Ben Wilhelmi

Dodoma, Tanzania, street photography

 

Dodoma has been the Tanzanian capital since the 70's, a little know fact. This government is busy relocating its services there from Dar es Salaam, which was the economic capital and where things happened for ever. I wonder if the various embassies and consulates and other big companies are going to follow suit. So far Dodoma is just a sleepy town, very sleepy. No one here in the company is looking to overnight there for sure. So l don't forget my books and a camera or 2 when l happen to be the unlucky guy.

 

 

 

 

Fashion here too can very wildly...sadly those furry sandals have arrived in Africa too. Call me fashion dinosaur but WTF?

 

 

 

This guy is one the dozen photographers hanging around at a central park. They take pictures of people in the hope of selling some prints or the files.

 

And men are men...

 

 

This style is a quite unusual to say the least...

 

 

 

Aerial photography, Tanzania

Tanzania is such a big country gifted with many beautiful landscapes. Not only that, those landscapes vary tremendously come the rain seasons.

 

Salt lakes are perfect examples of ever changing colors and patterns. Here is a detail of lake Eyasi.

I guess pelicans visiting Tanzania.

 

The Ruaha river after the rain season.

 

The famous wildebeest migration near the Mara river, here on the Serengeti side.

 

Lake Natron, another salt lake.

 

The Rufiji river in the Selous reserve.

 

Lake Natron again.

 

A typical homestead like millions in the country.

 

Tarangire national park. Quite famous for its elephants.

 

Lake balangida, a lesser known salt lake. Those white dots are salt extraction activities. I would guess operated by local people only.

Street photography, Stonetown, Zanzibar

 

 

Things change in Zanzibar...in 20 years the fashion got a boost from our western "decadent" influence. The ninja type is slowly receding and some pretty fashionistas show up nowadays.

The black color has receded too.

"Nutella", "Zanzibar pizza"...a common recurrence in Forodhani garden. The young woman here is relishing a fresh sugarcane juice, a divine beverage with a drop of lemon and ginger, ice cubes. Not for the weak stomachs I guess. When I said fresh, it means it prepared in front of you but …

 

OK OK she is probably a tourist boarding in Zanzibar. But she deserves applauses: an elegant tourist is such a rare occurrence.

 

Black cloak but a touch of colors and some extra details...baby steps.

A wandering Masai far from his beloved bush.

 

yeah...things change in Zanzibar, right? Not men obviously. The same everywhere.

More examples of colorful outfits. I wonder if these girls would enjoy sunbathing too...

Aerial photography, seaside, Tanzania

 

 

Workers on salt extraction fields. The glare must be painful to the yes...

Village on a tiny island next to Bwejuu island, Mafia channel.

And the reef of unnamed island.

 

Reef, Mafia island.

Fishermen at low tide.

 

A lone couple a few miles from the nearest village which is very remote.

Aerial pictures, Indian ocean, Tanzania

 

 

Between Dar es Salaam and Mafia island, a flight lasts about 30 minutes. My favorite time to fly on this route is at low tide, a general rule over the ocean I guess.

 

Today let's focus on the stunning mangrove south of mafia airfield.

Mother Nature must have laughing at Picasso. Except he whitish tone, which is sand, the other tones show the bottom of the ocean at low tide. At high tide, only a typical ocean blue will show.

 

 

Tanzania is a dream place for any aerial photographer, amateur or pro. Personally new areas or details still appear under my wings. Sometimes the weather makes a difference on a old classic landscape. Human activity is another factor that is worth a low pass...

 

 

 

 

In the bush, portraits, Tanzania

 

A collection of Sonjo and Masai people, historically they were enemies but recently things have somewhat improved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B/W portraits in the Tanzanian bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerial pictures around Mafia island, Indian ocean, Tanzania

 

Nothing like having an empty aeroplane for yourself over such an idyllic landscape. Opening the small window for a few pictures won't freak anyone.

 

But I wonder if this fisherman realizes this fact. Lack of perspective makes water looks like ...water.

 

Let take some height...

 

 

 

And down again for this lone and isolated fisherman's camp

 

 

 

 

 

the same picture but the top version has been heavily cropped.

 

The tides alter these landscapes. Fly there one hour later and the changes would be very obvious.

Some portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

Rift valley, northern Tanzania. The area stays remote, for now, and a lot of photographic opportunities present themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random pictures, Uganda

 

 

Of course some scenes are so similar to Tanzania

 

A rarity amongst the cheap Chinese or Indian  tiny motorbikes

 

The struggle for many women who dress smart but live in the bush or in a village...