meander and shoot in la Butte.

 

Next door is the park Montsouris. Everybody was out that day, grass got definitely crushed, many groups had brought blankets and lunch packs, skins were piling on vitamin D, good mood was the key word, everybody forgot about melanomas…

except this lady with an umbrella! Weeks of bad weather and still…

 

on the way home I spotted these youths, an exercise of ‘sartorialism’ since they’re  dressed like street thugs but the one on left sports a Louis Vuitton bag (fake I bet) which looks pretty odd

the same couple…an Arafat scarf, some things don’t get out of fashion. Karine and I are both keen street photographers so Paris with so many fashions victims, tourists etc is a great spot.

aerial shots, lake Eyasi

 

Lake Eyasi is probably the last salt lake to the south of the Rift Valley.

 

 

 

westbound beyond that cliff lies the vast plain of the Serengeti.

 

 

lake Natron, aerial photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

people in Tanzania, photography

 

Of course, many Tanzanians dress in western style. But I happen to be in the bush quite a lot and I find these various traditional outfits more interesting. Anyway I posts pictures from Arusha too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

there was a sudden downpour in the village. The kids didn’t miss one second to jump and play in the water. They were so happy!

I wonder if some PC idiots are going to complain about naked kids in the pictures…

Arusha, street pictures

 

Double-decker!

 

portraits in Tanzania

 

rounded scars around women's eyes are common, or used to be, in the Sonjo tribe.

A trendy Masai warrior? He insisted on posing with that umbrella...

 

these Masai girls are a bit special and reasonably rare to spot. They're supposed to stay home but because we come and provide medical care, I bet they use the excuse to get out. In their sub clan, those beads and the black cloak indicate they have been excised recently and are still in the impure period of healing.

 

A bit of similarity for this boy although he is quite free to roam as he pleases. Gender equity is not a Masai trait.

B/W aerial photography, lake Natron

 

lake Natron, a marvel of a salt lake in northern Tanzania, one of the few salt lakes in the Rift Valley.

Flamingoes thrive there, it is even the only breeding place in Africa. Notice the shadows and the reflections.

 

 

 

 

 

Arusha-Nairobi, photography on the road

 

Karine was driving, I was shooting the scenery.

Colors!

 

 

I have to this day never seen a Masai man or boy without a stick! I bet they keep it in bed too.

 

A cluster of shops, quite new and freshly painted.

 

Trousers from the flower power era?

 

Water transport.

 

Sign artist. Quality varies wildly to say the least…

 

KFC in Nairobi. There is none in Belgium…

 

 

giant ads are unfortunately sprouting all over. And too bad if your flat had a nice view… Urbanism is still a funny concept around.